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And ... Spring Garden balconies at Finnigan's are back (UPDATED)
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And … Spring Garden balconies at Finnigan's are back (UPDATED)
Detractors of a plan to put large balconies on the bar Finnigan's Wake in Northern Liberties saw their hopes dampened today, after City Council overrode Mayor Nutter and again passed the bill allowing the balconies to be built over the sidewalk. Unanimously. Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association and Finnigan's owners are "planning to meet again," says district Councilman Mark Squilla, "to discuss more plans on how it can best work for both the business and the community. I haven't been privy to those discussions but I understand that those discussions, if not scheduled already," will be planned soon. He figures that neighbors were able to come to a compromise on the bar's takeover of Bodine Street, which will become a pedestrian walkway and outdoor seating space for patrons, so maybe they can work out an agreement for the balconies as well. What that might look like — limited hours? limited capacity? — is unknown.
NLNA president Matt Ruben says that Council wasn't thinking of neighbors' concerns today anyway. "Today's vote has everything to do with City Council's relationship with the Mayor. This is Council sending a message." That is: That Mayor Nutter, like councilmembers, should respect councilmanic prerogative in making decisions within City Council districts. "But Council needs to understand that the vast majority of our neighbors aren't receptive that point."
Ruben says Squilla told him that the Finnigan's ordinances was part of a "learning process" and not indicative of how he planned to handle such issues in the district. Though Finnigan's clearly has the upper hand — "from when the bills were originally passed in the spring we felt like our legs had been cut out from under us" — he's counting on the owners and Squilla to keep their word on maintaining a dialog with the community. "We heard from [Finnigan's] that they are working on a new proposal for Spring Garden. We are awaiting an architectural drawing or rendering to see what they are now proposing." But the fact remains: Council ignoring the community outcry has engendered a lot of disillusionment in the process, he says.
"Right now, we're definitely out of the territory of, 'Can we get a result that neighbors will be happy with?' i think we're in the territory of, 'Can we get a result that neighborhoods can live with?'"
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