Going back to '03, I just went into my office to find out when these 33 stabilizations were done and I think they were done in '03.
Let me just ask another question. The maps that define the redevelopment areas in which the qualified redevelopment bonds can be used is not very clear. Can you tell me if either the Southwest Renewal, which is around 58th and 70 Greenway or 60th and Kingsessing or Reinhard Street, are included in these redevelopment areas? If not, I would like to know how does that impact what NTI dollars can be spent in those neighborhoods.
Okay. What we did in order to extend the amount of money we had, we tried to identify projects that were in redevelopment areas that were created, I think, 10, years ago that would qualify for 12 qualified redevelopment bonds. So that way, 13 instead of using taxable bonds, we were able 14 to use a different type of financing, which 15 was a little bit cheaper. I don't know if the Southwest Renewal project fell within the redevelopment area, because that was a redevelopment area that was created some years ago. We just took the existing ones, because as you know, there's a very long process to create a new redevelopment area. What that enabled us to do, it didn't add monies. It just meant that the source of funding for acquisitions, we could 71 use one type of bonds versus another type of bonds.
On of your Statement, it would appear that we have $2 million more than we have budgeted, is that correct, for acquisition?
I think in one area we're over -- we represented -- I'm not absolutely sure where you're pointing to.
Oh, okay. I see where you're talking about. We had hoped that by selling -- the disposition policy calls for disposition of the vacant land at fair market value. We would make up that 2.5 million by 72 reprogramming sales proceeds over time, but this represents -- and then some properties also can drop out in the light, but this is our estimate. We didn't get any new dollars from the sale. There would be a deficit, but --
This two and a half million dollar deficit would be made up through what we're calling the Recycling Agreement. That's the agreement whereby the sale of property for fair market value would essentially come back and kind of replenish the kitty, at least for --
And will that particular dollar be recycled in the same councilmanic district?
No. Again, if you pay particularly close attention to this particular chart, there are -- and we had this discussion with each of the Councilpeople. There are essentially two pots of money.
In the Program Statement and Budget, what we indicated was that if the money is out of the district Council-specific pot, the sales of proceeds, as we've talked with each district Councilperson, comes back to that district, and then if it was for what we call a large or significant project that the Administration initially sponsored, it will go back into that pot. So like, as you know, the two pots of funds that we negotiated a couple of years ago. So the 2 million -- any proceeds from the sale in this part will go to offset that 2.5 million. Any proceeds from the sale -- and as you notice, there have been a couple of sales already that's noted in the Council pot. We're starting to add that back in. So if you look at the budget above, you'll see in the first district there's been a sale of a property of $58,000. We've added that back into that Council district. We're 74 starting to show sale proceeds.
I have several other questions, but I'll recognize Councilwoman Tasco at this point.
I want to go to the Commercial Corridor Support program. I noticed in your testimony you are leaving and Eva Gladstein is going to run the program. Can you explain to me the makeup, how this department is going to work?
Again, it won't be a new department at all or a new agency at all. Ms. Gladstein will be part of the Mayor's staff. Her role will be as my role was, which is basically a coordinating, facilitating role, looking at budgets, working with the operating departments around the allocation of resources in support of the NTI objectives. And what we're saying with respect to neighborhood economic development and commercial corridor, that we want to make that more of a priority. So she would be working with the economic development agencies and Council 75 around looking at how we allocate the commercial corridor support dollars in support of existing neighborhood economic development programs and commitments. So it's sort of like elevating that piece of neighborhood work. I think under the prior four years, five years that I've been aboard, the focus has been blight removal activities, particularly public safety demolitions and lot cleanings, as well as housing development, again led by OH&P, Kevin came aboard. So now it's saying as the third leg of the stool, let's begin to kind of focus in on that area, and it's consistent with the Mayor saying economic development being a priority for the second term.
How does that coordinate with the Commerce Department? I mean, who is going to be in charge? If you're going to coordinate with PCDC and the Commerce Department, you have a Commerce Director, how does that come together?
Well, again, I 76 think in a way, I always look at it the way I look at my relationship with my colleagues, it's always been a team relationship and a collaborative relationship, and that's how we've kind of managed in NTI. We never wanted to create a new department. It was putting resources and sort of like -- I always throw my football knowledge. I always tease Kevin about that, but I guess sort of like a quarterback helping the game plan, the road map and looking at the resources, but it's up to the operating departments in support of that.
Well, we overheard the Commerce Department, they had the Century -- what was the summit that they had where all the departments came together talking about this new plan?
How does this fit in with the Economic Development Plan that was done by the Commerce Department?
