In her Chestnut Hill Local op-ed (11/6/2025), Councilwoman Bass claims to be a “champion” of responsible development, guided by what the community supports. Her self-serving statement attempts to cover her mistakes. Bass demanded the demolition of the Ada Lewis School building where Kada Scott was found after her tragic murder, but we all recall she blocked a 2021 plan that had strong community support to redevelop the site. Bass has repeatedly NOT listened to local residents working to remove blight. She blocked development of other city-owned vacant and blighted properties. …
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In her Chestnut Hill Local op-ed (11/6/2025), Councilwoman Bass claims to be a “champion” of responsible development, guided by what the community supports. Her self-serving statement attempts to cover her mistakes. Bass demanded the demolition of the Ada Lewis School building where Kada Scott was found after her tragic murder, but we all recall she blocked a 2021 plan that had strong community support to redevelop the site. Bass has repeatedly NOT listened to local residents working to remove blight. She blocked development of other city-owned vacant and blighted properties. Simply put, she is not listening.
Leading the list of vacant properties Bass controls is the historic Germantown YWCA building, owned by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA). In 2015, Bass attended a meeting of over 200 residents who overwhelmingly approved Mission First Housing’s proposed redevelopment of the YWCA building. Bass did not listen then, and she does not listen now. She blocked the Mission First proposal and chose an out-of-town developer who has not lifted a shovel for the past nine years. Despite the community’s call for change, Bass still supports this absentee developer, effectively blocking the PRA from finding a competent replacement.
Bass’s outrageous rejections of the community’s wishes are well documented. Bass has (i) blocked over 100 units of affordable housing development, (ii) missed the opportunity to redevelop Town Hall with exciting uses similar to the Bok School conversion, (iii) stood by the failed Germantown Special Services District despite major community opposition, and (iv) supported Comcast’s plan to demolish the nation’s oldest Boys & Girls Club building in Germantown against the wishes of Penn Knox Neighbors and preservation advocates.
Bass’s claims to always listen to and support the community ring hollow. Her opposition to the redevelopment of the longtime vacant and dangerous Ada Lewis School is just the latest example. Blight will be Cindy Bass’s legacy.
Yvonne Haskins, Esquire
Germantown
