Keep our neighborhoods connected
26 W. Southampton Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19118 January 11, 2022 To Whom It May Concern: There are several reasons why Chestnut Hill, Mt Airy and Germantown are a cohesive and settled community. Most significantly, we are connected by the commercial corridor of Germantown Avenue, which snakes through our three neighborhoods. We see one another frequently as we shop in Weavers Way, or in the Acme. We mix it up when we go to the farmer’s markets at Cresheim Ave. or to the Fareway in Chestnut Hill. We overlap when we buy birthday cakes at Night Kitchen in Chestnut Hill (in business since 1980) or take our children to Settlement Music School in Germantown (founded 1908!). In addition, I can tell you from my own direct experience over decades that the classes offered by Mt. Airy Learning Tree are typically taught and taken by people from Germantown, Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill. We have been taking cooking classes and dance classes and classes in starting a business together since 1980 at MALT. And we read one another’s news and trade tips and buy one another’s unwanted furniture via Next Door, where Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill and Germantown are connected online. I have lived in Germantown and (now) in Chestnut Hill since the 1980’s. I know the Germantown Avenue commercial corridor and its spin-off cultural institutions well. We are an amazingly diverse, integrated community. We belong together. I do not know Roxborough at all, even though it is geographically fairly nearby. Please give strong weight to the lived experience of our community members as you determine political redistricting. Please don’t break Chestnut Hill/Mt Airy/Germantown apart. Sincerely, Terry Halbert