One of the goals in 77 the Economic Development Blueprint spoke to advancing neighborhood economic development and focusing on neighborhood commercial corridors. There were other goals as a part of that blueprint, too, but that was a significant goal. So if you think of that blueprint as the framework, this is the next -- putting the next pieces in place to advance those objectives, because that's what it was.
But that's why you have a Commerce Department. Why do you need your department, NTI, which is supposed to be --
To help coordinate the resources. I mean, that's the role that was envisioned by the Mayor as part of his staff, to help coordinate the resources.
But you have a Commerce Department and you have people in the Commerce, you have the neighborhood, as I understand it in the Commerce Department, you have a department that deals with neighborhood commerce and economic 78 development. Why are we appropriating more money to do that when we could put the money some place else, like the Basic Repair System that we read about yesterday in the paper?
I mean, it seems like a duplication to me. It just seems a waste of money when you have a Commerce Department, you have PCDC that has been charged with the development and the working with commercial corridors, and you have the Mayor's Business Action Team. You have all this stuff going on in the Commerce Department and you have a Commerce Department. You have a Director. What is her role going to be in coordinating those activities? You're going to give it to somebody else?
Well, the new resources is to help augment the existing resources. Not by much. I mean, $2 million is not a lot, but --
Well, again, it depends on what type of activities we use it for. But we've been acknowledging that over time because of shrinking federal resources, for one, it's been harder and harder to sustain neighborhood economic development activities. The state is coming to the table a little bit more. We're trying to work with them, but there may be other opportunities, things like new market tax credits, where we might be able to take advantage of around commercial activity. And, again, the objective here -- and this is always hard when you don't have enough resources to meet all of the needs. We were just acknowledging that commercial corridors, including, as you have often pointed out, also play a critical role in the vitality of a neighborhood. And so we're trying to single that that's what we're going to focus on as we wind down NTI over the next two years.
Is the 80 Mayor forming an Office of Neighborhood Transformation that you know of?
No. Sometimes my unit within the Mayor's office is called the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Transformation, but there's no Executive Order that will establish a Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Transformation, at least not at this point. Again, we're part of the Mayor's staff, a small unit. The focal point of our work has been coordinating, collaborating and working with the other departments around our resource allocation, trouble-shooting sometimes around issues, communications, that sort of thing.
So the $2 million in the budget, the 2,170,000 money in the Commercial Corridor Support Initiative is only for year 2006?
Well, we're proposing that it be budgeted for that year. It may not all be expended in FY06, but out of bond proceeds, that's what the recommendation -- that's our proposal to City Council. 81
Again, depending on the need of commercial corridors within various districts, other resources and the restrictions on bond proceeds, the most likely use is going to be some sort of physical improvement that helps address conditions that arise to a quality of life, emergency-type conditions that detract from a neighborhood.
And then what does PCDC and the Commerce Department do?
Well, they continue to operate. I mean, they receive resources through CDBG and others, and they will continue to operate their programs.
So how do I access this $2 million if I want something done in one of my commercial corridors? What do I ask for and who do I go to to ask?
Well, I think what we are planning to do, as I testified, is the Administration will be sitting down with each person to talk about your needs specifically 82 within your district, so like get all of that together and then work through a process around which decisions are made and come up with agreed-upon or mutually agreed to uses for those proceeds. We do not have any specific plans at this time.
The person will be coordinating. Again, it's not a sole decision, but in working again with OH, because some of the programs that we now have coming from the state not only focus on commercial corridors, they look to adjacent residential, working with the PCDC and the appropriate staff at PIDC that does revolving loan programs for neighborhood-based businesses. I would imagine Ms. Gladstein will bring together a task force or a group of people to look at that across the City government around economic development.
How much of this will be for administrative costs? 83
So all of this is for programmatic activity in the neighborhoods?
So when Ms. Gladstein comes to me and talks to me about the ninth councilmanic district and I lay out some needs in the ninth councilmanic district, what assurances do I have that we get that resource?
Again, looking at the needs, the priorities and the resources, just as we've done with acquisition, demolition and others, we try to figure out a way to make sure that there's -- resources are equitably distributed. I can't give -- it wouldn't be appropriate for me to -- I can't really answer that question, to be honest with you.
Again, the program 84 was a concept that we're saying, as we said in the book, this is going to be a priority, this is how much money we're allocating, we're going to be working with members of Council in the economic development.
Again, it's difficult for me to answer that because it may -- one community may need resources which isn't as great as another community.
