Penn students on Pine Street will not be evicted, but a re-inspection indicates other problems

Residents in 3929 and 3931 Pine St. were not evicted last week — news that came as a welcome respite for Penn students who had been facing the threat of eviction for more than a month. 

On Oct. 23, an inspector from Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections re-evaluated the building. The residents would not have to vacate the premises, though the property owner still has to resolve a range of other building violations, as Karen Guss from the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections told The Daily Pennsylvanian. 

More than a month ago, notices were posted on the doors of the building stating there had been a “zoning” violation. According to the notice, the building exceeded the 11-unit household threshold — five units at 3929 Pine and six units at 3931 Pine — and surpassed occupancy laws for the property. It would be illegal to occupy the building after 12:00 p.m. on Oct. 26. 

Residents have since left the basement units, resolving the violation, Guss said. The notices on the front doors were removed and residents received an email from property owner Constellar Corporation that the zoning violation had been fixed. 

Katie Simms, an Engineering junior living on the 3929 side, said the residents formerly living in the basement of the 3931 side were Penn students who had planned to leave the building this past weekend. College junior Julie Baum, who lives on the 3931 side, said one of the residents living in one of the two basements was Carolyn Chow. Chow, however, declined to comment. 

While the building no longer exceeds its threshold for residents, it still has other violations that remain to be solved. For example, rubbish was present in the steps leading to the basement and inside the basement, which were unsafe, Guss said. The buildings also had pest-related problems and failed to comply with fire safety rules, though the latter had been resolved.  

Residents were upset that Constellar had been unresponsive to their concerns and questions, Simms said. 

As of Oct. 18, Simms said Constellar still had not been able to give a definite answer as to whether the residents would need to move out on Oct. 26. Simms said every time she and fellow residents called Constellar, the company only responded that they were trying to resolve the problems but could not give any more information.

The Daily Pennsylvanian called Constellar Corporation on Oct. 25, but company representative Emily, who refused to give her last name, declined to comment.