COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY AND PUBLIC WORKS Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Monday, June 1, 2026 3:40 p.m. PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN QUETCY M. LOZADA, CHAIR COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA, VICE-CHAIR COUNCILMAN MICHAEL DRISCOLL COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER COUNCILMAN JIM HARRITY COUNCILMAN JEFFREY YOUNG, JR. BILLS: 260382, 260423, 260528, 260529, 260531 - - -
Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to City Council's Committee on Public Property and Public Works. I now note that the time has come. Will the Clerk please call the roll and take attendance. Members that are in attendance, will you please indicate that you're here by saying present when your name is called.
I note for the record that a quorum of this committee is present and this hearing is now called to order. This is a public hearing for the Committee on Public Property and Public Works regarding Bill Nos. 260382, 260423, 260528, 260529 and 260531. Will the Clerk please read the titles of the bills on the agenda for today.
Bill No. 1 260382, introduced by Councilmember Gauthier, titled naming and Designating 60th & Baltimore Park, located at 5961 Baltimore Ave as "Tyrone 'Cakes' Sims Park." And Bill No. 260423, introduced by Councilmember Gauthier, titled amending Chapter 9 16-400 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Surplus Properties" by adding a methodology for disposition by property exchange, and making other technical changes, all under certain terms and conditions. And Bill No. 260528, introduced by Councilmember Driscoll on behalf of Council President Kenyatta Johnson, titled authorizing the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development to convey fee simple title to all or a portion of property known as 5501 Tacony Street for less than fair market value, under certain terms and conditions. And Bill No. 260529, introduced by Councilmember Squilla, titled authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into a lease agreement, including a lease amendment, for a portion of the premises at 1341 North Delaware Ave. for general office and administrative use by the city, all under certain terms and conditions. And Bill No. 260531, introduced by Councilmember O'Neill on behalf of Council President Kenyatta Johnson, titled authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into a sublease agreement with the Philadelphia Municipal Authority for use by the city of a portion of the premises located at 701 Market Street, all under certain terms and conditions. There are no further bills being heard today, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Will the Clerk please call the first panel to testify on Bill No. 260382.
Susan Slawson, Commissioner of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, will be testifying on this bill 16 today, Madam Chair. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Good afternoon. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Good afternoon.
Please state your name for the record and begin with your testimony. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Good afternoon. Susan Slawson, Commissioner of Parks and Recreation.
Good afternoon. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Good afternoon, Chairperson, Vice- Chair and members of the committee. My name is Susan Slawson, Commissioner of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation. And I'm here today to testify in support of Bill No. 16 260382, an ordinance renaming and designating the property commonly referred to as 60th and Baltimore Park, located at 5961 Baltimore Avenue as the "Tyrone 'Cake' Sims Park" in the City of Philadelphia. The Department of Parks and Recreation supports this measure. And accordingly, I respectfully request that the committee approve Bill No. 260382. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. Are there any questions on behalf of the Committee for this panelist? Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Gauthier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to say thank you. This is meaningful to the community in Cobbs Creek. It is meaningful to Cakes, to Speaker McClinton. And we appreciate your partnership in doing this. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Thank you.
Ms. Lee, will you please call the next panel to testify.
Seeing none, thank you for your testimony today. Will the Clerk please call the panel to testify on Bill 15 No. 260423.
Madam Chair, I note that Garrett O'Dwyer, Policy Director for the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporation, and Angel Rodriguez, Deputy Executive Director of the Philadelphia Land Bank, will be submitting written testimony. The following witnesses are present to testify on this bill 3 today. Please forgive me if I pronounce your name wrong. Carla(ph) Cousar from East Parkside Residents Association; Jessi Koch from Centennial Parkside CDC; Michael Gonzalo Moran from Iglesias Garden; Malaika Hart Gilpin from One Art Community Center; Elizabeth Waring from Holly Street Garden, Jenny Greenberg from Neighborhood Gardens Trust and Ryan Spak from the Spak Group. Will you all please approach the bench and sit in the additional seats off to the side. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Before this panel testifies, I'd like to recognize Councilmember Gauthier for comments.
