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How Philly Neighborhoods Killed The Crosstown Expressway
October 19, 2017 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Area residents will learn how a diverse group of neighborhood activists in the late ’60s and early ’70s stopped the Crosstown Expressway in its tracks and kept the South Street area from being destroyed by an 8-lane, block-wide depressed highway.
You can fight City Hall . . . and win!
The free panel discussion starts 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 19 at Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church’s Sanctuary, Columbus Blvd. and Christian St. It is co-sponsored by Queen Village Neighbors Association and the Historic Gloria Dei Preservation Corporation (HGDPC).
The panel includes these veterans of the Crosstown Expressway fight:
- Paul Levy, founding CEO of the extremely successful Center City District and author of “Queen Village: The Eclipse of a Community.”
- Marge Schernecke, a community organizer and leader in Queen Village whose family has lived in the area for five generations.
- David Auspitz, former owner of Famous Fourth Street Delicatessen and Famous Fourth Street Cookie Company, and former chairman of the Philadelphia Zoning Board.
- Rick Snyderman, co-founder of The Works Gallery, and a key player in organizing the “South Street Renaissance.”
- John Coates, former housing development leader and Executive Director for SCPAC, a coalition of river-to-river community groups.
- Conrad Weiler, former national activist preventing displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods and Temple University political science faculty member since 1968.
- Joel Spivak, architect, artist, former owner of Rocketships & Accessories and originator of Philadelphia’s National Hot Dog Month Celebration.
The panelists will describe the strategies and tactics they used to fight City Hall, derail the ill-fated Crosstown Expressway and help keep nearby neighborhoods intact.
Attendees should come early. The last meeting of this type attracted an overflow crowd. To preserve a record of the event, it will be videotaped for YouTube.