The Tarp is Down

The Tarp is Down
Originally uploaded by dwwebber.

You know it's a been a slow couple of weeks here in the Columbus Square blogosphere when about all I have to report is that the tarp, which was hanging down from the roof just to the east of the front doors and which can be seen here, has finally blown down. When I say "the tarp" I'm sure there can be no doubt in my neighbors' minds about what tarp I'm referring to.

The St. Valentine's Eve snow storm seems to have been responsible. I saw the tarp hanging from the dilapidated fence in front of the doors on St. Valentine's Day in the morning.

For months that blue tarp hung there - sad, forlorn, purposeless. Flapping a bit in the breeze, or sometimes just hanging motionless. I never could figure out what it was supposed to be doing. Was it actually protecting something? Hardly, given the way it was blowing around. At one point, the wind had taken it back over the roof instead of hanging down by the wall.

You've got to admit, it was pointless. Why bother with a tarp when your building doesn't have a finished roof? Well, if it was protecting something, that protection ended.

While it may not have had a purpose, it certainly wasn't without significance. To me at least, it symbolized in the way that this project has become not much more than an insult to the people who live here. It sent the message that the contractor and the City in turn couldn't care less about the way this place gets built.

The Return of the Tarp

Tarp's Up! (Back Up)
Originally uploaded by dwwebber.

The good news this week is that the window subcontractor, whose truck can be seen here, has been on the job. There's not much new to see, though, in terms of progress on the exterior.

But did you notice that the tarp is back? The old one is still caught on the fence, but now a new one is in place. You can see it here, wafting in the wind. It took about a week for them to replace the tarp.

33 Days and Counting

City Councilman Frank DiCicco, relying on some representations by someone in City government, told the South Philly Review last week that the Recreation Center building would be finished by the end of March.

Just for the record, that's 33 work days from now. Of course, Councilman DeCicco described that deadline as contingent on avoidance of "unforeseen construction issues" - so perhaps it means nothing.

If the next step in this project is the repair of the roof, so that interior work can be completed without the risk of water damage, I suppose we'll have to wait for the weather to clear. Those 33 days will slip by quickly. Looking out at the building this snowy morning, you can't but wonder if snow and freezing temperatures in February and March will turn out to be the "construction issues" that were not "foreseen."

In any event, the countdown to completion has begun ...

South Philly Review's "Rough Play"

Our little eyesore has gotten some news media attention - front page, attention, too, with a nice (well, okay, appropriately ugly) photo! - from the local South Philly Review. It's great to see the news media catching up with this story.

Fred Durso's cover story contains some real news - City Councilman Frank DiCicco's claim that the general contractor, Uliano Construction, has been replaced within the past 30 days for not living up to the anticipated timeline. But it looks like DiCicco's completely wrong about that, as Durso suggests in the article.

Maybe that's the real news here: our City Councilman doesn't even know the status of the contractor on the project, and then he misinforms the news media about it. And DiCicco should know better, too. If you know anything about City contracts, you should know that you can't drop a contractor and then replace them within a mere month or so. Oh, no, the City's handling of its contracts isn't that speedy, as we residents around this Milestone in Philadelphia's Progress know only too well!

But you can't blame DiCicco for thinking that the contractor was replaced. We all have our little dreams. It is indeed hard to believe that the City has kept them on the job given the excessive delays in the project.

DiCicco also claims that he's been told by the "City" (whoever that is) that the building will be done by the end of March. Let's hope he's got his facts right on that one.

Kudos to Eddie, my neighbor down the street, who called the South Philly Review in on this story. Eddie's even coined a new name for the project: it's not a Rec Center, it's a Wreck Center.