Thank you, Madam Chair. And good afternoon, everyone. I'll be brief. I just wanted to provide a bit of context for this bill and its importance, especially for myself and my District colleagues. Our code allows our land agencies to engage in something that we commonly call a land swap to address situations that we often see. There's an important piece of land that is in the public's interest to preserve, but it's actually privately owned. What sometimes looks like one big lot to the naked eye is really a bunch of different parcels many times, and often times private parcels right in the middle of publicly-owned land prevents an assemblage. In these situations, the city has historically exchanged public vacant property with consenting owners of a private parcel to allow the Land Bank to acquire the private parcel and complete the assemblage. Most commonly, this is for community garden and open space preservation, but it can also be helpful for affordable housing and other situations as well. We've used land swaps for many years across many administrations, but we found out in April that the Parker Administration made the executive decision in February to deny any new swap request. We don't know why the Administration made this choice because we weren't given access to the written directive, even when we asked to see it multiple times. We need land swaps to protect our urban farms, community gardens, and other valuable neighborhood spaces. Land swaps make preservation possible while making sure that every party leaves the table happy. Without land swaps, we put valuable community assets of being at risk, of being bulldozed by developers who want to turn the community's decades of stewardship into their own profit, and we make it harder to build affordable housing and other public uses on publicly-owned vacant lands. The Administration's decision to abandon property exchanges threatens more than just quality of life. Because research confirms that garden spaces, like the ones we are trying to protect, reduce violent crime, improve the environment as well as mental and physical health. That's why I introduced this bill, along with my co-sponsor Councilmember and Chair Lozada, to make property exchanges an official part of our land disposition practices with a straightforward process that increases transparency and reduces staff time on the administrative side so that it's a win-win for everyone. We cannot just shrug this off. As much as we all might wish it was different, Philadelphia's vacant land is a gap-toothed hodgepodge of mixed ownership, and that isn't going to change any time soon. And so, this is a necessary function that our land agencies have been performing. And so, with this bill my goal is to make sure that all concerns are addressed and that we can get back to the work we're supposed to be doing to protect our community spaces. Thank you so much, Madam Chair.
Thank you so much. I'll just add that I completely agree with the Councilmember and I appreciate her leadership in this particular topic, and really excited to hear the conversation and the testimony today and hope to move forward to be able to make this process much easier and to be able to make way for all of these uses that we know benefit the community. Please state your name for the record and begin with your testimony and any one of you can start.
You can begin with your testimony. And if it's okay with the committee, we'll ask questions after the panel.
Greetings. Thanks. I'm Malaika Hart Gilpin, and I'm with One Art Community Center. I'm the co-founder, co-creator and Executive Director. I'm here to express my wholehearted support for the proposed amendments to Bill No. 8 260423. But before I continue my testimony, I want us all to take a collective breath. So let's breathe in together and breathe out. I love to begin my testimonies with breath because that's what our green spaces provide for our communities, these green spaces and gardens. They are a place for us to exhale, literally a breath of fresh air for our neighbors, the communities we serve and for our city. In such tumultuous times, these gardens are a place to find those much-needed moments of peace. They are sacred spaces. They are sacred spaces where we can collectively heal and find joy. The changes proposed in Bill No. 5 260423 would codify a process that myself and many other land stewards have already begun engaging in with the support of our District Councilpeople, this process called land swaps. Gardeners and community members like myself have invested so much time, resources, care and love into these green spaces in our neighborhoods, often without the guarantee that they will be protected or preserved for the communities that care for them. It's hard to own green land as green space in the city, even if you've done all the work to maintain, revitalize and remediate it. One Art has been lucky to organize the support and funding to purchase land, work with the Land Bank and with the help of advocates and engage in land swaps. Our One Art land journey began in 2002. One Art is located on privately-owned land. It's a beautiful community space. If you haven't been there, I invite you out. We provide programming and just wellness for our community, and we've done this since 2001. In 2002, we began to look at the land that was surrounding our center, and we started applying for it because it was all vacant and it was really dangerous. So there had been numerous murders. Bones were found on the properties. And so, we began to apply to have stewardship of this land and really transform it. Well, there was no 1 process for it. So after many applications to even use the land in 2006, we decided to take a leap of faith. And even though there was absolutely no security, we decided to grow on the land. We began to grow not only food, but we began to grow community. Our farm and garden is a space where people come and they come together and it's a place of joy. So we began growing in 2006. And in 2021, without knowing, overnight we found out that a developer had purchased the land. So overnight the land was extremely insecure and we didn't know which way to go. Thankfully, we were guided to partake in the land swap process, which hadn't been fully meshed out, but we decided to move in that direction anyway. The land swap process is an important tool to support land acquisitions by community members for community use. Land swaps are an important tool and we used it. And thankfully last year, our proposal, our request went through and now we are able to be in a more secure space as we continue to grow for our community and with our community. This legislation would ensure that the community voice is prioritized since it would require a joint letter from both the private landowner and the community organization for it to go through. For a city to agree and approve this legislation, it would be a big win for all of us, for the land stewards who are currently waiting on their land swaps to go through and for those who wish to use this tool to secure their land in an equitable and streamlined way. For all of us farmers, gardeners, stewards of the land, it's an honor, the work we do. It's an honor and a labor of love. But why does it have to be a constant travail. We're not fighting against our neighbors for this land. They are on the land growing food with us.
