South Philly Review

Most South Philadelphians know and appreciate the fact that they live in a culturally hip area. Courtesy of Terry Jack and the residents of the 1200 block of Wolf Street, they also will soon know how environmentally cool their region is. Mayor Michael Nutter declared the Lower Moyamensing block the winner of the RetroFIT Philly “Coolest Block” contest May 13 and personally informed Jack two days prior.

“His message was so cordial,” Jack said of the voicemail she received from the mayor. “‘He said, ‘Terry, this is Mayor Nutter, please give me a call.”

The contest, which ran from mid-February to early April, drew entries from 74 blocks consisting of more than 1,600 homes. Each block had to submit an essay making its case for an energy efficient upgrade including an energy-saving cool roof, air sealing and insulation. A panel of judges with members consisting of local media outlets, environmental organizations and the building industry selected the Lower Moyamensing block as the victor.

Once Jack became aware of the opportunity, she and her neighbors pounced.

For their efforts, every resident of Jack’s block will receive a block party on June 19 and energy audits to determine if air sealing is necessary. The audits, which Jack expects will occur by July and the installation soon after, are part of Nutter’s Greenworks plan to have 15 percent of the city’s row home roofs retrofitted by 2015. The move to add new technology or features to older systems derives from the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, which seeks to help the city leverage its existing assets by giving citizens the tools they need to lower their own carbon emissions and reduce susceptibility to increasing energy costs.

For Jack and her neighbors, a slightly more involved example of new technology will be white cool roofs that bounce off solar energy to prevent absorption into the roof and dwelling, reducing energy costs for cooling a house by as much as 20 percent.

“Many of us had considered white roofing anyway, so this is an example of great timing,” Jack said.

A member of the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association and the chairperson of its Education Committee, Jack has lived on the block for three years with her husband Stephen and two daughters — Linda, 4, and Elizabeth, 2. The Boston native, whose background is in environmental engineering, spearheaded her block’s case for the overhaul. Spending four weeks drumming up interest, she obtained 46 resident signatures and six signatures from landlords and property owners for the 40 total properties.

The City of Philadelphia, the Dow Chemical Co. and the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia crafted the contest, citing a high percentage participation rate as one of its evaluative criteria. Jack’s block registered a 93 percent participation rate, a figure Jack expects to increase with the victory.

The win she, Georgie Calise and Eleanor Amato attribute to an awareness of civil responsibility.

“We really look out for each other,” Calise, a resident of the block for 50 years, said.

Amato, a 59-year veteran of the block, credits Jack’s “magnificent essay” for the triumph. In it, Jack spoke of the severity with which high heating and cooling costs hit the block’s fixed-income seniors and families with young children. Eleven block properties have residents more than 70 years old, eight have children who are age 2 or younger and three have pregnant women.

Knowing that seniors, young children and pregnant women are at-risk groups for adverse health effects from heat and cold exposure, Jack took charge.

“Anytime you can demonstrate the benefits of a positive environment, it’s an easy sell,” she said.

Known for its prowess as a trick-or-treating mecca, which Jack mentioned in her essay, the block hopes to continue to display its giving nature.

“This victory is a great opportunity to bring awareness to the many green options available to home owners,” she said.

New legislation sponsored by Councilman-at-Large Jim Kenney, a South Philadelphian, and signed into law by Nutter last week will require all new commercial and residential construction to include reflective cool roofs. This Cool Roof Law is the latest step in the mayor’s plan to make Philadelphia the nation’s greenest city.

“I would like to congratulate 1200 Wolf Street and thank all the neighbors who came together to participate in the ‘Coolest Block’ contest,” Nutter said in a statement. “Many of the row homes that give our city its unique character were built long before today’s energy-conscious environment. This contest and [last Thursday’s] legislation will help Philadelphia become a city of the future and set an example for others throughout the country.”