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07/10/2002 CPNA: A City Wide Civic Is Born (Ed Goppelt)

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Colleen Puckett Makes Her Pitch for a City Wide Civic
2002/07/10 Colleen Puckett thinks neighborhood groups should get organized if they want to have a say in how our City is run.

More than 70 persons representing 32 civic groups attended the July 10 organizing meeting of CPNA, the Coalition of Philadelphia Neighborhood Associations. View handout from the meeting.

Puckett, who is President of Queen Village Neighbors Association, envisions a city wide organization which would research and endorse candidates, provide fledgling neighborhood groups with advice and resources, and make the neighborhoods heard on issues of concern to them.

The meeting comes in the wake of yet another attempt by the Billboard industry to take away Philadelphians' right to contest illegal zoning variances. A stealth amendment--similar in language and effect to Councilman DiCicco's Bill 629--was quietly attached to Senate Bill 1100 Only a frantic lobbying campaign by community groups prevented the 629 clone from becoming law.

Puckett (jcohen1642@aol.com) along with community leaders Rosie Adams and Mary Tracy are attempting to reshape CPNA, an existing but inactive organization, into a city wide voice for neighborhood groups. Adams (radams3875@aol.com) is Co-chair of Friends of Logan Square; Tracy (scruborg@rcn.com) serves on the board of Overbrook Farms Civic.

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The Crowd
2002/07/10 According to the minutes, more than 70 people attended representing 32 civic groups from around the city.

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Raydell Fisher
2002/07/10 Fisher heads up the Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition. She told the crowd that Hawthorne neighbors had to organize before the Zoning Board of Adjustment would listen to them.

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Ed Goppelt
2002/07/10 Your truly was called upon to speak about "The Power of Communication." A bit corny, but there is no question: if you don't know what's going on, you have no power. Here I am showing the crowd letters from Sen. Vince Fumo and others. The Senator was replying to voters who wrote him about SB 1100. I told the crowd the fact a man as powerful as the Senator was writing voters gave me hope for our city.

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