We're fighting against big developers who are taking advantage of the cracks and perks of the system. We ask that we join together with Mayor Parker, City Council, Land Bank. We need you in this fight with us to protect the people, to protect the land, to partner in preserving gardens and green spaces, to value the profound peace that is found in these vital spaces. We are actively growing a cleaner, greener, safer Philadelphia by cultivating these green spaces. And when you need a moment to breathe, we invite you to come out to our gardens and breathe with us. Thank you for this opportunity to share.
My name is Callalily Cousar, and I'm here to speak about the acquisition of the land where we have the playground at the 1100 block of North 41st Street. First of all, I would like to say that I've been a neighbor of the community right there ever since 1948 right out of high school. So I've been nowhere else but there, so I know the area. And I knew most of the people that owned the land on 41st Street. When we first moved there, we knew the families and all and we knew them when they moved out and all. And then the land and all, you know, turned into -- when they started tearing the buildings and things down and all, then it dilapidated and trashed and all that stuff. And it was just a mess there. And we just felt that our children and our families deserved a little more. During that time, we were a block captain and we hadn't organized. So once we found out that we when we organized, we could do better and we learned a lot from the meetings and all that was going to, so that's when we found out that we could try to get a playground for our children because we were tired of seeing them swinging on those old trees and tires. And they deserve better than that. And also, that's why we work so hard. And we wanted the acquisition. And I can say that most of the people, when we were able to get the spot for the playground and they saw that we were people that would keep it clean -- and we'd spend our own money, we raised all kinds. We sold some of everything in order to keep it clean and all and the grass cut. So when the owners saw the type of people that we were and that we really were interested in our community and our children, then some of them, they even told us, you know, it was all right to just use the land. And they even helped us to acquire a fence. But they told us, don't try to buy nothing. So that's what they told us at that time. So that's why I'm here now, so that land where we are is very important to the community because that's where our children have played and that's where the community can come together and work together. And we learn things and we do things together. We've had a lot of events and things. And actually, there's nothing quite around there for our children to do or to go. You might say, well, you had to park up this, you know, there. But that's a little too far for me to send a little kid. And sometimes I can't go, but I can't come down, and the other parents to the playground with them to watch our children. So that's why I'm here today to speak on behalf of what they were telling me. I didn't quite have everything that I wanted to say because I've been kind of under the weather. But I just want to say that land is very important to us and I'm hoping that the answer will be yes.
Thank you for your testimony. Please state your name for the record and begin with your testimony.
My name is Michael Gonzalo Moran. First, I just want to say thank you all for the support. This isn't the first time we've kind of been across from each other like this. So I appreciate that, y'all. You know a little bit about myself and my support, right, for the bill. I'm a gardener at the Iglesias Gardens and a member of the Philadelphia Land Stewards Union. These two organizations are made up of neighbors who use and care for vacant land and advocate for community control of land. I'm here on behalf of my community to show support for Bill No. 260423. We support this legislation because it facilitates the protection of important green spaces and has the potential to revitalize long disregarded communities. At Iglesias, we have been making great efforts to protect our garden parcels. One parcel in particular is going through a similar process that's being defined today as a property exchange. This exchange would be between Iglesias Garden, the Land Bank, and a developer who purchased the property in a shady manner. It's been over five years since we initiated the process and has yet to be completed. There are many reasons for this and we do understand due diligence, but this is not efficient. I provided testimony before our City Council the last time I was here. Some Councilmembers asked me questions in reference to what else it would take for community members to feel heard and feel safe. I replied that it would take more effort and a shift in mentality as City Council to create the opportunity for land security to foster in Philadelphia. Leave no doubt that gentrification and displacement starts at the administration at City Council, because policies created here have the potential to uproot whole communities. But City Council also has the power to nurture communities and rebuild our neighborhoods. To continue my answer, I will provide a little more context about my background. Not because I enjoy sharing this story, but because it encompasses many of the land and security issues we have in this city. I tell this story again with the hope that it emphasizes the many reasons why this work must continue. Facilitating public use and ownership of land is important and must continue as well, until residents are the ones shaping the neighborhoods they live in and not developers who have no interest in the community, this work is not done. As I mentioned, I grew up in North Philly, in the Badlands to be specific, and I continue to live, working and invested with my family. I want to talk about my personal experiences and why I'm sitting here before you, but I also want to honor all of the community elders, leaders and both organizations with over 200 land stewards and gardeners that also contribute to the work that got us here today. So thank you all. Many of us involved in this work have been personally impacted by many of the negligent development and vacant land issues that are common in Philadelphia. Myself, growing up in the Badlands, I wanted to better understand why it was labeled that, how was it that all my great neighbors became to be recognized in such a way, I would talk to the old heads and they all had stories. But then I began to ask, how does a place like this get created. And the answer came in two interconnected parts. This investment, which leads to gentrification in a bad system with bad politics, it will always get great results for the greedy and corrupt. We know that systemic failures like racism, redlining created environments for financial poverty that lead to neighborhoods called the Badlands. Today we watch developers buy up whole city blocks and label it affordable housing that prices out long-term residents. Five years ago, my home was damaged when a city-approved developer began a shoddy rehab on a rowhome next door to us. The structure to our home was damaged, and now we owe over 10,000 in L&I fees, none of which will contribute to the repair of my home.
