Critics say U. violated vending deals

Penn allegedly reneged on promises to relax restrictions in the proposed vending ordinance. University officials reneged on significant promises they made at a February 9 meeting designed to put an end to the controversy over regulating vending on and around campus, many of the people present at the meeting said. The closed-door meeting, attended by about 20 people and lasting more than five hours, was convened by Philadelphia Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell in her City Hall office to create a final proposal for an ordinance to regulate vending. Three days later, Blackwell introduced the ordinance -- which prohibits vending in many places around campus and has many University and community groups up in arms -- to City Council. During the meeting, Penn Executive Vice President John Fry personally approved two compromises allowing vending trucks on 34th Street between Walnut and Spruce streets and in front of the Penn Tower Hotel, according to numerous people present at the meeting -- including a University official. Fry, who was not present at the meeting, gave his approval via telephone to Managing Director for Economic Development Jack Shannon, who was at the meeting, the attendees said. But the University did not include those compromises in the proposal Blackwell requested that it draft based on the agreements made at the meeting. Neither Fry nor Blackwell -- who represents West Philadelphia -- returned repeated telephone calls for comment yesterday. Shannon declined to comment on whether Fry was consulted during the meeting or on the content of those conversations. But he said the University only agreed to find "suitable locations along 34th Street and along Penn Tower" separate from the ordinance. Shannon said vendors in those areas will be accommodated by the five fresh air food plazas the University plans to build. At the time of the meeting, the University planned to build plazas behind Van Pelt Library at 34th and Walnut streets; next to Bennett Hall at 34th and Chancellor Streets; at 34th and Spruce Streets; and at two other locations. But Penn Director of Community Relations Glenn Bryan, who was at the meeting, said Fry "tentatively approved" two locations for street vending during phone calls with Shannon. Shannon could not be reached for comment on Bryan's remarks. Penn Associate General Counsel Roman Petyk, who attended the meeting, would only say that Shannon consulted Fry. But History Professor Jeffrey Fear, who represented the faculty at the meeting, said administration officials "definitely" agreed to put the two locations in the proposal. Several other attendees said such an agreement occurred, and they were upset that the University reneged on its promises. "The meeting was obviously a complete waste of our time," said Maria Oyaski, who represented the Spruce Hill Community Association. Two groups that have sought to make the ordinance less restrictive -- the University City Vendors Alliance and the Penn Consumer Alliance -- said they did not get a chance to review the proposal before it was introduced to Council last Thursday morning. Many attendees said the University agreed to send a copy of the new proposal to the PCA and the UCVA to review it for accuracy before officials forwarded it to Blackwell. Hearings on the proposed ordinance will not be scheduled until April, Blackwell said last week. The controversy began last May when Penn sent Blackwell its initial proposal without what many affected constituencies said was sufficient consultation. University officials have sought to regulate vending for several years, citing safety concerns and the vendors' negative impact on Penn's ability to lure attractive retail to the area. Attendees from the PCA and UCVA said one of the reasons the consumer and vendor groups agreed to many of the provisions of the ordinance was the promise of plazas at the two now-cancelled locations. But three days after the meeting, Shannon announced the University was abandoning plans to build the plazas near Van Pelt Library and Bennett Hall because of complaints from faculty and staff members. Another promise attendees accuse the University of making and later breaking was to specifically write in the proposal that the University administration could only hold one of the three spots designated for non-profit institutions on the Vending Advisory Board, according to PCA spokesperson Matthew Ruben. But Shannon said the language provides for that agreement. "The ordinance calls for three different non-profit institutions," Shannon said. "It could be three institutions other than the University of Pennsylvania."

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