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Readers Write: Stay Classy, Philly.com Commentors And Moderators

Two things…

1. This story is unreal. While Feibush may not have universal appeal, the city couldn’t be more tone deaf in its response to his actions.

2. Among the comments to this story was the one I’ve screen-capped and attached. By my estimate, it’s been up for over 2 hours and not removed or deleted. While 90% of the comments on that site are veiled racist, this is just flat out racist. (Though part of me really hopes that given the Borat avatar, it’s actually someone trying to make fun of the racists but the chances of that are low.) It appears Philly.com has just completely given up on any sense of civility in the comments.”

The story our dear reader is referencing is a little inside-real-estate-baseball about a city-owned lot that was in disarray, and how Ori Feibush went and dropped $20,000 into it to clean up and make it useful to people. Feibush will soon be opening a coffee shop adjacent to the lot, so he had his reasons to fix it up. The city however, is threatening to charge Feibush with charges of trespassing for going into the lot and modifying it in any way. They are currently asking him to return the lot to the way it was. And as with everything on the internet, there are multiple stories: Here’s the city’s, and here is Feibush’s.

As for the comment, which as of now is still up on the story, it’s one of the most overtly racist comments on a site where most of the comments are fairly overtly racist. The only difference this time, is that the commenter actually used the word “black,” because without specifics, how can anyone know that you’re an actual racist? This shit wouldn’t have went down on Warren’s watch.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 14th, 2012 at 11:25 am.

  • Amarikah

    The coffee shop in Point Breeze is actually open and Ori has been asking people to come out and support it. It sounds like demand has been less than what he was expecting after the huge fight to open it. 20th and Federal 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

  • Keith Gerritsen

    Removing trash is one thing; removing the existing fixtures (the jersey walls) and putting in different fixtures is something else entirely. Does Pennsylvania have an adverse possession statute? Oh, apparently we do. Is this the long game?

  • friendlynerd

    I think if that were his intent he would have done this as quietly as possible, not send 7 written requests, multiple phone calls, and visits in person over the course of a couple years to buy the lot first.

  • Keith Gerritsen

    I am now not sure about that. To prevail in adverse possession, your possession has to be open and notorious. Depending on how deep his timeline with this property goes, the city could have blundered into just proving he was open and notorious from day one instead of ducking this issue with legal aikido. Saying “Trespass! Presumably you’ve always trespassed!” sets the adverse possesion clock to the earliest he can document his trespass or the first time he paid a government fee (snow ticket!) to maintain the property. If instead the city had responded with “we happen to grant you permission to use the property in consideration of your cost and labor to clean it up, which we rescind as of later date X” then it may appear to be a contract; it wouldn’t have been an open and notorious trespass, and the adverse posession clock starts as of that later date X.
    All I’m saying is, it’s a not impossible bet that after a few weeks, the RDA just won’t follow up, and depending on how deep his history is with the property, he could have just maneuvered the city into validating an adverse claim on his timeline.

  • muffin_artist

    Philebs, you never explained why you endorsed the thinly disguised racist Facebook page People of SEPTA.

  • NakedPhillyFox

    We believe adverse possession to require 21 years of such open and notorious possession in Pennsylvania…Ori was 7. He’s certainly playing a long game in Point Breeze but thats not it. Just finally decided to clean up this terrible lot.

  • Jim Adair
  • http://www.facebook.com/joel.harding.16 Joel Harding

    For shame, Philadelphia, for shame. You refuse to clean up this mess, deny him permission to clean it up for you, then attempt to punish him when when you leave a mess. Philadelphia, you a hulking, stinking, fetid, putrid, festering, smelly mess. Apologize and maintain at least a little dignity, if you ever want any. It’s about perception management and reputation management, that’s my field. Learn something, put on your big boy pants, man up.