After the developer abandoned the project for three years, then eventually completed it, they were not held liable by L&I. The damage to our home still not has not been repaired and we don't qualify for any city relief programs. But we watch so-called developers get handed land and checks. We have also spent eight years trying to acquire city-owned vacant parcel adjoining the other side of our home. Only after years of back and forth with the city, the Revenue Department and the Land Bank, we were informed that we can't acquire the parcel because of our violations. Not only did this developer damage my home, but now they have also prevented my family's opportunity for peace of mind and that another property won't be built on the other side of my home to further damage our home. I've experienced firsthand how complicated it is to address these problems and how powerless residents can be when the city and developers do whatever they want without input from long- term residents. I'm also barely surviving gentrification and I have a small business. We're no longer the city of neighborhoods. We're now the city of developers and the city of renters. The homeowners and neighbors are no longer the Ms. Carmens or the Ms. Margies. My neighbor now is an LLC or some other private money interest realty group. Keep it real with us, Philly City Council. Do we have a public land bank or is it a developer land bank? We have to restructure this system to benefit the people it's meant to serve, rather than the developers who are only interested in servicing their wealth. I humbly request that City Council continue to engage gardeners and land stewards because we have solutions and suggestions to these issues. Once again, we support this bill and will continue to advocate land security for all of Philadelphia. Thank you, City Council. Thank you, gardeners.
Thank you for your testimony and thank you for the work you do, especially in my District. We appreciate you. Thank you so much. Please state your name for the record and begin with your testimony.
Good afternoon. My name is Jessi Ray Koch. Thank you, members of Council, for having us here today. As I said, my name is Jessi Ray Koch, and I'm here on behalf of Centennial Parkside Community Development Corporation, a resident-led organization serving the East Parkside neighborhood of Philadelphia. I'm here today to express my strong support for Bill 24 No. 260423. For us, this bill is not theoretical. It is deeply practical and urgently needed. At the heart of our neighborhood is North Star Park, which Ms. Cousar spoke to just a moment ago, a community space that reflects decades of residents' stewardship, care and vision. It is more than just land. It is a gathering place, a source of pride and a symbol of what is possible when communities invest in themselves. However, like many community spaces across Philadelphia, the long-term future of North Star Park depends on land control and ownership. Without that, even the most vibrant and beloved spaces remain vulnerable. This is where Bill No. 260423 becomes critical. By creating a pathway for the city to exchange property strategically, this legislation opens the door for community-based organizations like ours to pursue land acquisition in ways that were previously difficult or impossible. It gives the city flexibility to align public land with public purpose, not just through sale but through thoughtful exchange that prioritizes long-term community benefit for North Star Park. This could mean the difference between uncertainty and permanence. It could allow us to secure land that ensures the park remains a protected, community- centered space for generations to come. It also creates opportunities to assemble, land more effectively, support neighborhood scale planning and ensure that development reflects the needs and voices of residents. Too often communities like East Parkside are left trying to piece together fragmented parcels or compete in systems that are not designed with us in mind. This bill helps level the playing field. It recognizes that land is not just an asset, it is a tool for equity, stability and self- determination. Bill No. 260423 gives the city a smarter, more flexible approach to land disposition. It allows Philadelphia to be proactive instead of reactive and to partner more effectively with the very communities working every day to strengthen their neighborhoods. We see this bill as a step toward a future where community spaces like North Star Park are not just preserved but secured, where residents have a real stake in the land beneath their feet and where public policy supports that vision. I urge City Council to pass Bill 1 No. 260423 and continue advancing policies that make community ownership and stewardship not the exception, but the norm. Thank you for your time and consideration.
7 Thank you for being with us this 8 afternoon. 9 Please state your name 10 for the record and begin with your 11 testimony. 12
I'm 13 Elizabeth Waring and I manage and a 14 steward of green gardens and green 15 spaces for Holly Street Garden, 16 which is in West Powelton and we've 17 been serving the community for 21 18 years. It's been a journey with 19 the garden. It's four lots and it 20 has been a little complicated, but 21 thank goodness we are blessed to 22 have had three of the lots secured 23 in the Neighborhood Garden Trust. 24 We have one lot that's pending and that lot with the acquisition of a land swap has been going on for about eight years. So it started with the Council, Jannie Blackwell administration. There was that particular lot was owned by a developer who was very displeased about not being able to use the lot that he had obtained. And I'm not sure how, but there was some issues with the Land Bank and it was agreed to when we met with Paulette Adams, who was a part of Councilwoman Blackwell's administration, that there would be a land swap. So meeting with that owner at the time and his attorney and Paulette Adams, the land swap was supposed to happen, but it's been eight years and haven't happened yet. The gentleman sold the property since he couldn't do anything with it, but the new owner was okay with the land swap. Why it hasn't happened, I'm not sure, but we are really looking forward to that. And in the meantime, in all these years we've been serving the community, having meetings there, events there, really maintaining with the help of different organizations, volunteers, neighbors. And right now we are in the heart of our growing season and harvesting. We just harvested and gave away some vegetables last weekend and yesterday. So we are in support of the bill. I really am and looking forward to a settlement with this land swap very soon. Thank you for hearing me.
