Uwishunu.com

Tweet

 

We went on a quest to find out what some prominent Philadelphians would give the city this Christmas if they were Santa.
(Photo of Rittenhouse Square by Christian Carollo of PicturePhilly)

With the holiday season in high gear, it’s a good time to reflect on good fortune and exercise gratitude for all the wonderful things bestowed upon us in the past year.

In Philadelphia’s case, those good things are many.

Recent issues of GQ, Saveur and Travel + Leisure, to name but a few, have recognized Greater Philadelphia’s culture, neighborhoods, beer, restaurants, shops and innovative spirit. The October issue of GQ even touts the “new Philly revolution,” and the city came in at #1 for overall culture in Travel + Leisure’s “America’s Favorite Cities” poll.

But premier destination or no, Philly, just like any city, wouldn’t say no to a few strokes of a magic wand to grant us, say, better weather (less, er, catastrophic), more movie theaters or maybe another World Series win.

We went on a quest to find out what some prominent Philadelphians would give the city this Christmas if they were Santa.

Read on to learn what some of the city’s top chefs, shop owners, public figures and more would gift Philly:

• Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia: “If I was Santa, I would give Philadelphians peace — peace in their neighborhoods, peace in the schools and peace in their homes.”

• Jen Carroll, former Chef de Cuisine at 10 Arts, contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef: “If I was Santa, I would spoil the city with multiple gifts for being on top of the ‘nice’ list! Starting off I would give new life to Market street between City Hall and 3rd Street with restaurants, bars, shopping and a movie theater. Next I would have Septa run the subways and regional rails 24 hours with more extensive lines through out the city. Then I would develop the waterfront with a walking/jogging/biking trail along the river, add parks and freshen up Penn’s Landing adding a lot more green!”

• Meryl Levitz, CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation: “If I were Santa, I would give Philadelphia better weather than the extremes we saw in 2011. No wettest month ever, no snowiest month ever, no earthquakes or hurricanes… Just four beautiful seasons of temperate weather.”

• Amy Gutmann, President of the University of Pennsylvania: “A white Christmas so Philadelphians can make snow angels at Penn Park, and championship seasons for the Phillies, Eagles, 76ers, Flyers and of course, the Penn Quakers!”

• Colin Shearn, head bartender of Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.: “I would give Philly a real tiki bar. And then the worst hangover it’s ever had. In that order.”

• Monique Mason, owner of Moko: “More Indie shoppers! I’d drive them in my sleigh over to Old City! We love people who support independently owned businesses, shop responsibly and know Old City offers the best in art, design and fashion in the Philadelphia region.”

Read on to hear what some of the city’s most prominent chefs, brewers, store owners and other public figures want to give Philly for the holidays.

Retail Owners

• Janet Calderwood, owner of Calderwood Gallery: “If I could, I would give Philadelphia an ice skating rink in Center City and I would relight City Hall for the holidays.”

• Sarah van Aken, owner of SA VA: “If I were Santa, I would give the City of Philadelphia a strong apparel and textile manufacturing infrastructure to create more jobs and shoppers who care about where their clothing come from.”

• Steve Duross, owner of Duross & Langel: “I’d like to give Philadelphia a bit more pride in itself. We’ve all worked so hard for so long that it’s time we looked back to see how far we’ve come.”

• Ali McCloud, owner of Arcadia Boutique: “I would love to give Philly more visitors and residents who support our local artists, designers, shops, restaurants and galleries… they are what really set our city apart from the rest of the world and keep things unique”

• Seun Olubodun, owner of Duke & Winston: “If I was Santa, I would magically extend all Philadelphia Bar hours till 4 a.m.”

Chefs and Restaurateurs

• Eric Berley, co-owner Franklin Fountain and Shane’s Confectionery: “Santa, a smart and wealthy individual, would take corn syrup out of school lunch programs, employ manufacturing jobs (elves) who are creating sustainable green jobs in our shaky economy and also ask the elves to mentor fatherless children in their spare time. Between prison visits and ministry to the sick in hospitals, he would get federal and state funding and work towards long term sustainability and infrastructure which would help Mayor Nutter’s dreams become reality. Santa is the wizard, remember. He can pull the magic strings which no human can. However, humans can pray and make a difference!”

