The Congress for New Urbanism advocates for sustainable development — the type of development that Jenkintown has enjoyed since its founding. Unfortunately, our powers that be have little clue about the underlying reasons for why residents and visitors find our little borough so charming. Hint: It’s not the parking lots. On-street parking does several good things, and its alternative (on-site parking lots) does nothing good. Google “sea of parking.” Are […]
Policy
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Unlike Jenkintown, Abington Township will fix its own sidewalks
“This is the way we’ve always done it. This is the way everyone else does it.” Sorry, Rick. Not everyone. So said Rick Bunker at a public works committee meeting in 2015 in response to my suggestion that Jenkintown find a better way to finance sidewalk repairs that does not overburden residents. Once again, I can report Mr. Bunker wrong. Yesterday, while driving up Rockwell Road in Abington, I noticed the recent […]
Policy
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Does Brian McCrone own his own home? We doubt it.
Our response to Brian McCrone’s shoddy piece about the Cedar Street purchase: Brian, I write this with some reluctance, but as a creative professional, I believe that feedback is an important part of our professions. You should know that I’ve been the subject of stories published in the New York Times, The Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, Yankee Magazine, the NY Daily News, and many other papers, and I’ve […]
Livestream
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Jenkintown Public Works/Public Safety Committee Meetings
As usual, Chief DiValentino provides the most interesting content in these meetings. During an extended discussion about the traffic on Walnut at Rodman, the Chief revealed that 29,000 cars pass by on a five-day basis. Despite the potential hazard at that intersection, most of the accidents along that stretch of Walnut take place at the four-way stop at Walnut and Hillside due to people running the signs. Speeds on that stretch […]
Latest News
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NBC 10 whitewashes Borough acquisition
In Garbin’s case, his objection is monetary. He thinks the property would bring in new tax revenue. To that I ask: Couldn’t a park raise property values of all the surrounding, already existent homes? Plus, Jenkintown got the property for a sweet deal. They actually saved green while buying green. Well, no, the Borough didn’t “save” anything. They spent $250,000 (of our money) that they otherwise would not have spent […]
Latest News
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Rick Bunker strikes back
Just so Jenkintown residents understand the level of discourse that they can expect when voicing any opposition to the party line, I offer this screen grab. On January 2nd, at 1:43 in the morning, Rick Bunker posted this comment on our website. He apparently had second thoughts and removed it, reposting instead something more innocuous, but I suspect he didn’t realize that Disqus sent out this notification first. Frankly, this […]
Livestream
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Jenkintown Borough Council Meeting, 2-27-2017
This month’s Council meeting discussed among other things: An upcoming hike in our trash disposal fee due to the awarding of a new contract with BFI The outcome and further plans for the proposed Cedar Street park The application for a matching grant ($20,000) for the gateway project. Council is treating this park as a fait accompli. While we understand that there is a great deal of opposition to this […]
Latest News / Livestream
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Jenkintown EAC Meeting to discuss a pocket park on Cedar Street
Last night’s meeting of Jenkintown’s Environmental Affairs Committee was described as a “visioning meeting,” which in simpler terms means brainstorming session. We’ve discussed these exercises in the past, specifically with regards to the Jenkintown 2035 project. We regard them as well-meaning, but largely ineffectual, feel-good events designed to apply a veneer of public input to something that will ultimately be decided by people who may or may not know better than us. We […]
Livestream
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Jenkintown Public Works/Public Safety Committee Meetings
Meeting from February 8. Agenda for Public Safety: here Agenda for Public Works: here.
Latest News
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Traffic Cameras for Jenkintown? Think again.
While Jenkintown Borough promulgates its disingenuous narrative about the Cedar Street acquisitions, some in favor of a proposed pocket park there have suggested that funds for this park might come from red light cameras mounted on Old York Road. What we learned last night shoots down that idea for good. If you attended the Jenkintown 2035 Workshop last year, you might have heard Police Chief DiValentino tell the gathering that the state deemed Jenkintown ineligible […]
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How all Jenkintown can benefit from the recent Cedar Street purchase
Assessing cost vs. value of the Cedar Street acquisition According to the Borough, they recently purchased those properties at below market value. Borough claims a purchase price of $250,000, and Andrew Smith, Jenkintown’s top selling real estate agent tells us that price is well-below market value. Indeed, Zillow backs him up. The current combined “Zestimate” for both properties is $485,000 for a potential $235,000 profit. It just happens that this amount lands […]
Latest News / Policy
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Jenkintown’s Pocket Park: Buy now, ask permission later
It took nearly six months, but the Borough finally decided to let us in on their quarter-million-dollar secret: A park no one asked for. On Wednesday, we received like many of you the official email from the Borough announcing this transaction. As we know now, the ink has dried on the purchase. The two plots now belong to the Borough, or more appropriately, to you and us whether we want it or […]