Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

Civics, Letter

On the surface, [Naked City, "Civics, Lessons," Deborah Bolling, Aug. 26, 2004] addressed an African-American family moving into a diversifying, though traditionally white, neighborhood. In that sentence is the flawed rhetoric that keeps race a divisive issue in this country. The problem is that Mr. Nick DelVecchio is not white. He is Italian-American. This was the racial group that the United States Congress placed the new Italian immigrants in when they first began arriving in this country more than 100 years ago. Congress decided that, while not "negro," the Italians certainly were not "white," either. Therefore, they were Italian, a third race. The treatment of the Italians who settled in the South certainly had more in common with the African-American experience than the white.

Italian-Americans were the second-largest group of victims of lynch mobs. In fact, the largest mass lynching in U.S. history saw 11 Italians as the victims. Well into the 1950s, Italian-Americans in the South were included under the Jim Crow laws. Rather than chastise Mr. DelVecchio for his inflammatory flag waving, someone should take this opportunity to educate him, Mr. Charles Baltimore and the rest of the neighborhood about what they have in common.

Gregory Mario Jacovini,

Publisher,
The Italian Newspaper

Degraded? Not me

Steve Conn illustrates a good point, that Philadelphia's urban design leaves much to be desired, with bad examples [Cityspace, "Design for Dummies," Aug. 19, 2004].

The parking lot at 47th Street and Baltimore Avenue is an asset, not a detriment, to the neighborhood and surrounding businesses. On-street parking is tight in that area and the lot provides space for visitors who don't use the highly unreliable No. 34 trolley line. Furthermore, it's a drop-off point for PhillyCarShare. The lot is helpful for the distributors who deliver produce and provisions to the surrounding businesses; without that lot, they would probably have to double-park on Baltimore, causing more trolley delays.

Conn's example of the Grays Ferry Shopping Center is also problematic. For years, people (including the author) have justly complained that the city disinvests itself from areas of urban poverty. I think a shopping plaza that is adjacent to a neighborhood would be quite convenient. While the bodega down the street may be great to pop into for a pack of smokes, a hoagie or maybe an emergency bottle of dish detergent, supermarkets require a larger space.

I also disagree that walking across the parking lot at Grays Ferry plaza is "degrading." Not only is the lot well-maintained (compare with the potholed, trash-strewn lot outside the Thriftway at 43rd and Walnut streets), it's well-managed (compare with the mess at the Home Depot/Super Fresh/Wal-Mart plaza on Columbus Boulevard).

Brendan Skwire
Southwest Philadelphia

Slick move

I'm struck by Citgo's disingenuous motives [Cityspace, "Big Oil as Conservationists," Tasha Kates, Aug. 19, 2004]. If the company donates Petty Island to New Jersey — or the federal government, for that matter — who do you think will pick up most of the tab for environmental cleanup of an oil company's industrial site?

Despite the promises of "some money for decontamination," I'm pretty sure it won't be Citgo.

Michael Kmiec
Fishtown