Thank you for your testimony and thank you for being here this afternoon. Thank you. Please state your name for the record.
My name is Ryan Spak. I'm the principal partner at Spak Group. We're a real estate development company based in West Philadelphia. But we have holdings across the city as well as in Reading, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. And I have the pleasure of working with Centennial CDC on North Star Park. And I had commentary that I was thinking about as it relates to how important this park is to the community. And now that I've heard everyone else's testimony, I'm going to scrap those thoughts and come from a different perspective of smart real estate development. We, as Councilmember Gauthier had mentioned, are a city of hodgepodge empty parcels, many of which the city owns. While the city owns them, the city doesn't pay any real estate taxes. So we are losing out on tax revenue that we most desperately need. And this disposition policy gives us an opportunity to do smart development. We have an entire block that, for a generation, has been the epitome of what a community garden should be, and it has grown into a playground that now for a generation been beneficial. And the land swap that we had proposed for the two parcels that are now zoned and permitted and ready to be built tomorrow, those parcels are in the middle of working communities and those empty lands have not produced anything, whether it's housing, affordable housing or tax revenue or an economic base of development, because when money is spent and is spent intelligently within our communities, it creates jobs for all of us. Instead of that happening, we have been completely shut out for no reason. And the reason that I believe in this policy is because it is smart. It's smart economics. Gentrification has benefits to it, but it only really works the best way when the community controls itself and the best way to stave off gentrification is to control open space and have the community do so. It can't do that if it has to spend every dollar, it has to buy a developer out. And this disposition policy has put Centennial CDC in that position where they will literally spend every dollar they have instead of trading land that isn't producing anything for us two developers who have the means and methodology to produce moderate-income housing. So we have a good set of developers willing to play ball. We have a developer volunteering their time to negotiate that deal, and we have Centennial CDC who's ready to steward this land into the future. It is a perfect mix of economics and good policy. And for the administration to change this policy without public debate is atrocious. And so, I support this legislation. I hope it passes City Council. I hope before the legislation passes, the Mayor and this Administration turn around and changes this policy, because that would speed this process up immensely. And I hope more developers get in line with this idea that public space should remain public space, and that other land that is in between houses should continue to be built for moderate- and low-income housing through this disposition policy. So thank you for this legislation and keep up the good work.
Thank you for your testimony this afternoon. Not everybody thinks like you. Please state your name for the record and begin with your testimony.
Good afternoon. I'm Jenny Greenberg, and I'm speaking today in my capacity as the Executive Director of the Neighborhood Gardens Trust. Good afternoon, Chairperson Lozada and members of the Public Properties and Public Works Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak in support of Bill No. 260423, which would amend The Philadelphia Code by establishing a methodology for property exchanges. This is an issue that I've been speaking with to Council since, I don't know, 2015 because it's been a need for a long time. It's only gotten greater. For decades, residents and community organizations across Philadelphia have transformed vacant and abandoned lots into gardens and green spaces that serve as places of nourishment, connection and opportunity. And because they care deeply about their communities, residents through their own time, labor and resources have turned properties once considered liabilities into vibrant assets. These gardens have been shown to provide access to healthy food, improve public safety, mental health to mitigate extreme heat and flooding and to foster community connections. And yet despite their proven value, more than 200 community gardens and farms remain vulnerable because the people who care for them do not have secure land tenure. NGT exists to address this challenge, where a land trust dedicated to acquiring and permanently preserving gardens and green spaces so they can continue to serve the community for generations to come. To date, we've preserved 63 gardens and are currently working with additional 18 threatened sites. And one of the 19 greatest challenges to preservation 20 is that many gardens span multiple parcels with different owners, often a combination of land owned by city land-holding agencies and privately owned, often tax delinquent properties. As development pressure has increased, developers have increasingly purchased tax delinquent parcels at sheriff's sale or through heirs, sometimes disrupting established gardens with little warning. In several cases that we've been involved with, land swaps have been the only viable tool available to save beloved gardens. Before the 2019 disposition policy was adopted, NGT successfully completed land swaps at three gardens that enabled us to acquire threatened parcels from developers in exchange for comparable parcels nearby that were owned by Philadelphia land-holding agencies. In each instance, the developer declined to sell the garden parcel to NGT, even when we offered fair market value. However, they were willing to exchange the property for another parcel through land swaps at the Growing Homes Garden in the 1st District, Emerald Street Community Farm in the 7th District, the South Philly Peace Garden in the 2nd District. We were able to protect those spaces and without the swaps, which were made possible through the strong support of their respective District Council representatives. The gardens would have had buildings built right in the middle of them. We're currently working on a land swap with Elizabeth at the Holly Street Garden and are getting more involved with the preservation of the North Star Park, which you heard about today as well. I'm certain there will be many more urgent land swaps needed as additional gardens are acquired by developers. That's why Bill No. 260423 is so important. The bill provides a practical and transparent mechanism for future land swaps by allowing the deed restriction required for nominal fee transfers of city agency-owned land to be applied to the parcel, ultimately preserved for green space or affordable housing or other community-serving purposes, while allowing the exchanged city agency-owned parcel that goes to the developer to be conveyed without that restriction. This creates a workable solution that protects a healthy mix of community assets.