• Bill Covaleski, founder and president of Victory Brewing Company: “I’ve deen deep in great jazz of late and lamenting that so few people here realize the jazz talent that the Philly area has contributed (John Coltrane, Jimmy Smith, Stan Getz, Paul Motian, Jaco Pastorious…). So, I’d give Philly a totally chillin’ 24/7 jazzy flop-house that had living quarters for the Sun Ra Arkestra so that they could bathe us in their harmonic glory whenever they pleased. And there would be a Golden Monkey fountain in this blessed place, of course. It would help the city come together and relax.”

• Kevin Sbraga, chef-owner of Sbraga, winner of Bravo’s Top Chef: “If I were Santa, I would give the Philadelphia Eagles their first Super Bowl win!”

• Erin O’Shea, chef and pit mistress at Percy Street BBQ: “If I were Santa I’d give Philly a really extensive metro system so everyone could get around the city easily, cheaply and quickly!”

• Michael Solomonov, chef-owner of Zahav, Percy Street BBQ and Federal Donuts: “I’d give the city their first Olympics games and also proper fall and spring seasons.”

• Sam Mink, owner of Oyster House: “If I were Santa, I’d give more upscale shopping, dining and entertainment options for the city along Chestnut and Market Streets.”

• Damien Pileggi, co-owner of Rival Bros Coffee: “A Stanley Cup win for the Flyers.”

• Jonathan Adams, co-owner of Rival Bros Coffee and Executive Chef at Pub & Kitchen: “If I were Santa, I’d resurrect the 80’s South Street music scene.”

• Marcie Turney, chef-owner of Barbuzzo, Lolita, Jamonera, Verde, Open House and Grocery with partner Valerie Safran: “I’d give the gift of privatizing the PA state-run wine and liquor stores, so the city could enjoy boutique wine and liquor specialty shops where the owners/staff are passionate and knowledgeable about their products.”

• Audrey Claire Taichman, owner of Audrey Claire, Twenty Manning Grill and COOK: “A few 24 hour Korean grocers with fresh flowers and salad bars and gourmet items.”

• Michael Schulson, Executive Chef and owner of Sampan: “I’d want everyone to take a moment or two out of their busy day to appreciate all of the things that our city has to offer, from the people to the amazing history and culture to the great restaurants.”

Other Public Figures

• Drew Becher, President of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society: “I would give everyone a ticket to the 2012 Philadelphia International Flower Show, ‘Hawaii,’ (March 4-11) so they could look forward to visiting a tropical paradise at the end of the Philly winter.”

• Jane Golden, Director of the Mural Arts Program: “I would give every middle and teenage student in Philadelphia the gift of creating a work of outdoor art. Each young person would be given the opportunity to work on an outdoor project on their school or local recreation center. Here they would learn to leave their mark on our city in big, bold and beautiful ways. And at the same time, these young people would learn something far beyond color mixing and perspective, they would learn what it means to give beauty and hope to others.”

• Margie Salvante, head of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia: “If I were Santa, I would give every resident of Greater Philadelphia a ticket to the theatre so that they could join their friends, family and neighbors in celebrating the poetry and passion of the human spirit!”

• David G. Benton, Vice President and General Manager of The Rittenhouse Hotel: “A Food Festival (similar to Rittenhouse Row’s food festival in May) each quarter, that would celebrate Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, with appropriate food and beverage offerings particular to that season.”

• Anne Ewers, CEO of the Kimmel Center: “If I was Santa, I’d give sustainability for the arts in Philadelphia to thrive.”

• Billie Jean King, Sports Icon and Team Owner, Philadelphia Freedoms” “I hope Santa brings the children of Philadelphia new baseball fields, tennis courts, recreational areas and plenty of balls, bats, rackets, hoops and new equipment for Philadelphia’s parks and playgrounds. Active kids are healthy kids and that is my holiday wish for Philadelphia.”

• Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer of The Franklin Institute Science Museum and 2011 NASA Solar System Ambassador: “What would I give Philly? New moniker and new attitude about itself as: ‘America’s City of Science and Innovation.’ Look around people, we’ve got more science education, more medical industry and more cutting-edge stuff going on than we’ve got ‘brotherly love’. If not that, I’d love to give Philadelphia a top-notch science education for every school child.”

[Photo by PicturePhilly]

Feeling inspired? Do you have great ideas about how to make Philadelphia better? Change by Us is a new tool that can help you make your ideas reality. Visit www.philly.changeby.us to share ideas, join or create projects, build teams and find resources to execute community projects that improve Philadelphia.

And let us know in the comments what you would give Philadelphia for Christmas!