douglas_in_philly

douglas_in_philly t1_jefivkx wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Airbnb is alerting hosts about subpoenas from the City of Philadelphia by Meatfrom1stgrade

Personally, I think this is a gross oversimplification. There's a TON of problems in our city--in ANY city--and they all need to be addressed. Do I think preventing crime is more important than random AirBnB operators getting over a little? Yes, but tell that to someone whose loved one was killed in an AirBnB fire where the operator didn't care about following the rules, and didn't have smoke detectors, etc.

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douglas_in_philly t1_je30au6 wrote

Reply to Strawberry mansion driving range by bkantor15

I used to golf in high school, but that was about 35 years ago! Would love to get out and hit the links again. I was thinking of starting, though, on a nine hole par three course just to re-orient myself with the game. Anybody know if there’s that kind of a course anywhere nearby?

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douglas_in_philly t1_jbz7ixj wrote

Reply to comment by zparks in Phila Parks & Rec installing “barriers” along Kelly Drive right now 👏🏼 by PettyAndretti

I don’t disagree with you that poverty—of the generational variety—is endemic in Philadelphia, and I don’t disagree that the city should be spending money to try to address it, but at the same time, there are other things that benefit those of us who have chosen to live here and are not in poverty, ourselves, and we do deserve to “have nice things,” too, so to speak.

I’m only pointing out that—in my opinion—it’s not necessarily a zero sum game, so to speak. The city can prioritize funding programs to help the cities poor, but can also try to make intelligent decisions to preserve the things that attract people who aren’t poor to live here. It’s our tax money, in large part, that is helping to pay for these programs for the poor. If there aren’t good things for the non-poor, we won’t live here, and there goes a lot of the money.

I’m not sure how much money we spent for these new barriers, and their installation, but I’m going to guess that it was a surprisingly sizable amount. But if they get destroyed within a month, I view it as a waste of money. I would prefer the city spend a little bit more- even if it means taking a chunk away from some rec center—to protect Fairmount Park.

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douglas_in_philly t1_jbz6428 wrote

Reply to comment by PettyAndretti in Phila Parks & Rec installing “barriers” along Kelly Drive right now 👏🏼 by PettyAndretti

1000%.

In 20 years of living right by Kelly Drive, and passing that way most every day, I can tell you that I virtually never saw cars parked in the grass unless it was for an official event of some sort. But during Covid—particularly on the weekends—there would be dozens and dozens of cars parked there. It really made me sad.

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douglas_in_philly t1_j6fjskk wrote

Reply to comment by ThreePointsPhilly in 50% of ALL of SEPTA's problems can be solved overnight by installing barriers that prevent gate hopping on Broad and MFL lines by scatterbrainedpast

Unfortunately the idealistic solution is the most difficult to implement, and will almost certainly take the longest to show results. The vast majority of people who want to ride on SEPTA are not deranged with mental illness, nor are they high-as-a-kite junkies. But because there are enough of those people who are on SEPTA, many people are choosing not to use the system, and that will cause it to fail, and then everyone loses—including the turnstile jumpers.

You can propose your solution, others will propose theirs. The one that wins wins. Unfortunately, while most people are very sympathetic, they’re also realistic and pragmatic, and they’re not going to put other people’s problems in front of their own desire for a pleasant life. Is that good? Is it right? Unfortunately, that doesn’t matter, because it’s the way it is. I’m not saying don’t speak up and fight for it to be some other way, but if you don’t realize that this is the reality, it’s going to make your fight for idealism a lot more difficult.

At least that’s my opinion as someone who also believes in fighting for idealistic changes in our world.

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douglas_in_philly t1_j2zee96 wrote

Reply to comment by blinchik2020 in where to adopt a cat? by kittylover3210

Thanks. That’s what I meant: where did you need to have an approved foster or adopt application from in order to be able to visit the cat café for free? But you’ve now stated that it has to be from Green Street Rescue. Good to know!

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