Letters to the Editor | Sept. 15, 2023

Your July 23 article, “When city judges don’t follow the law on rentals,” did a grave disservice to Judge Ramy I. Djerassi, a dedicated and honorable jurist, whose real estate company I have represented for many years.

It failed to acknowledge that since Judge Djerassi’s company took ownership approximately a decade ago, he has at all times maintained proper rental licenses for all properties. The article claims the city has “gone after” his company for unpaid gas bills, real estate taxes, trash, and other Licenses & Inspections citations, stating, “Six of those city cases against his property company were brought in the Court of Common Pleas,” giving the impression they were lawsuits.

In fact, three of those “cases” were gas liens filed over seven years ago, without any prior notice to Judge Djerassi, for unpaid bills owed by tenants of a previous owner of the properties. As soon as he became aware of the liens, he paid them in full within a few weeks. Not a single claim for unpaid gas bills has been filed since 2016.

Similarly, the city’s liens for small amounts of allegedly unpaid taxes (relating to tax years 2014 and 2018) were sent to the wrong address and were paid as soon as Judge Djerassi became aware of them. There have been no liens since.

The same is true for the trash citations, which totaled $342. Not only were these citations sent to the wrong address and paid in full as soon as the judge learned of them, but they related to instances where tenants used an unauthorized recycling container or trash can, or the sidewalk was not “litter free.”

When your reporter interviewed Judge Djerassi in March (the only time she spoke with him), he suggested she speak with his property management company concerning these matters. She did not do so, even though the property management company, not the judge or his real estate company, manages the properties on a day-to-day basis.

These items are hardly worthy of a front-page news story, much less a proper basis for impugning the integrity of Judge Djerassi. Your readers, and certainly Judge Djerassi, deserve better.

Kenneth J. Fleisher, director, Zarwin Baum

As Election Day nears, Cherelle Parker has a golden opportunity to announce one of her first acts as new mayor will be to create a special commission to revise the City Charter. It’s time to remove the offices of the sheriff and register of wills as separate patronage havens and make them part of an existing city department or a separate department, as may be appropriate. These offices have been riddled with scandals, and their employees should be subject to the same civil service rules as all city employees. Perhaps saner minds will determine that creating a chief public safety director is not consistent with the framework of having a managing director and separate departments. Finally, many of the recent amendments to the charter did not rise to the level of City Charter status but instead were either policy statements or could have been incorporated into departmental rules, regulations, or administrative directives. I believe I am qualified to make this recommendation as a former deputy city solicitor, former Democratic Party committeeperson, and current member of the Board of License and Inspection Review.

Ralph Pinkus, Philadelphia

The combined local, state, and federal law enforcement teams that tracked and ultimately apprehended Danelo Cavalcante for over two weeks, in unforgiving terrain, did an excellent job — right until just after his capture. The picture that has been widely disseminated in the news media — including The Inquirer — of many of the officers posing with the convicted criminal is disgusting and throws all of their good work out the window. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania State Police spokesman Lt. Col. George Bivens made the situation even worse by declaring that he had “no problem” with the photo (fortunately, the U.S. Marshals Service disagrees). I do know that I, as a U.S. Marine, would have been court-martialed in either Iraq or Afghanistan if I had paraded a suspected Al-Qaeda or Taliban insurgent in front of the media — or for even a personal photo — as it’s a violation of both international law and U.S. military regulations. I would have been standing tall “before the man” — and if any Marines under me took a similar photo, they would have been standing tall in front of me. A lot of good work by many, thrown out by the dumb mistakes of a few and compounded by state police leadership. Save your trophy photos, boys and girls, for the deer (or moose or tuna or …) hunt. Not for a human being.

Bryan Andersen, retired lieutenant colonel, U.S. Marines, Philadelphia

Now that escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante has been captured, let’s hope the prison authorities will outfit him with a GPS ankle bracelet so he can be tracked should he escape again.

Paul Kamenar, Chevy Chase, Md.

Our city is no longer built for the world that we are creating. Last week, 86 schools in Philadelphia had days of early dismissals due to extreme heat and lack of air-conditioning — a concerning pattern that has emerged in recent years. As this extreme heat becomes more and more common, it is evident that climate change is affecting even our children’s education.

While installing air-conditioning can reverse the impacts of this heat, it’s expensive and just a stopgap against the increasing impacts of climate change. Just this summer, the Philadelphia School District canceled events and ordered students to stay inside because of the air pollution from the Canadian forest fires.

Climate change has brought more extreme weather, higher temperatures, dangerous air quality, severe downpours, and other negative effects that are plaguing our communities. The impact of climate change will only get worse without real action. It’s time to move away from fossil fuels and move toward a 100% clean energy future.

Ellie Kerns, associate, Climate and Clean Energy, PennEnvironment

The chain of events involving Eddie Irizarry’s death is deeply disturbing. I’m glad the District Attorney’s Office rightfully charged police officer Mark Dial with murder. But as with civilians, his partner should be charged as an accessory. And whoever concocted the initial police statement that “Mr. Irizarry exited his vehicle and lunged at police” should also be charged. It is equally troubling that the Fraternal Order of Police is unapologetically supporting the accused officer.

Police have one of the hardest jobs on the planet, but they are not infallible. It’s the “do no wrong” mentality that weakens police credibility. Are we to believe all police reports over our lying eyes? I am scrutinizing other similar stories. How many other questionable cases are out there without the benefit of video surveillance?

K. Mayes, Philadelphia

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