Petition seeks to halt court office move to Highland Park
A petition has been circulated online to keep a magisterial district office from moving to Bryant Street in Highland Park, but a community leader said the office would be a welcome addition.
The opening statement of the petition, started by someone called Aaron B, reads: “I want people to visit Highland Park because they want to, not because they have to.”
A person identified only as a Highland Park resident said, “Who is happy walking into a magistrate’s office?”
The objection is the section of Bryant “may be better suited for small businesses, boutique retailers or restaurants, which comprise a majority of adjacent commercial spaces. The location of the proposed legal office undermines Bryant Street’s reputation as a quiet, family-friendly neighborhood.”
The property is located at 5809 Bryant St., and it is owned by the Highland Park Community Development Corp. The office of Magisterial District Justice Mikhail Pappas is currently at 6808 Greenwood Ave. in Morningside. His court serves Bloomfield, East Liberty, Friendship, Garfield, Highland Park, Morningside, Stanton Heights and Upper Lawrenceville.
Ernie Hogan, a board member of the Highland Park Community Development Corp., said the Morningside lease was up and that the county was shopping around for a new lease. He said he expects the board hear a decision from the county within a week or two.
Bryant Street was the subject of a 2004 community plan that considered the needs of the entire neighborhood, said David Hance, president of the board of the Highland Park Community Development Corp.
“We consider a magistrate’s office would be a strong civic asset to the mix of services, and it fits with the goals of the community plan,” he said. “We want to be a neighborhood for everybody. The difference between 2004 and today are like night and day. Problem social behaviors, rundown and condemned properties have largely been addressed through no small effort of the community, and the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and other government partners.”
With several restaurants that are popular at night, he said, the goal for the building at 5809 is daytime use.
Comments on Nextdoor.com — a platform for neighborhood sharing — alluded to perceived problems with parking, safety and comments about an undesirable type of clientele that would be going into the court.
“We’ve never been that way,” Mr. Hogan said regarding those comments. “Highland Park is extremely diverse, socioeconomically and racially.”
He pointed out that most magistrate court cases are disputes between landlords and tenants.
“People were saying they want a coffee shop, a bakery and a burger place, but we have those already,” he said.
Several amenities within a few blocks include the Joseph Tambellini restaurant; the Smiling Banana Leaf restaurant; Park Bruges, a restaurant; Food Glorious Food, a bakery; and, around the corner on Highland Avenue, Tazza D’Oro coffeehouse.
“If the county wants to lease the space,” Mr. Hogan said, “it’s not like we can say ‘no’ — especially with the amount of public support we have put into that building. In a lot of ways, [the magistrate’s office] would be the perfect opportunity because it will bring more people to the street, and it’s not open on weekends.”