Camden Streets - Danenhower Street

100 Block of Danenhower Street
	105 Danenhower Street 1947 Arthur W. Jeanes Photograph of 105, 107, 109, & 111 Danenhower Street taken April 1, 2004
	107 Danenhower Street 1947 Mrs. Lucy Egidi Photograph of 105, 107, 109, & 111 Danenhower Street taken April 1, 2004
	109 Danenhower Street 1947 John Smith
	111 Danenhower Street 1947 Vacant
	113 Danenhower Street 1947 Charles K. Shivers custodian, James A. Garfield School
	115 Danenhower Street 1947 Richard D. Melfe & Elsie Melfe
	117 Danenhower Street 1947 Anthony T. Ruggerio
	119 Danenhower Street 1947 Mary R. Lyons
	120 Danenhower Street 1947 Samuel Celia Photograph of 120 & 122 Danenhower Street taken April 1, 2004
	121 Danenhower Street 1947 Mrs, Elizabeth R. Wallace
	122 Danenhower Street 1947 George Spadea
	123-127 Danenhower Street 1947 Vacant Lot
	124 Danenhower Street 1947 William Carlucci Photograph of 120, 122, 124 & 126 Danenhower Street taken April 1, 2004
	126 Danenhower Street 1947 Anthony Pisano Photograph of 120, 122, 124 & 126 Danenhower Street taken April 1, 2004

Camden Courier-Post - November 1, 1973

EN ROUTE to playground several blocks from El Centro day care center, Camden pupils cross vacant lot a few yards away which they had hoped to use for playground until resident bought lot at auction yesterday.

Camden Richer, But Tots Lose a Lot Playground Sold Despite Pleas From Day Care Center

By MARC S. KLEIN
Courier-Post Staff

Camden City is $1,2350 richer today at the expense of 23 Puerto Rican preschoolers who have been left without a playground.

The city made the money by auctioning a vacant lot on Danenhower Street in North Camden instead of bowing to the request of a daycare center which wanted the property for a playground.

"What this means is that there is no real commitment from the new city administration to the little people like the kids and the poor," said Miss Yolanda Aguilar, a member of the board of the El Centro Comunal Borincano Day Care Center.

Miss Aguilar, who is also director of the Diocesan-funded El Centro social service agency said that the day care center had sought to leas the city-owned lot at 123, 125,127 Danenhower Street for $1 a year and had even made a personal appeal to Mayor Angelo J. Errichetti.

Errichetti, who had only taken office on July 3, said yesterday he turned the request over to former Director of Parks and Recreation Pete DelGrande. But DelGrande, now director of the city Economic Development office said, “I never heard anything about it.”

Miss Aguilar said, “We went to everybody who could help, but all of them were dumbfounded by red tape.”

For a short time last month, City Council seemed agreeable to the lease until Carl McDonald, owner of a house adjacent to the vacant lot, offered to buy the property for $400.

He ended up paying $1,250 at a half-hour public auction during which the day care center’s director continually raised their offer $5 above McDonald’s until they stopped at $1,245. The property is assessed at $430. McDonald reportedly wants to use it as a side-yard or garage.

Miss Aguilar said she and others had collected money door-to-door in the hope of outbidding McDonald. Her bidding stopped at $1,245 because “We just couldn’t keep on going.”

“None of this would have happened if the administration demonstrated the commitment to the people that it says it has”, she added.

City Council President John R. Marini said, however, “Any land that’s owned by the city is subject to sale. Even if we had leased them the Danenhower Street lot, the lease could have been cancelled in 30 days and the land sold at an auction.”

But Miss Miriam Small, head of the center, said there is no other vacant property on the same side of the street. The Danenhower lot is a few feet from the door of the day care center.

“We wanted to have a lot that didn’t involve crossing any streets. We’ve already had four accidents with children falling down in the street and getting cut on glass while walking to playgrounds three to seven blocks away in North Camden,” she said.

She said it is difficult for the center’s three teachers to supervise 23 three to five-year-old children in crossing the streets.

"We can't stop taking the children to play. At their age they need time to run out in a park, roll on the grass and exercise their muscles on recreation equipment.”

Marini said that the closest property he could offer the center is two blocks away in the 300 block of Main Street.

He said he could not understand why there would be a problem in crossing the streets.

Intersection of North Front Street & Danenhower Street


Photograph Taken April 1, 2004

Intersection of North Second Street & Danenhower Street
	Photograph Taken April 1, 2004
	Photograph Taken April 1, 2004