This legislation is an important step forward in the city's ongoing efforts to preserve and strengthen Philadelphia's network of community gardens and urban farms. It recognizes that protecting green space, supporting housing development, and advancing neighborhood revitalization are not competing goals. With thoughtful policy and continued collaboration, we can create fair, transparent pathways that support all of these community priorities. Thank you for your consideration and I urge you to support this bill.
Thank you for your testimony. Thank you for being with us. That is the last person to testify on this panel. Let me begin by saying thank you to all of you, right. I said thank you to Mike because I know him and the work that Iglesias Garden does in the 7th Council District. And I understand how important Iglesias Garden is in the community and what it does to the community. I've said it many times. My grandmom was also a land steward for many, many years. I grew up in a green space in the community. But more than it just being a green space, it was also a space that brought people together, right. It was a safe space for community to come and kind of just get to know each other and have their kids play in the dirt and learn about why cultivating the land was so important and how cultivating the land kind of connected them in a real meaningful way, especially those who were not English proficient in that particular neighborhood. And so, I recognized the importance of that. And I know that story in that particular neighborhood, and it is in the neighborhood or in the district that's gentrified in my community. And so, my question is for Mike. Can you share with those who are here today how the work that you're doing at Iglesias Garden has impacted the community and how the work that maybe my abuela started on Berks Street, right, has continued on Lawrence, because you guys are in that situation, right. You're in the middle of your beautiful garden. There is private parcels, right, that for many years you all have been fighting to get. And it's been a challenge. So can you share so that we can get on the record the work that you all are doing there, how it's impacting the community and how it brings people together?
I'll speak to the efforts and the struggles. First, Iglesias Garden has been around -- I mean, the land's been there forever, right. The community has existed prior to that. So in terms of the land in the sense serving a purpose, it has. I mentioned the name in my speech, in my presentation. I had more to say about her, but I think I got myself together here. I wouldn't have been able to do it during that speech. But Ms. Margarita Molina, I want to put her name on the record for the city, for the world. The personal connection is she was my mother-in-law. My wife is sitting there and my son, that was his grandmother. But this woman was everything that we would in a sense consider to be a community elder, a leader, if you will. But she did it all from her home. I watched this woman take her limited or her fixed income and gather up all her pennies to buy a lot that was in jeopardy behind her. She purchased that. She wasn't a developer. She wasn't connected to the city. She purchased that. And I watched her go back and forth to secure that land. She's no longer with us, but that land is and she left that land to that little guy over there, my son. Who knows what would have happened there, right. I mean, I've got an idea, right. Plenty of development, it would have been another, you know. I'm in real estate too, by the way, so I'm not against development, right. As the gentleman mentioned, I'm all for smart development, considerate development, if you will, right. But we know that every piece of land that we don't secure now is going to be in jeopardy and be taken from the community. Those are the efforts or some of them for that matter. Now, for the success, right, that garden growing up, I wish I had a place like that. I wish my mom felt safe enough to just say, hey, go off to the garden. I can do that now, but I know how much work I had to put in to be able to say that to my son. I like to think that -- as it was mentioned here before, this shouldn't be complicated. This shouldn't be hard. This is community. And again, if Philadelphia considers itself the city of neighborhoods, shouldn't we be making every effort to protect them, right, to nurture those neighborhoods as opposed to making them into developments or estates or whatever they're being labeled as. I think I'll stop there if I answered the question.
And yes, we have a bunch of community programs and activities. And yes, we are serving the community in that way. We're bringing everybody together.
