Bill to expand Finnegan's Wake has NoLibs neighbors irate

A draft ordinance introduced by Councilman DiCicco would strike Bodine Street for one block in Northern Liberties, clearing the way for a three-level outdoor party deck.

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Bill to expand Finnegan's Wake has NoLibs neighbors irate

POSTED: Friday, October 28, 2011, 1:55 PM

Many Northern Liberties residents don't exactly have a soft spot for the drunken crowds outside Finnegan's Wake to begin with. So the idea wiping away a public street (OK, alleyway) to make room for three stories of outdoor alcohol service didn't exactly win over the crowds at Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association meetings this week.

Nonetheless, outgoing City Councilman Frank DiCicco has introduced a bill to strike Bodine Street from the the city plan, between Spring Garden and Green, making way for a three-story outdoor deck that would run between the bar and Rep. Bob Brady's Democratic City Committee offices coming in next door. "The sentiment was overwhelmingly not in favor," says NLNA zoning committee chairman Larry Freedman. "Part of their argument was, 'We want to improve the street because it's so crappy, and there's a dumpster out there all the time,'" he adds — noting that it was the bar's own dumpster that has been blocking the street for years, despite numerous complaints from neighbors. "That didn't really fly."

The bill is currently listed as having been heard favorably by Council's streets committee, but in the meantime neighborhood input is collected. Whether the ordinance will be pushed through over the objections of neighbors remains to be seen.

Posted by Samantha Melamed @ 1:55 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
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