Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA STATED MEETING Via Microsoft Teams Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, March 18, 2021 10:08 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS COUNCILWOMAN KENDRA BROOKS COUNCILMAN ALLAN DOMB COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE RICHARDSON COUNCILMAN DEREK S. GREEN COUNCILWOMAN HELEN GYM COUNCILMAN BOBBY HENON COUNCILMAN KENYATTA JOHNSON COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN DAVID OH COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILWOMAN CHERELLE L. PARKER COUNCILWOMAN MARIA D. QUINONES-SANCHEZ COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA COUNCILMAN ISAIAH THOMAS MICHAEL A. DECKER, CHIEF CLERK Stated Meeting March 18, 2021
Thank you very much, and good morning to everyone. We're going to get started. I understand that the state law currently requires that the following announcement be made at the beginning of every remote Council session: Due to the current public health emergency, City Council is currently meeting remotely. We are using Microsoft Teams to make this remote meeting possible. Instructions for how the public may view the meeting and offer public comment are included in the Stated Meeting notice that was published in the Daily News, the Inquirer, and the Legal Intelligencer prior to the meeting, and can also be found on PHLCouncil.com. I now note that the hour has come. The Clerk will please call the roll to take attendance, and members that are in attendance will please indicate that you are present, or anything that you may so wish, to activate your screen. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 Decker, please call the roll.
Good morning, Mr. President, colleagues, and the City of Philadelphia.
Good morning, Council President and colleagues and everyone else. Have a great day.
Good morning, Council President, colleagues, and residents of the City.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. Good morning, Philadelphia. Present.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. And good morning, Philadelphia.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. Good morning, City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Effectiveness.
Councilwoman Gym. (No response.) Stated Meeting March 18, 2021
I think Councilwoman Gym will be coming in in about a half hour.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. Just calling for justice for all the young people that lost their lives to senseless gun violence.
Good morning, Mr. President. Good morning, colleagues. Good morning, Philadelphia.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues.
Good morning, Mr. President, colleagues, and the City of Philadelphia.
Good morning. Buenos dias. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021
Good morning, Council President, colleagues. Present.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. Good morning to the listening public. Happy Thursday.
Good morning, everyone. We've established a quorum, and we will now come to order. To give our invocation this morning, the Chair recognizes Pastor Garth Gittens of Calvary Baptist Church. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 as the guest of Councilman Jones. I would ask all members and guests to please bow our heads for the invocation. Pastor Garth.
Thank you, Mr. President, Councilman Jones, my Councilman, and the rest of the Council. God bless you this morning. Let us pray. Father, we pray for the members of this august body. We pray for their spouses, for their children, for their grandchildren, for their loved ones. We pray for protection as we keep them safe. We pray for success in their endeavors. (Screen froze.) (Pause.)
Modesto? Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 SUPPORT: It looks like the pastor's connection is frozen.
Amen. Amen. Much-needed invocation. Thank you, Pastor Gittens, for those inspiring words. Although be it abbreviated, we truly feel the spirit. Thank you so much. Our next order of business is the approval of the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, March 11, 2021, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Journal Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 Thursday, March 11th, 2021 be approved. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, March 11, 2021 stand approved. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the Journal is approved. Thank you. Our next order of business is requests for leave of absence, and the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Parker.
Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the members of Council, there are no requests for leaves of absence today. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021
The Chair thanks the Councilwoman. And our next order of business is communications, and I will ask the Clerk to please read the messages from the Mayor and any other communications that he may have in his possession.
From the Mayor to the President and members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, I am pleased to advise you that on March 17, 2021, I signed the following bill which was passed by Council at its session on March 4, 2021: Bill No. 210082; and that on March 17, 2021, I signed the following bill which was passed by Council at its session on March 11, 2021: Bill No. 200618. And I am submitting herewith for the consideration of your honorable body an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into a lease agreement with Saint Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 MOB, for use by the City, of a portion of the premises located at 1930 South Broad Street; and An ordinance authorizing the Water Commissioner to enter into an agreement between the City and the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority for the PRA to act as the City's agent to include and incorporate Philadelphia Water Department-identified green stormwater infrastructure projects in certain construction and improvement projects in and around the City on properties owned by the City (the "City Projects"), including those projects arising out of the City's "Rebuilding Community Infrastructure" or "Rebuild" Program, and on properties owned by the PRA ("PRA Projects") (the City Projects and PRA Projects, together, the "Construction Projects") from the design phase to construction completion in an efficient manner, all under certain terms and conditions. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021
Thank you very much, Mr. Decker. And our next order of business is the introduction of bills and resolutions, and I just want to say by way of a reminder, we are asking that all resolutions, including privileged resolutions, be placed on the Final Passage Calendar for our next session of Council, unless they are being referred to committee. In our current remote environment, this procedure will provide an appropriate opportunity for public comment. I want to thank you very much for your anticipated cooperation. So, Mr. Decker, would you please read the titles of the legislation that is being offered today by the members.
Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson offers, on behalf of Council President Clarke, a resolution also naming the 1600 block of West York Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 Street from North 16th Street to North 17th Street, as "Margaret Wells Way."
On her own behalf, Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson offers a resolution honoring the Forty-Ninth Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, for her distinguished career and accomplishments, on the occasion of Women's History Month.
Councilwoman Gym offers a resolution recognizing the week of March 21 through March 27, 2021, as "National Safe Place Week" in the City of Philadelphia, and calling for a citywide effort to create havens for young people from physical and emotional abuse, neglect, violence and trauma through mentoring, counseling, and community supports.
Next Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 week's Calendar. COUNCIL SUPPORT: Sorry to interrupt. We have to pause for a moment.
Excuse me? COUNCIL SUPPORT: We have to pause for a moment, Council President. We lost Channel 64.
Okay. Thank you. (Brief pause.) COUNCIL SUPPORT: Sorry about that. We're back on.
Thank you. And, Mr. Decker, can you pick back up on Councilwoman Gym's resolution. I'm not sure that was heard.
Councilwoman Gym offers one resolution recognizing the week of March 21 through March 27, 2021, as "National Safe Place Week" in the City of Philadelphia, and calling for a Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 citywide effort to create havens for young people from physical and emotional abuse, neglect, violence and trauma through mentoring, counseling, and community supports.
Councilman Jones offers two resolutions, entitled a "Resolution recognizing and honoring the Defender Association of Philadelphia for their tireless pursuant of justice for our indigent population and designating the day of March 18, 2021 as 'Public Defense Day' in the City of Philadelphia."
Mr. President, the gentleman from the Fourth District would like to be recognized for a request on this resolution.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021
Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you, Michael Decker. I'd like to call on a rules suspension as to allow this resolution to be voted upon today, because today is Defenders Day nationally. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor of the motion to suspend the rules to allow the reading on today's Calendar say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. That will be on today's Calendar.
You're welcome, sir. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021
Councilman Jones offers a resolution supporting the "Live and Let Live" Campaign for the City of Philadelphia, to coordinate, engage, and promote activities to help eradicate the culture of gun violence.
Councilman Johnson offers an ordinance amending Title 14 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Zoning and Planning," by amending Section 14-502, entitled "CTR, Center City Overlay District," by establishing and adding a new subarea within the Broad Street Area, entitled "South Broad Street Gateway" and making related changes.
Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez offers, on behalf of Council President Clarke, an ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 for Fiscal Year 2021 from the General Fund, the Council to the General Fund, certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions, for the purpose of further implementing Council's "New Normal Jobs Initiative" and adjusting Council's internal appropriations.
Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez offers on her own behalf a resolution authorizing the Committee on Education to hold hearings to consider the equitable allocation of resources for the School District of Philadelphia under the American Rescue Plan.
Councilwoman Brooks offers two resolutions, entitled a "Resolution honoring the advocacy of Bill Krebs in affirming rights of all people with disabilities."
Next Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 week's Calendar.
And a resolution honoring and congratulating Camae Ayewa and Rasheedah Phillips for their cultural and artistic contributions to Philadelphia and for winning the 2021 Collide residency award from arts at CERN on behalf of their collective, Black Quantum Futurism.
Councilman Thomas offers a resolution honoring and congratulating the Drexel University Women and Men's basketball teams for winning their respective Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title games and qualifying for the Women and Men's 2021 NCAA basketball tournament.
Councilman Squilla offers two bills, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 9-600 of The Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Service and Other Businesses,' to revise the rules and requirements pertaining to tobacco retailers and tobacco retailer permits to allow transfers of retailer permits to new locations."
And an ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Spruce Street, 5th Street, South Street, and 8th Street.
