Many profs choose to live in University City

Whether it's the proximity to campus or the spacious front-yard gardens, several University faculty members say their West Philadelphia homes and neighborhoods suit their needs perfectly. "I was attracted by the beauty of the neighborhood, the beauty of the homes and by the convenience of being able to work," said Hematology Professor Janet Abrahm, who moved to West Philadelphia 19 years ago. Although they said they recognize potential perils of the neighborhood, Abrahm and other faculty members seem largely unfazed by such fears as local crime. "[I] do not feel that the neighborhood is any less safe than other comparable urban environments," said Abrahm, who lives on the 500 block of South 41st Street. Maurice Burrison, the 89-year-old director of the Faculty Club Art Gallery and longtime resident of the 300 block of South 46th Street, said students' concerns about moving west of 40th Street are "extremely exaggerated." Burrison -- a former president of the Spruce Hill Community Association -- also said crime in West Philadelphia "varies very little from the norm [of an urban neighborhood]." University officials are working to make the area attractive. In April they unveiled two new programs that give cash incentives for living in the surrounding community. The Home Ownership Incentive Program -- modeled on a successful program at Yale University -- provides University faculty members or staff who buy homes in University City and agree to live in the house for at least seven years with either $3,000 for seven years or $15,000 up front for housing costs. And the Home Improvement Loan Program allows those who already own homes in University City to get up to $7,500 in matching funds for exterior home improvements. Yet some, like John Carstens -- the University's editor of media and publications services -- still say the community needs to make more improvements. Carstens, who lived on the 4200 block of Chester Avenue for 20 years until recently, said the neighborhood has "gone downhill" over recent years. But Carstens described his old West Philadelphia neighborhood as "nice and cosmopolitan," and said that he "never felt particular dread" about walking late at night in the community. Another inevitable fact of life in West Philadelphia is the perennial presence of students in the neighborhoods. But several faculty members said they simply accepted the noise -- if they even heard it all. Abrahm said she and her husband "have certainly not been disturbed, or not often, by any student activities." Philosophy Professor Gary Hatfield, who lives on the 500 block of South 46th Street, remarked that he does not "experience noise from parties at night, which would bother me if I did." Those who do live near students and do hear noise emanating from their houses, however, still regard undergraduates and graduates as important parts of the neighborhood. Carstens reasoned that "different age groups make it a good neighborhood," while Burrison took a more comical stance. "They're young and I'm old. What can I do?" Burrison joked.

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