Thank you. Thank you for that comment. Chair recognizes Councilmember Gauthier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I too wanted to thank all of you for testifying today, telling us about the special spaces that you've been stewarding. But more than that, thank you so much for the work you all are providing, such a community benefit, you know, making these spaces available for activities and recreation and for people to connect, making our neighborhoods greener and safer. You are providing a benefit to the city. So thank you. And I'm glad that you all are here supporting this bill that we put forward, but I'm also disappointed that we don't have more support from the Administration in protecting these valuable spaces that are so good for our neighborhoods. In the case of many of these spaces, North Star Park, One Art Community Center which used to be a part of my District and is now a part of the 4th District, I can't speak about the details or why it happened. But it is my knowledge that before I came to office, some of these parcels were pushed to sheriff's sale right from under the community stewards' feet. The community was stewarding a space that they thought was theirs or was going to become theirs and parcels were allowed to go to sheriff sale and sold to private developers. And so, now the communities are in a place where these developers, they want to, you know, benefit from the land that in their mind they came about legally. And we've been going through the painstaking work of doing as many swaps as we can on these spaces to ensure that these beloved community assets are protected. And it just seems like it's been so much of a fight and it shouldn't be. With respect to North Star Park, We had completed two land swaps in order to secure this space. And then when we went back to do two more swaps, I was told a variety of things. One, the city doesn't do land swaps when we've done several. Second, why is your office the only one that asks for this, which is not true, right. And then after repeated requests, oh, the Mayor has made an executive directive that we don't do this anymore, a directive that we have never seen. I've never received that in actual writing. So to me, it shouldn't be this hard. I hope she's okay with me saying, but Ms. Callalily is in her early 90s and she has been working for years to ensure that the community has actual ownership of this space. In addition to a long and wonderful legacy of work, she should not have to fight her city to get that done. I had been on the phone with Malika and her legal counsel, as developers were in their community space surveying and getting ready to build. We should not have to battle our own city to protect spaces that are keeping people safe and making communities more beautiful and better places to be. And so, we put forward the legislation to fill this need. But what I really want is more partnership on this because you all are providing a benefit to the city that should be supported and recognized. And thank you so much for being here and for all that you've done on these valuable spaces in our neighborhoods.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Young.
Thank you so much, Madam Chair. And I just want to commend my colleague Councilmember Gauthier on this legislation. It's very important that we preserve public spaces, and this type of legislation can actually help with the development of housing and affordable housing, because there are so many parcels of land that are connected to city-owned properties that make good for affordable housing projects, Turnkey projects, other projects where if we could just swap out a couple of parcels, it just makes much more sense for that development to happen. So this is a positive thing for development in the city as well. And it can add to the number of units that we're trying to create in the city as well. So I just want to thank you for that. If we just got to look at it from a different lens, I mean this issue where, you know, property owners have started to exert their rights on vacant properties and vacant parcels that have been vacant for dozens and dozens of years, it's only happening because the volumes are rising because of gentrification. We get these calls in my office all the time. And one thing I tell folks, I know it's hard. And me being an attorney, I try to speak to them in a language that they understand. But ultimately, if you have been a steward of a land for over years, file for 11 adverse possession, right, that's 12 what your claim is to get that 13 ownership, right, for your 14 community. 15 But if you don't have 16 that legislation like this 17 provides, City Council provides the 18 city with that tool that you need 19 to be able to be good stewards of 20 land, to be able to keep some 21 public ownership of land because we're not growing more land. That's just not happening. But we need policies in place like this that can help us as a city keep land in public ownership as much as possible. So I just want to commend you all for the work that you're doing. We have a developer here, Mr. Spak, who says listen, I'm willing to do this, we are willing to roll our sleeves up and work with the community to get this done, right. And we just have to give them the tools necessary to do it the right way to improve our community, to continue to see our city to grow, because that's what we need. It's about growth in every capacity. So thank you, Councilmember, for this legislation. I'm looking forward to supporting it. And I hope that others can get behind this to support this as well, because it's a net positive for our city. I'm thinking of a parcel right now where there's four city-owned parcels, but in the middle is two privately-owned. That could be a great tax credit project. But because of the two privately-owned lots that are there and I have city-owned lots across the street, we can swap those right out. Same neighborhood, same block, same value. Swap it right out to develop something that will be meaningful to the community there or preserve it as open space for the. But something like that there -- I mean, developers are in the business of making money, right. That's a business. That's their business, right. And so, as long as it doesn't hurt their bottom line, we should be able to do things that will encourage developers to engage with the community on a positive level. So again, I just thank you for this legislation.
Thank you. Thank you for being with us today. It doesn't have to be complicated. This can be easy. And we should do a better job at recognizing the work of landlords in our community. It is because of them that our communities are safer. It is because of them that we don't have the trash accumulation and the public safety issues that many communities have when we don't see groups organize, taking care of land that has just been sitting for many, many years. So we appreciate your work and we look forward to continuing to support you and the work that you're doing in green spaces. Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. Ms. Lee, can you please call the names of the next panel.
Lowanda Hebert, Deputy Commissioner of Public Property and Public Works, will be testifying on Bill No. 7 260528. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good afternoon. Thank you for being with us this afternoon. Please state your name for the record and begin with your testimony.