Councilwoman Bass offers one resolution, entitled a "Resolution recognizing March 2021 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month to understand the symptoms of colorectal cancer and the importance of regular screenings; and increase access to screenings in underserved communities." Stated Meeting March 18, 2021
Councilman Oh offers one bill and two resolutions, entitled "An ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of the proposal set forth in a Resolution approved by City Council proposing an amendment to the Educational Supplement to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter relating to the eligibility, selection and removal of the Members of the Board of Education; relating to the Board of Education's responsibility for the administration of the School District; and authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special election."
And -COUNCIL SUPPORT: Pardon me, Council President, Mr. Decker. I just Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 wanted to make another announcement. Channel 64 feed is down once more, unfortunately. We're working on that.
Thank you. (Pause from 10:24 a.m. to 12:36 p.m.)
Thank you. Thank you, and good afternoon. Before we proceed with the session, I just would like to offer our sincere apologies. We had a technical glitch that took us offline. We wanted to make sure that our feed was available in a very transparent way being able to be viewed by the public. Channel 64 feed was not operable. It is up and running now. We will start. We are going to ask for the Chief Clerk to do a roll call just to ensure that we have established a quorum in a very transparent way. Mr. Decker, if you can just call the roll real quick. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021
Present. Great. We're going to get started. We're going to start with the resolution that is being offered today by Councilman Oh. Mr. Decker, if you can please read that legislation, that resolution.
Councilman Oh offers two resolutions, entitled a "Resolution proposing an amendment to the Educational Supplement of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter relating to the eligibility, selection, and removal of the Members of the Board of Education; relating to the Board of Education's responsibility for the administration of the School District; and providing for the submission of the amendment to the electors of Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 Philadelphia."
Thank you. I'm going to recognize Councilman Oh. I believe he wanted to be recognized.
Thank you very much, Council President. There is a bill attached to that. I just wanted to briefly explain. Of course everyone is concerned about education, public schools, and there are other issues that arise. What I have done is, I have introduced a concept of dividing the School District into five regions of two contiguous or connected adjoining Council districts making one region, five regions whereby the voters, the people, the parents, their children, residents can elect a regional school board member to represent them and their needs in a way more tailored to what they want. I believe that would improve equity, quality, transparency, and accountability. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 There would be five elected school board members and four appointed members by the Mayor. That, of course, has to pass Council and, of course, has to be approved by the voters, if it gets that far. Thank you very much, Council President.
Thank you. That resolution will be referred to committee. And, Mr. Decker, do you have a bill also?
Councilman Oh also introduces an ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of the proposal set forth in a Resolution approved by City Council proposing an amendment to the Educational Supplement to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter relating to the eligibility, selection and removal of the Members of the Board of Education; relating to the Board of Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 Education's responsibility for the administration of the School District; and authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and make arrangements for the special election.
Thank you. That bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
Councilman Oh also offers an additional resolution recognizing Cohen Thompson, founder of Skate University, for his outstanding contributions and ongoing service to disadvantaged youth in his native West Philadelphia community.
There are no other bills or resolutions being offered by the members, Mr. President.
Thank you very much, Mr. Decker. That concludes our introduction of bills and resolutions. Today we have Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 2ND READING no reports from committee, so we will move on to the consideration of the Calendar. There being no bills on the First Reading Calendar, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Parker for the purpose of calling up resolutions and bills on the Final Passage Calendar today.
Thank you, Mr. President. The following resolutions and bills are being called up from the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendars today. They are Nos. 210209, 210210, 210211, 210212, 210213, 210214, 210216, 210217, 210219, 210220, 210122-A, 200628, 210075, and 210160. All other resolutions and bills are being held, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. Before we proceed with the consideration of our Calendar, we will have our public comment session. We're Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 going to take a brief five- to ten-minute recess -- we will be back in five to ten minutes this time -- to give our technology people an opportunity to connect with our speakers today. So we'll take a very brief five to ten minutes. Thank you. (Brief recess.)
Thank you. Before we do our public comment session, I'd like to recognize Councilwoman Gauthier. (No response.)
No. I was trying to find Councilwoman Gauthier. I think she had to leave and she was going to leave her vote. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021
She still appears to be on the screen, so can someone text her.
