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A difference of vision

Councilman Johnson and developer Feibush clash on who should get city-owned land.

Point Breeze real estate developer Ori Feibush. Credit: Jeff Fusco
Point Breeze real estate developer Ori Feibush. Credit: Jeff FuscoRead more

IN RECENT days, both 2nd District Councilman Kenyatta Johnson and businessman Ori Feibush gave away Thanksgiving turkeys to the needy in Point Breeze.

They did it separately.

Johnson is a former state rep in his first term in Council. His district includes parts of Center City, South Philadelphia, Eastwick and Hawthorne, in addition to Point Breeze.

Feibush is a high-profile and controversial developer in Point Breeze and elsewhere who will challenge Johnson in next year's election.

Johnson wants us to see Feibush as a crybaby; Feibush wants us to see Johnson as a crook.

Point Breeze is ground zero in the war between the councilman and the developer.

"In 2003, 2004, 2005, you couldn't give away Point Breeze properties," says Herb Wetzel, executive director of City Council's office of Housing and Community Development. The same empty lots today are sizzling.

The skyrocketing prices are the result of developers moving in to turn city-owned lots into homes for the well-heeled who want to live close to Center City. The flip side: Rising prices drive out long-time residents, often low-income and black.

This creates a dynamic between white "haves" and nonwhite "have nots" and a battle between competing visions for the end use of city land.

A lawsuit filed by Michael Pollack last week charged Johnson with steering parcels of land to political contributors, contrary to city law. A federal lawsuit filed earlier in the year by Feibush claimed the same thing.

Johnson says Feibush is using the courts as a weapon. Feibush says Johnson uses his councilmanic prerogative as a club.

In my column covering the latest suit last week, the councilman's people wanted to know why I didn't reveal a Pollack-Feibush connection. I didn't because it wasn't germane to the issues in the suit, which will be settled by the courts.

While they once were real-estate business associates, they currently are partners only in a sports bar that will open soon at 1612 South St. Both deny Feibush instigated Pollack's lawsuit and both say city law requires property to be sold to the highest bidder.

Here's where it gets tricky.

Although the City Charter does require city land be put up for competitive bid if it is selling directly to the public, that's rarely how land is sold. The usual case is for the city to convey the property to another agency, such as the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority or the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, where the buyer may have been selected in a competitive process.

There are other stipulations. The charter also requires City Council to approve all city sales or acquisitions and that creates (choose the word you like) a loophole, a safeguard, a prerogative.

Being the highest bidder does not guarantee purchase. In addition to the cash, the city reviews the applicant's ability and plan.

Because of the scarcity of affordable housing in Philadelphia, Wetzel said, an applicant planning to build affordable housing may get preference and the parcel for a "nominal" fee.

It's a "matter of balancing competing interests," Wetzel said.

Feibush has done a good thing for Point Breeze, but he has done it at a cost. He builds quality homes, but they are too expensive for current residents to buy. For a guy with a slim build, Feibush has broad shoulders and pushes back when he thinks he's been wronged, angering the political class and intimidating neighborhood opponents, which leads to his windows being shot out.

It's indisputable the city has long dragged its feet in sending tax-delinquent properties to sheriff's sale. Feibush says the city discourages success. Anyone who's done business with the city understands his frustration.

What Feibush doesn't see as clearly are the goals of Johnson, who says, "Since I've been elected I've been consistently supportive of his development goals even though he supported my opponent in the last election."

Feibush sneers: "The councilman is counting oversleeping and not showing up in opposition as being supportive."

"That is typical of Ori Feibush, rather than have a debate on issues he wants to engage in personal attacks," responds Mark Nevins, Johnson's campaign spokesman. "Ori has purchased more city-owned land in the 2nd District than anyone else."

The conclusion?

"Kenyatta and Ori come at development from different perspectives," says Brian Abernathy, executive director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority.

Feibush is a market-rate guy, while Johnson, who represents the entire community, "is concerned about economic diversity in his neighborhoods," Abernathy said.

Johnson doesn't want Point Breeze to become Gladwyne, no slight intended to the wealthy, leafy suburb.

In a perfect world, Feibush and Johnson's visions might mesh.

In Philadelphia, their visions will compete in the May primary.

Phone: 215-854-5977

On Twitter: @StuBykofsky

Blog: ph.ly/Byko

Columns: ph.ly/StuBykofsky