March to 20th and Annin Will Protest Undemocratic Development Model

After the Zoning Board decision against OCF's Annin Street development of four large single family homes, Ori Feibush promised to work with neighbors to try to come to a compromise. Recently, he sent a letter to the Point Breeze Organizing Committee asking to meet and "hear what they have to say". The Point Breeze Organizing Committee's response? They don't want to meet until they know it will be "a meeting of substance not show" and "deeds, not words".
After the zoning hearing which ended in the denial of Feibush's variance quests, Feibush said that he would work with neighbors to try and come to a consensus. There are several neighborhood associations active in the area. The Point Breeze Organizing Committee is not a CDC, and they have worked on issues not directly related to Point Breeze itself, like working on President Obama's re-election campaign, and work to fight school closures. According to Gary Broderick, a member of the group, their goal is to "build political power for working class and longtime residents of Point Breeze."

PBOC points out that, in a neighborhood where the median income is $30,000, the homes built by OCF Realty are clearly not intended for the residents who already live there, Gary Broderick emphasized that PBOC and most Point Breeze residents are pro-development, but they want a say in what kinds of developments go forward.

Their main issue with OCF Realty is not, in fact, Ori Feibush's attitude, his coffee shop, or his oeuvre. Rather, they're concerned with what they feel is "the undemocratic development model being pushed forward..." and they're planning a protest: they'll march to OCF Coffee Shop and the corner of 20th and Annin Streets, which would have been the site of the three houses that were denied variances. The march, which is planned for August 24th, is both in protest of OCF's policies and strategies and "much bigger than OCF in that it is a commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington".
· ZBA Votes Against Ori Feibush's Point Breeze Project [Philly.com]
· Annin Street homes run into buzzsaw at Point Breeze meeting [Philly RE Blog]
· All OCF Realty Posts [Curbed Philly]