At a Crossroads, CCRA Charts a Leaner Future Under Nathaniel Margolies

Nathaniel Margolies, the new president of the Center City Residents’ Association.

When Nathaniel Margolies arrived in Philadelphia in the summer of 2020, the city was shuttered by COVID-19 and shaken by unrest. “Every storefront was boarded up,” he recalled. “I thought, oh my God, I made a huge mistake.”

Six years later, he leads one of Center City’s most influential civic associations, and is working to ensure that the neighborhood that once unnerved him remains vibrant, safe, and sustainable.

Center City’s Voice at City Hall

Margolies, who lives near Fitler Square, joined the Center City Residents’ Association (CCRA) not long after moving to Philadelphia. What began as casual involvement at social events grew into a full-time volunteer commitment. He was elected president after concluding that CCRA needed “a bit of a direction change.”

That change, he said, centers on rebuilding the group’s finances, focusing on quality-of-life issues, and serving as a bridge between residents and City Hall.

Center City’s west side, he noted, is “no politician’s core constituency,” divided between council districts whose power bases lie in South and North Philadelphia. “As a result,” Margolies said, “Center City has had to get by a lot of the time by making its own voice heard.”

Much of CCRA’s work is invisible: coordinating with the city to repair streetlights, repaint crosswalks, and plant trees in partnership with the Philadelphia Horticultural Society. The group’s absence, Margolies said, “wouldn’t create chaos overnight. But people would start wondering why small problems suddenly weren’t getting fixed.”

A Volunteer Army, Running Lean

Today CCRA operates entirely through volunteers. Last year, the organization eliminated its only full-time staff position after years of financial strain. “We’d been hemorrhaging money from our reserves for years,” Margolies said. “This year is about getting back to even.”

The group’s 30-member board and roughly 50 additional volunteers shoulder nearly all operations: fundraising, membership events, zoning review, and government relations. Committees have names that reflect both seriousness and humor: one dedicated to street cleanliness is called “Talking Trash.”

Margolies hopes the leaner model will refocus CCRA’s energy on essentials. “We can’t do anything if we go defunct,” he said. “Our first job is to make sure we’re financially sustainable, then build back up.”

Crime Data and the Feeling of Safety

Public safety, Margolies said, remains the top concern for residents, and a complicated one. “Safety is as much about data as it is about feeling,” he said. Violent crime in Center City has declined, but perceptions lag behind statistics.

CCRA works closely with the Philadelphia Police Department, but also pushes for broader conversations, including a recent homelessness forum to clarify what the city is doing to support unhoused people. “Homelessness isn’t the main driver of crime,” Margolies said. “But people see it and feel unsafe. We’re trying to bridge that gap in understanding.”

Preserving History, Welcoming Change

Founded in 1947 to prevent Rittenhouse Square from becoming an underground parking lot, CCRA has long championed preservation. But Margolies believes preservation and progress must coexist.

“History has to be in concert with the use of the built environment,” he said. “We can’t have beautiful old buildings sitting vacant forever.” His approach favors balance: protecting historic character while encouraging new development that keeps the neighborhood alive.

Margolies sees that tension as central to Philadelphia’s identity. “If the Drake were proposed today,” he said, “I doubt it would get approved. But it’s one of the city’s great buildings. To find the things worth keeping, we have to keep building new ones.”