I think that's a determination that we'll be making in collaboration with Council and the economic development agencies, looking at all the available resources that are out there at this particular point in time.
Councilwoman, it really wouldn't be fair to just look at this $2.1 million as the only resource for this particular initiative, because, like I said, often times state, even federal, sources 85 require matching local dollars in order to get it implemented. So I would imagine that this 2.1 million will be leveraged. Again, as Pat said, it would be unfair, unwise, to take a stab at a specific number. But it wouldn't just be this 2.1 million. It would be leveraged with other funding, both state and federal.
For as long as the money is there. It could be two months. It could be three years. As long as it's there.
Well, you'll be committed in six weeks. Okay. I'll come back.
Is Councilman Nutter in the room? I don't see him. Councilman Mariano, did you want to be recognized?
Is 86 Councilwoman Miller here? Yes. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller.
Thank you. I just wanted to do a small follow-up to Councilwoman Tasco's questions about the changes with the coordinated commercial piece, because it's really not clear. Is there a plan to sit down with all of us as a group to help us understand what is happening, what is the difference between who and what remains at Commerce versus what's happening? Because this is bigger and larger than just this neighborhood commercial support initiative, I would think. What happens with our neighborhood economic development projects that traditionally get funded under CDBG or economic stimulus or some of those other funding streams, the staff people that we're used to picking up talking on the phone with questions, et cetera?
Relative to staff, and certainly relative to those staff that are 87 funded by Block Grant, there won't be any difference at all, any differences at all. You'll still continue to call on us folks. To get to your original question, the first question, yes, we do plan on coming around and sitting down with each Councilperson, to include the At-Large members, to talk about how Pat's transition will work and how we plan to implement the kind of reorganized effort to get at neighborhood economic development. Yes, we will come around to each Councilperson to talk about that.
And what's the difference between -- I guess I'm really confused. I don't know what stays over Commerce and what doesn't, and maybe I don't need to know that today, but I've never seen anything written in terms of a new structure, what it looks like. Is anything written on that?
No. Again, what we're trying to say to the Council is, as a part of the last two years of NTI, we're going 88 to look at -- focus on neighborhood economic development. I think a lot of people are reading more into this than there is in terms of restructuring, reorganizing. Again, it's just saying neighborhood economic development and commercial corridor in particular warrant elevation in terms of a priority.
We don't have any staffing plan or the like with respect to that, and the intent is to sit down and get feedback and insight and recommendations from the Council.
I guess part of the problem, Pat, is that when people aren't given official information, then it leaves the door open for rumors, and we have heard various things and I guess we just need to know when someone is going to tell us officially, other than what was in your testimony today, about the changes that are going to take place, and that's really what's going on. 89
And I know it's not you that -- maybe it is you that arranged those kinds of briefings, et cetera. I have no idea, but that's where we are. Okay? I have just a couple other questions. One is on in the Program Statement about the development of Vacant Property Management Information Systems. Where is that? What's the status? Has that actually happened yet or --
Probably Herb Wetzel as well as representatives from MIS are probably the best people to answer you in detail, but that is moving forward. Some of the significant accomplishments I believe have been scanning boxes of records and imaging. They brought on board various -- the address -- oh, gosh. URLS and other pieces are in place, but what I would like to do is ask Herb Wetzel and a representative from MIS to -- 90
They're both together. The Unified, I would say that's 90 percent or 95 percent complete. The purpose of the Unified Land Record System coupled with the parcel map is that we now have an accurate parcel-based map and addressing system that can reconcile differences in addresses. There's still little things that need to be tweaked that haven't been done yet. It's like going in and cleaning up some of the data to make sure that all the pieces are in place. But that's about, I would say, at least 90 percent complete.
And will Council offices be able to utilize these new systems also or get the information?
The entire City. Some of this is already operable in the sense that if you are to go on the Internet and access -- be able to use, for like example, if 91 you put in an addressing system now, some of that is already in place. Again, I'm always reluctant a little bit to talk about the technology side of things because I'm not an expert in it. I'm not sure. I guess they stepped out. I'm quite sure they'll be back. Here's David Baldinger.
I'm kind of reluctant to ask the question because I'm also not --
Good afternoon, Councilwoman. Catherine Califano, Deputy Secretary of the Office of Housing.
The VPMIS system, we've been working through the kinks over the last couple of months to clean the data. We're backlogging a lot of the information that was paper in the past so that it will be electronic. Things like title reports, deeds, all of that was paper, that we 92 used to document that in paper form. We're looking to do that electronically. We're phasing up the system over the next couple of months and we're tying it very closely with the Uniform Land Record System. In the next stage, we'll be able to test internally how we document the process of the RDA's acquisition activity, and that's the first phase of what we're calling build, building the process of documenting the Redevelopment Authority's acquisition and disposition process. Members of MOIS can speak about the ULRS better than I can, so I'll let David.
