Judge Says City of Philadelphia Can Take Artist's Studio, Turn It Into Grocery Store

The Huffington Post ^ | 11/05/2014 | Evan Bernick

[Bettyprob]

James Dupree is a world-renowned artist and native son of Philadelphia, who is about to see his art studio turned into a grocery store, thanks to the rubber-stamp review that passes for judging when his city exercises the power of eminent domain.

James' artistic accomplishments are truly awesome. He has five paintings in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Others can be found in the National Museum of Art in Cardiff, Wales; the Schomberg Museum in New York; the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

You can see the Philadelphia Museum of Art from James' studio. It is located in the Mantua neighborhood of West Philadelphia, where James grew up. The studio was a dilapidated warehouse when he purchased it for a little under $200,000. He spent $60,000 installing new electrical equipment and plumbing, $68,000 on roof repairs, and thousands more on renovations, furnishings and appliances.

The investment paid off, for James and for Mantua. What was once a dead, abandoned building is now alive and bustling with activity. James has hosted and taught art classes at his studio and has plans to start a mentorship program in order to give artists an environment where they "can create serious work and receive the support and freedom to explore new ideas."

[4yearlurker]

look for the Union label.

[GeronL]

I agree that Kelo was one of the worst, so was the upholding of ObamaCare

[NorthMountain]

First, I think his "art" sucks.

BUT ...

My opinion of the quality of his art is irrelevant. The government appears to be STEALING his property, and giving it to a crony. This is tyranny.

Sic Semper Tyrannis

[Dr. Sivana]

Ah, Joni Mitchell never knew the agents of change would be government:

They paved paradise, put up a parking lot ...

ooooh, ba-ba-ba-baaa
ooooh, ba-ba-ba-baaa

[Cboldt]

Michigan's handling of the Poletown case is an applicable example.

[DPMD]

Thank you Kelo and Souter.

[fuzzylogic]

I agree. If “anticipated taxes” are a “value” to society and therefore justification for eminent domain....well, the government can make that argument about anything.

This is crony socialism, nothing to do with capitalism.

[ChildOfThe60s]

If Jimmy was running a Christian bookstore, the Puff Ho's would be ecstatic over this "eminent domain" theft of private property.

Bingo, you are so correct!

[SoCal Pubbie]

How does a governmental body forcing someone to sell property against his will reflect in any way on capitalism? This is the opposite of capitalism.

[GladesGuru]

One more example of the extreme Libtardism rampant in Filthy-delphia.

[NativeSon]

As a kid, I worked at an Italian market in Philly... about a decade ago, the city used eminent domain, got the property and built low (read:no) income housing on it.

For what? there was already plenty of houses and apartments there but no other markets.

I wonder what they'll steal next to fix the "food desert"?

[Pollster1]

I don't think much of the guy's art - the loss of his studio is no loss to Philadelphia or to the country. The big loss is to freedom. If any corrupt insider can bribe the city to steal private property for private gain, then we have all lost far more than whatever hypothetical gain this thief is advertising. I hope that the good people of Philadelphia will all boycott this grocery store forever, if the store is built.

If the land really is stolen from this artist, I hope the land will become a permanent wasteland, a vacant field like the land stolen by the Kelo crony capitalists, and a monument to free people rejecting corruption:

All it takes is a few such monuments, a few cases in which stolen land either stays vacant forever or is built on and the store fails because half of the potential customer base permanently boycotts the corrupt business and all future businesses on the stolen land. It's time for the people to exercise our final veto power over this corrupt practice, regardless of what the Supremes rule (and their ruling was merely that theft of private property under eminent domain laws was a state decision, not that it was an ethical decision).

[dead]

Brought to you by the liberals on the Supreme Court who represented the majority in the Kelo decision.

[dsrtsage]

Looks like he got all the change he hoped for

[Navy Patriot]

A caricature has sprung up in the arts, that if it’s offensive, blasphemous, or kooky it is great art.

So true, and so unnecessary.

Great art can be morally and spiritually uplifting, and it is the better for it if it is.

[Navy Patriot]

This is crony socialism, nothing to do with capitalism.

You are correct. Crony Capitalism is, in fact and accuracy, Fascism, and Fascism is absolutely Socialism.

Language trickery that allows misdirection of blame, usually originated and practiced by the Left, but not exclusively.

[minnesota_bound]

#2 It looks like he spilled some paint.

[eyeamok]

ANd if they were taking it to put up a brand new Abortion Clinic, the Huffington Post would be all for it and chastising this guy as anti woman.

[Moltke]

Indeed - and “LOL” should’ve been “barf”; my bad.

[Albion Wilde]

West Philly artist won't lose studio as city drops eminent domain proposal for supermarket
Jared Shelly | Philadelphia Business Journal | Thursday, December 11, 2014

Artist James Dupree in front of Dupree Studios in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia.

Artist James Dupree has won the fight of his life.

Since late 2012, he's been fighting to keep his studio and 9,000-square-foot property at 3617 Haverford St. — which is colorfully painted on the façade and chock full of artwork inside. Philadelphia City Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell and the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority had envisioned a supermarket complex and parking lot in its place — and earmarked it and dozens of other buildings for demolition through a city condemnation order under the power of eminent domain.

But Brian Abernathy, executive director of Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority said the organization has elected not to pursue the condemnation process further.

"Unfortunately, the legal costs associated with Mr. Dupree's appeals make it impossible to continue," Abernathy said in a statement. "Despite all the work to date, PRA will end condemnation proceedings enabling Mr. Dupree to keep his studio. While we have explored the potential of building around Mr. Dupree's property, a viable project under these conditions is not possible. In short, the inability to acquire Mr. Dupree's property puts the prospect of bringing fresh food to this community at serious risk."

Dupree's story made headlines locally and nationally and many argued that the Mantua community was choosing a private enterprise over a property owner. But Abernathy argues that the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority was acting in the best interest of the community which has been a "food desert" for years. He even argued that the city offered independent appraisals of his property, help finding other potential locations for his studio, and payment of all relocation costs.

"Mr. Dupree has described PRA as an agency acting haphazardly, for the sole benefit of a for-profit developer and without concern for the broader community," said Abernathy. " I strongly disagree with Mr. Dupree's characterization of our agency and its intent in acquiring his property. Bringing fresh, healthy food to Mantua was a desire conveyed to PRA by neighborhood residents, and our efforts were designed to address that request."

The city has offered Dupree $600,000, plus expenses for the property.

In an interview with the Philadelphia Business Journal in January, Dupree said he's spent nine years turning the space into a working art studio and has put thousands of dollars into the property.

"I decided I can't take this any more. They're killing me and they took my dreams ... The city of Philadelphia doesn't respect the artist. City officials don't respect artists, really. If they did they would have did a little more homework about taking my property they way they took it," said Dupree.

A coalition led by the Institue or Justice and the ACLU of Pennsylvania said that the city was "abusing its power of eminent domain."

"Eminent domain is supposed to be used for 'public use,' such as for roads and schools. A grocery store is not a public use," said the letter, which was signed by Peter Goldberger, president of the ACLU of Greater Philadelphia and a dozen others, including Jane Golden of the Mural Arts Program.