Lowanda Hebert, Department of Public Property, Real Estate Division Deputy Commissioner. Good afternoon, Chairperson Lozada and members of the Committee on Public Property and Public Works. My name is Lowanda Hebert and I am the Deputy Commissioner of Public Property. I am here today to testify in support of Bill No. 3 260528, authorizing the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development to convey a fee simple title to all or a portion of property known as 5501 Tacony Street for less than fair market value, under certain terms and conditions. Due to the restricted potential use of the property and Frankford Arsenal's operational requirement for supplemental parking, PAID will transfer the parcel at a price below fair market value. The Department of Public Property supports this measure and accordingly, I respectfully ask that City Council approve Bill No. 21 260528. Thank you and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you. Are there any questions from the committee? (No response.)
There being none, will the Clerk please call the name of the panel to testify on Bill No. 260529.
Lowanda Hebert, Deputy Commissioner of Public Property and Public Works, will be testifying on this bill 12 today, Madam Chair.
Good afternoon, Chairperson Lozada and members of the Committee on Public Property and Public Works. My name is Lowanda Hebert and I am the Deputy Commissioner of Public Property. I'm here today to testify in support of Bill No. 21 260529, authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into a lease agreement, including lease amendment for a portion of the premises at 1341 North Delaware Avenue for general office administrative use by the city, all under certain terms and conditions. 1341 North Delaware Avenue houses the Police Department Employee Assistance program and citywide Vice Units. The proposed space has been carefully selected to optimize departmental operations. Upon passage of the ordinance, the term of the lease will be converted to a ten-year term. The Department of Public Property is responsible for providing space rentals for department requirements. All funding for the lease is provided in the fiscal year budget for the Department of Public Property. The Department of Public Property supports this measure. And accordingly, I respectfully ask that City Council approve Bill No. 260529. Thank you and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you for your testimony. Are there any questions from the committee? (No response.)
There being none, Ms. Lee, will you please call the panel here to testify on Bill No. 260531.
Lowanda Hebert, Deputy Commissioner of Public Property and Public Works, will be testifying on this bill 19 today, Madam Chair.
Good afternoon, Chairperson Lozada and members of the Committee on Public Property and Public Works. My name is Lowanda Hebert and I am the Deputy Commissioner of Public Property. I am here today to testify in support of Bill No. 4 260531, authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into a sublease agreement with the Philadelphia Municipal Authority for use by the city of a portion of the premises located at 701 Market Street. The Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services occupies 26,758 rentable square feet of office and related space on the fifth floor of 701 Market. The tenant shall continue to use and occupy the premises in the same manner and will receive a tenant improvement allowance upon execution of a lease amendment. Upon passage of the ordinance, the term of lease will then be converted to a ten-year term. The Department of Public Property is responsible for providing space rentals for department requirements. All funding for the lease is provided in the fiscal year budget for the Department of Public Property. The Department of Public Property supports this measure. And accordingly, I respectfully ask that City Council approve Bill No. 13 260531. Thank you and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you for your testimony. Are there any questions from members of the committee? (No response.)
There being none, will the Clerk please call the next panel to testify on this bill.
Hearing none, we will now transition into public comment. Will the Clerk please call any members of the public present to comment on any of the bills heard today.
There are no 11 speakers on the public comment list, Madam Chair.
Thank you. This concludes the hearing and we will now go into public meeting. We will convene the public meeting to consider the actions to be taken on the bills before this committee today. Will the Clerk please call the roll. Members in attendance, please acknowledge that you're present when your name is called.
Thank you. I will note for the record that a quorum of this committee is present. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Driscoll for a motion on Bill No. 260423.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I offer an amendment to Bill No. 260423. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of the committee. I move that the amendment to Bill No. 14 260423 be approved. (Duly seconded.)
The Chair notes for the record that Councilmember Harrity seconds the motion. It has been moved and properly seconded that the amendment to Bill No. 260423 be approved. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The amendment to Bill No. 260423 has been approved. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Driscoll for a motion on Bill No. 260423 as amended.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill No. 15 260423 as amended be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 260423 as amended be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. All those in favor of this motion signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. Bill No. 260423 as amended will be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation with a request that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading at the next session of Council. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Driscoll for a motion on Bill No. 260382, 260528, 260529 and 260531.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill Nos. 260382, 260528, 260529 and 260531 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at our next Council session. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill Nos. 260382, 260528, 260529 and 260531 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of these bills at the next session of Council. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. There being no further questions from members of this committee or witnesses to testify, this concludes the business before the Committee on Public Works and Public Property today. Thank you all very much. Have a great afternoon. - - - Committee on Public Property and Public Works concluded at 4:48 p.m.) - - - C E R T I F I C A T I O N I, hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence noted are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me in the foregoing matter, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. __________________________________ TANEHA CARROLL