European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 01, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes sunday december 1, 1985 new Homes Ore under construction to replace Thoie destroyed last May when police dropped a bomb on the neighbourhood. Unearthly quiet in Philadelphia neighbourhood bombed out Homes being replaced by William r. Greer new York times r Ichard Smith looked at his Pride audit y. A Black 1975 Buick Electra Only 58.000 Miles on  he said standing in Iron of his House at 6235 Pines in West Philadelphia. On May 13, when the Philadelphia police bombed a Row House occupied by the Radical group move. Smith s car was on the Street. The heat from the ensuing lire which destroyed 61 Row houses and killed i people melted he car s Vinyl roof bubbled the paint Oil an entire Side and disintegrated the Tail lights. Smith s car now has to go 50 Miles a hour Lor the automatic transmission to reach second gear. Ii they can give them a Brand new  he said pointing to the new Row houses the City is building to replace those lost in the lire they can fix my  Many of Smith s neighbors share his feeling that families who lost their Homos in the move lire Are being taken care of while others who also suffered damages Aru being ignored. So is the urge to put the lire and its destruction behind them. While a panel appointed by mayor w. Wilson Goode met under the Glare of television lights a few Miles away to investigate the lire the people who live in Philadelphia said it did not much matter what the officials decide. Like Smith they Are More interested in getting Back to Normal  after mar than five Mont be rows of two Story attached Homes Are going up in Osage Avenue and Pine Street. Goode has promised that the 250 displaced people will be Back in their Homes by Christmas but the project s private Developer Beverly Harper said she would be Lucky to get some in by that time. Although the police officers the firefighters and the television photographers who swarmed Over the area in May have gone residents Are complaining of a constant Stream of Rubbe neckers coming to look at the site of the City s worst residential lire. You Star o Leel like you re on exhibition said Jean Suber. Who lives on Pine Street across from the houses under construction. They come and they look Over there and they look Over Here. Every week we have to Wash and scrub our houses to get off the dust they  for the most part though the neighbourhood is quiet at times unearthly quiet Suber said. The blocks where children played Are now empty and Are enclosed by a Chain link Fence. Police barricades still Aland at the entries to Pine and Osage. Construction workers have put up cinder Block partitions Between houses and Are insulating Wood framed Walls. At Only one site does construction seem to have stopped at 6221 Osage where the move House stood. There the foundation that links All the other Row houses Breaks. Workers have set up a makeshift saw Mill. The residents who were burned out had been staying away to avoid the curious. But they have begun to return in the last few weeks watching As the new houses Start to take shape. In a trailer set up on the Cobbs Creek Parkway they pick the color of bathroom tile they want the color of the sink and the toilet the linoleum and the style of the front door. What they Are finding though is that they and an additional 82 families that also made claims against the City Tor fire damage must walk a Tine line Between seeking us compensation for their losses and benefiting from their misfortune. In a neighbourhood where Homes commonly sell for $25,000 to $30,. Rome residents say those who lost their Homes Are getting better Homes than they had. The new houses Cost $110.000 to build have Central air conditioning finished basements and a Bath and a half according to Harper the Developer. Ill Tell you what it they want to Trade deeds. I la do  said Smith the Buick owner who is 65 years old. They re getting Brand new  in August the City imposed a moratorium on further repairs in the surrounding neighbourhood to houses whose owners claimed lire damage. By then the City had spent $700,000 replacing roofs windows and Riding. Repairing the tire damage is the humane thing to do. But there s u  said  Mosley the City s Deputy commissioner of i lenses and inspections. How far do you go if resident a had item b repaired resident c wants item d repaired. The More we do the More we have yet to  the 61 Homes the City is replacing at a total Cost of $6.7 million were colonial revival Homes with Hardwood floors front porches and Bay windows on the Sorond Al nor they were among More Hon 25,Odd Row houses on Block alter Block of this City that were designed by . Wilson. What the City says is we re giving you Brand new houses at $110,000 each and they re thoroughly modern " said Wayne Renfrew who lost the Home he lived in with his Wile and three children at 6234 Osage and a second one he owned. No. 62 h. I believe people believe we re getting much much More than what we had and we should be Content to get these  the Point is. We Aren t getting the Quality we had " said Renfrew we 5 is living at City expense along with most others left homeless by the fire in a development near the Airport. But we Felt we would Compromise by getting some amenities. Now the feeling in the neighbourhood is if we fight the City then they will delay construction and evict us from where we Are  a he and other homeowners have hired lawyers there Are five Legal teams representing residents to seek guarantees and improvements on the houses