Resolution 120232

..Title Authorizing the City Council Committee on Public Safety to hold hearings concerning the role of the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) as it relates to housing, neighborhood and economic development, social services, reducing crime and building communities. ..Body WHEREAS, Within the last decade, the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) has made major transformations that have had an enormously positive effect on public housing communities, scattered site housing and the City as a whole; and WHEREAS, The PHA provides healthy housing for a population that, if not provided, would be homeless and contribute to larger impact on our emergency response system; and WHEREAS, The PHA also partners with the office of Supportive Housing to provide housing opportunities for the homeless and individuals and families in transition; and WHEREAS, The PHA created the Sparkle Plus Program and beautifies neighborhoods with greening projects such as flowers, trees, and lighting; and WHEREAS, The PHA has earned the confidence of private equity investors and banks as a result of its outstanding management expertise by securing over one-half billion dollars in capital funding, over three hundred million in tax credits and historic tax credits, and over one-half billion dollars in construction costs; and WHEREAS, PHA's successful redevelopment efforts provide indisputable proof that an effectively managed public agency can generate results equal to or better than any private sector organization, while remaining true to its core mission to serve the public good; and WHEREAS, PHA currently owns and manages more than 15,800 housing units in over thirty-one conventional public housing developments, at least five scattered site management areas, over ten alternatively managed developments and over fifteen newly renovated or constructed Low Income Housing Tax Credit sites; and WHEREAS, The PHA maintains a high level of productivity, collecting over 93 percent of billed rent, completing over 99 percent of inspections of occupied units, and completing over 99 percent of scheduled re-certifications; and WHEREAS, PHA launched a first of its kind Pre-Apprenticeship Program in the building trades, a program that has helped public housing residents turn their lives around and which has provided a pipeline of skilled minority workers in the construction trades; and WHEREAS, PHA continues to exceed federal guidelines for contracting minority and women-owned businesses, consistently awarding over 30 percent of its contracts to these firms; and WHEREAS, PHA has created state of the art community centers like the John F. Street Center, Wilson Park, and the planned Lucien E. Blackwell Community Center to engage communities in after school and Saturday programs; and WHEREAS, PHA has created programs like the Drexel University Health Center, a senior citizen housing with a pharmacy, older adult centers, and assisted living facilities; now therefore, be it RESOLVED, That Philadelphia City Council calls for the Committee on Public Safety to hold hearings concerning the role of the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) as it relates to housing, neighborhood and economic development, social services, reducing crime and building communities. ..End