Society Hill Traded For Neighborhood to be Named Later
November 18, 2008 –
Mayor Michael Nutter stunned area residents by yesterday announcing the trade of Society Hill to the city of Boston, for a neighborhood to be named later. “Due to our current budget outlook, we simply cannot afford to keep Society Hill, with its high costs of upkeep and demand for municipal services,” said a visibly pained Nutter at a morning press conference. “Since 1682, it’s been a great, great neighborhood for us, and we wish it nothing but the best.”
 Residents of the posh Center City neighborhood expressed mixed reaction to the deal. “Obviously, we’d like to stay here, but, you know, we don’t make the decisions,” sighed Philip Reimer, 40, whose family’s Delancey St. block will likely be incorporated into Boston’s North End. “You’d like to stay with one city your whole life, but unfortunately, that’s becoming more and more rare.” Vincent Gorcey, 56, was less understanding. “This [trade] is something you’d expect from a Cleveland or a Kansas City,” he fumed, sitting on his Spruce St. stoop in Philadelphia for perhaps the last time. “This is not a move you make if you’re serious about competing.”
Nutter, for his part, would not reveal what Philadelphia was seeking in exchange for the storied Center City neighborhood. “Boston has offered a few younger neighborhoods, but the deal is far from final,” he said. “We’d like at least a part of Everett, or perhaps Kenmore Square, but we’ll see what happens.” What about the perception that the trade would be little more than a municipal salary dump? “Obviously, we needed the [financial] flexibility that would come from trading [Society Hill],” conceded Nutter. “But in return, we’ll be getting a younger neighborhood that will help us succeed in the future.”
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