City must become more friendly to small business

Another store just folded on Ridge Avenue. Yes, we still can buy water ice and bouquets and hinges from the mom-and-pop stores that line the unswept streets of this fading neighborhood, but for how long? Chains like the Hair Cuttery and Payless are gobbling up old standbys like Lynn's Beauty Salon and Ridge Family Shoes. Quite simply, the micro-stores lack the capital, marketing skills and support to compete.

Tiny businesses give more than flavor to neighborhoods; they give jobs, dignity and a sense of ownership to the people who run them. Who is more likely to speak up about graffiti or hire her neighbor's kid - the woman who runs her own secondhand clothing store or the one who boxes doughnuts for a faceless corporation? Who would be a stronger role model - the man who got off welfare by opening his own VCR repair store or the one who got a part-time job sweeping up the local 7-Eleven?

Those who want to be their own boss deserve all the help we can give them. How? We can support mayoral candidates who make sure that the licensing process protects micro-entrepreneurs rather than stifles them, who give government subsidies to big and small businesses alike, who back the handful of nonprofits in this city that offer micro-entrepreneurs business training and credit, and who work to make sure that avenues like Ridge remain the backbone of strong, solid neighborhoods.

Joyce Lombardi
Philadelphia

Coalition and co-operation

Retaining and attracting residents to Philadelphia can be accomplished only through a coalition of City Hall, civic organizations, businesses, nonprofits, individuals and Community Development Corporations.

Organizations such as the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, which is working closely with the river wards at reconnecting their communities with the Delaware River, are also an essential part of this mix. Such efforts as "green" development and ongoing revamping of several ill-conceived on- and off-ramps to Interstate 95 (most notably the Girard and Princeton/Cottman interchanges) demonstrate that such critical urban issues as water and air quality, energy management and vehicular traffic are finally being addressed.

Equally important is the rejuvenation and sustainability of viable neighborhood commercial strips. The city must become a friendlier place in which to open up a business, own a residence, or attempt to improve a property. Economically prohibitive licensing and permit fees, as well as complex, restrictive zoning laws are enough to drive even the most well-intentioned homeowner or businessperson to the suburbs.

The city's Licenses and Inspections Department must become a more reasonable place to conduct business. From the rude reception received on the phone to the overly strict manner in which some questionable policies are implemented, this is the facet of city government that must become more neighborhood friendly.

An increasing desire for urban convenience, a renewed appreciation for city life, and a growing understanding of the need to conserve natural resources will force the powers-that-be to rethink the future of Philadelphia, realizing that its diverse neighborhoods are its greatest asset.

Louis M. Iatarola
Tacony

Infrastructure vital to success of small business

Small businesses and the people who live around and work at those businesses are the keys to Philadelphia neighborhood survival. Unfortunately, both are being pushed out by overtaxing and red tape.

Light industry made Philadelphia a "City of Neighborhoods." Unless it can get back to that, I do not feel positive about its future. I can suggest a place to try: the Port Richmond, Fishtown, Bridesburg areas.

With the new interchanges connecting I-95, the Betsy Ross and Aramingo Avenue, access to every major highway in the tristate area will be a snap. These infrastructure improvements coupled with the Tioga Marine Terminal could spark a new wave of thriving small (and big) businesses where brownfields and empty buildings now lie idle. I even envision the railroad being revived right into the American Street corridor.

John Hifferon
Woodbury

Nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit

After almost two decades of experience in community development, I have concluded that what will do more for our declining neighborhoods than any housing, education or jobs program alone is microenterprise development, or, more specifically, the nurturing of an entrepreneurial spirit.

That spirit is what makes a creative woman sell homemade earrings at craft shows, makes a music lover open up his own record store, and makes thousands of self-employed and small-business owners in this city take on unfavorable odds and try to make it on their own. That spirit and those people are also the best hope for turning neighborhoods around.

People who own their own businesses have the confidence and capital to invest in themselves, their homes and their communities.

Jeremiah J. White Jr.
Director
Philadelphia Development Partnership