In a Philadelphia Eminent Domain Battle, the Media Cast the Wrong Hero
“According to NewsWorks, the city seized seven properties belonging to Anthanasiadis and paid him, in his view, too little in return. None of the parcels include his pizza shop. A December 2012 Philadelphia City Paper story described the properties as “garages that [Anthanasiadis] says are currently rented to tenants, who use the garages and adjacent parking lots for businesses including an auto body shop and a small antique car restoration business.”
It’s easy to see why more than a few local media outlets have put a David-and-Goliath spin on this story. After all, government taking a private citizen’s land so that a quasi-public entity can build what it wants sets a potentially dubious precedent. But a number of variables call this narrative — and the way media everywhere covers most eminent domain battles — into question.
Because really, in this case, we have a speculative property owner who for more than a decade had been sitting on crumbling garages and empty lots in a gentrifying area. (For a comprehensive rundown of new development and ensuing conflicts in South Kensington, check out Hidden City’s tremendous coverage of the issue.) I traveled to one of his holdings, 1529 N. Cadwallader Street, mentioned in the City Paper story. This is what I found, along with an adjacent “parking lot”:”
Bevilacqua, Matt. Next City 5 May 2014.
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