She wanted to just leave a -- request a leave of absence. She wanted to be recorded as voting aye on all bills and resolutions. Somebody get in touch with her. She can just call in. Okay. We're going to start now. Mr. Decker, you want to call the first name on the list -- oh, wait a minute. Hold on. Let me get our public comment conversation. I'm a little discombobulated today because of the timeline. First we're going to start out by saying now that everyone is connected to the meeting and before considering the resolutions and bills we have before us today, we will consider the public comment session as follows: Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 Public comment must concern matters on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendars for the possible action at a session of Council. A speaker on any of those matters must sign up in order to testify. You must call 215-686-3406 by 3:00 p.m. the day before the session to sign up for public comment. When you call, we will take your name, your phone number, the number of the legislative item you are commenting on, and whether you are in support of or against the legislation, and add your name to the list. We will telephone each person on the list during the Council session and invite them to our remote meeting. Now, under ideal circumstances, we can offer as much as three minutes. Today, however, we have an extensive list and it will be two minutes, so we ask you to please adjust your testimony to reflect the two-minute time limit. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 In order to be fair to all those wishing to speak, I intend to hold faithfully to the established time limit. And once invited to the meeting and asked to begin your testimony, a timer will be started. We will monitor your remaining time throughout your testimony, and when there are 30 seconds remaining, you will be reminded of this, and once your allotted time has passed, you will be asked to conclude your remarks. Shortly thereafter you will be muted and disconnected from the remote meeting. I also reserve the right to limit the number of speakers on repetitious comments that are being made. We want to make sure that everybody has an opportunity to speak on the legislation that is before us today. Please be aware that this public meeting is also being recorded, and because the meeting is public, participants and viewers have no reasonable expectation of privacy. So by Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 continuing to be in the meeting, you are consenting to being recorded. I will now ask that the Chief Clerk please call the first name on our list today. Mr. Decker.
Okay. I just want to recognize Councilwoman Gauthier.
I need to leave the meeting to handle official business and I wanted to be recorded as voting aye on all bills and resolutions today.
Thank you, Councilwoman. It shall be reflected that Councilwoman is leaving on official Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 business. She will be recorded as voting aye on all bills and resolutions. Thank you, Councilwoman.
Good afternoon. I am Barbara Silzle, the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and thank you for this opportunity to speak in support of Bill No. 210160 and this infusion of funds to Philadelphia's art sector, which continues to be devastated by COVID-19, and many sincere thanks to the Councilmembers for recognizing the urgency of this moment. It's encouraging to see these emergency funds coming to Philly's arts Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 and arts organizations. I should say the artists and arts organizations. It's critical as the City recovers. It's so very important that the City's support of the arts continues beyond this moment and be reflected in the Cultural Fund's Fiscal Year '22 allocation and beyond. The Cultural Fund, on behalf of the City, has been partnering with and providing funding to the City's arts and culture non-profits for over 25 years. We meaningfully involve the arts community in our work, from the composition of our Board of Directors to the 100-plus grant review panelists every year who conduct site visits and carefully assess the applications. In a few weeks, we'll be giving grants totalling 914,000 to 205 small arts organizations. That's down $2 million from last year pre-pandemic and the subsequent reduction to our allocation. Over 100 organizations will Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 not receive a PCF grant this year, and those small organizations that will, will receive 45 percent less. The Philadelphia Cultural Fund has a long history of and is committed to removing barriers to funding, especially for those small community-based arts organizations that are traditionally considered ineligible for foundation support. As evidence of that, this year a grant is going to an organization with an annual budget of $650, that small, and it's one of three organizations with budgets below 1,000, and 88 grantees have budgets below 50,000. That's the sweet spot of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, one that we've been nurturing on behalf of the City for many years. And the Philadelphia Cultural Fund stands with the City in its commitment to the arts, now and into the future. Thank you all for your time and your service to Philadelphia.
Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 Thank you for your testimony. Appreciate it.
Hi. I'm here. Council President, I submitted written testimony and there's some pictures attached that would be helpful to look at while I give my testimony.
Okay. Just state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony. Thank you.
Okay. Dear Council President and City Councilmembers, thank you for the opportunity to express my strong support for Bill 210075 and its mixed-income housing bill and its amendment. I am a democratic committee person, SOSNA Zoning Committee member, long-term 19146 homeowner, past Streets Department engineer, a strong supporter of development without displacement that Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 honors facades, front porches, and cornice lines, an activist and preservationist, as stated in a recent Inquirer article in which I was quoted. The existing mixed-income housing bonus was intended to increase availability of affordable housing. Unfortunately, it allows the developer to meet the requirement by contributing to a Housing Trust Fund. One Inquirer article makes clear that the mixed-income housing bonus, coupled with other economic forces, is having the opposite effect, most likely continuing the documented gentrification in the Graduate Hospital area where in Track 19 the African American population decreased 32 percent between 2009 and 2016. In the past nine months -excuse me; in the past three months, nine historic row houses have been demolished without providing any affordable units at all. Instead, five luxurious condos are going to be built on each of these Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 greater than 1,700 square feet RM-1 zoned lots - 752-754 South 16th Street, 1621-1623 Bainbridge Street -
30 seconds. Okay. The nine properties. Bill 210075 and its mixed-income housing bonus amendment would fix this loophole by requiring developers to actually build an affordable unit at each of these 19146 building sites. I urge -- so, please, Council President and City Councilmembers, unanimously support Councilman Johnson's Bill 210075 and its common sense amendment to the mixed-income housing bonus, just as the Rules Committee did last week. Respectfully, Richard Gliniak. And please read my written testimony, because there's a lot I had to say and I Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 didn't have the time. Thank you.
We will. It will be put into the record also. Thank you, sir.
Good afternoon. COUNCIL SUPPORT: He is not on the line.
Good afternoon. Please state your name for the record and please proceed with your testimony. MR. DiSANTO: John DiSanto and I'm speaking on behalf of Resolution 210214 honoring Joe Frazier. So hello, everyone. I thank you all for the opportunity to speak Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 today. As I said, my name is John DiSanto and I'm the founder of the non-profit organization and the website Phillyboxinghistory.com. And I remember the night of March 8th, 1971 very well, the night that Ali and Frazier fought for the first time. I was eight years old, pushing nine, and I had two older brothers, and on that night one of them was rooting for Ali and the other was rooting for Frazier. So I had a front-row seat right there in my house to the great debate that had taken over the rest of the world, who was going to win, Ali or Frazier. My brothers argued it all the way up to the fight, and that night we all waited up listening on the radio waiting to hear any news about who had won. Now, I was eight years old. I fell asleep, but I do remember the event, all the excitement, and I remember the newspaper the next day, those photos from the fight with Ali down in the 15th round Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 and both their faces marked from the battle, and this is the very first memory of boxing in my life, and I think my love of the sport started right then and there. I've become really interested in the sport, and in 2004, I created Philly Boxing History. So as its 50th anniversary of this great fight approached, I thought about it quite a bit, and I really believe that this was the greatest single moment in Philadelphia's boxing history. There are a lot of great moments, but no fight was ever bigger, before or after. This was the Fight of the Century. So on its 50th anniversary, the one thing I'm sure of is that 50 years from now, the 100th anniversary of this fight will be celebrated too, and it probably won't be us celebrating, but the memory of these guys, Frazier and Ali, will still be alive and well. So I think it's important that Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 we do things right now, including this resolution, to ensure that whoever comes after us continues to remember and honor Joe Frazier and Ali and everything they did, and I believe that this resolution honors them and sets in the record this milestone, and I think it will help to do that. So thank you.
Thank you so much for your testimony. Appreciate it.
Hi. Good afternoon, City Council. My name is Jo-Netta Frazier Gibson. I am a Philadelphia resident and one of the 11 children of the late, great heavyweight champion of the world. At that time, I was three years old, so I don't kind of really remember all of the history that has been in place, but it's very -- I'm very, very Stated Meeting March 18, 2021 honored to be able to have my dad recognized as one of the resolutions and how he sacrificed and had hard work and put all of his best efforts in front, and to notice and see that how this 50th anniversary has made such an impact in our community and that our dad really -he really, really enjoyed the City of Philadelphia and the people that he helped in the community, such as training the kids, even taking some kids to school in the morning, helping financially, and putting clothes on the backs of some people who couldn't afford clothes, and housing young men at Joe Frazier's gym. So, again, I just wanted to thank the City Council and support the resolution, and the family thanks you all for honoring our dad most, our dad Padre, our daddy. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your testimony. We appreciate it. Stated Meeting March 18, 2021
Good afternoon, Mr. Lyde. Just state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony, please.