My name is David Baldinger. I'm with the Mayor's Office of Information Services. We've been working with the Redevelopment Authority, the Office of Housing on the development of the Vacant Property Management Information System, which, to a large extent, is complementary to the Unified Land Record System. It's really being developed as a single set of applications. 93 What we are doing in the Vacant Property Management Information System is embedding some technology at the Redevelopment Authority to assist in how the City manages the acquisition and disposition process, all of the activities of the Redevelopment Authority. In order to do that, we need to do a couple of things. As was mentioned, part of what we're doing is imaging a lot of the data, the documents that the Redevelopment Authority has, converting them from paper to electronic form so that they're easier to maintain and manage. We're building workflow or the ability to electronically manage the workflow with the Redevelopment Authority. One of the problems today, it's a very complicated process. It's difficult for the project managers to know exactly what the status of everything is. So we're building a system that's going to make it easier for them to do the things that they need to do. Part of all of the system really depends on being able to tie together data 94 from a lot of different data sources within the City that has to do with the ownership of property, the tax status of property, all of the stuff that is being stored today in the various departments, at L&I, the Board of Revision of Taxes, at the Records Department, and that's part of what the Unified Land Record System is doing. That is pulling all of that data together. We're building a system that's going to allow us to, once and for all, know what is the current status of all that data for every property within the City in a system and format that is convenient and comprehensive for people to use. You can get all that information today, but it's not so easy to kind of deal with that. Part of all of that is managing that data in conjunction with the Geographic Information System or the base maps of the City, so that when we look at this data, we're not just looking at it by address, but we can look at a map and we can see how this data kind of organizes itself by parcels within the 95 City. We've done a lot of work, and Jim Querry from MOIS can talk about that. We've done a lot of work on that, but there's still a lot of work that has to be done to kind of tie these various databases together. When we're all done over the next year -- we're developing it in phases. When we're all done over the next year, we'll have created a database that pulls together all of this data in near realtime so we'll know -- we won't be looking at data from a month ago or two months ago. We'll be looking at data in near realtime. We'll be developing a series of tools which will allow people to go in and use the system, to query the system and say what is the status of property within a particular neighborhood, what is the status of property if I have an address, and that will be a set of databases that will support the Redevelopment Authority and all the kind of staff that's involved in managing the Redevelopment process so that they'll have a better understanding of where properties are 96 within the process of acquisition and disposition, because I know that's one of the things that people have been frustrated over times. It's sometimes hard to get a quick, accurate snapshot as to where things are in the process, and that's part of this system that we are developing. It will be rolled out in phases over the next year and then probably further enhancements beyond that as new needs arise and as people take a look at the system and say, Wouldn't it be nice if we could do this. Those are things that we would add to it.
Well, I appreciate your answer. It's also pretty frustrating sometimes in the Council offices, so when you're doing this, also think about the Council offices. People call us all the time and they're inquiring about properties, inquiring about addresses, and if we can access information quickly, it helps us too, because we, you know, we may have five people come in interested in the same address, and we just kind of need to know what's going on and 97 be able to give people somewhat of a quick answer.
I think that's a fundamental need, and we intend on -- a basic element of this system is building a tool that would allow people within the City and eventually the general public to be able to go in and see the data that reflects what the status of individual properties are. I mean, eventually to the point where people would be able to go in on-line and actually make requests and express interest in properties. I think one of the things that we found in kind of thinking about this system and talking to all of the various people involved in the process is, the more information that we can make available to all of the people within the City and eventually to everybody in the City who is interested in development and redevelopment in neighborhoods, from developers to community organizations to CDCs, the better -- the more likely we're going to have success with 98 redevelopment. So making this whole system more transparent is a real goal of what we're trying to achieve.
In the Block Grant program, when they send something -- when something is sent over, I don't know who sends it, but when it's sent over to the Commerce Department, there's a point to the contract administrator. Do you do the same? Does NTI have a person whose responsibility it is to administer the business that's initiated with NTI but is going to be performed by the Commerce Department?
As I explained 99 earlier, with respect to the NTI resources, the operating departments contract each -- like OH has a contract administration unit. Commerce has one. Streets Department has one. The Mayor's Office, other than I guess for their contracts but not for NTI, we don't have a contract administration unit in that sense. It's --
Well, I'd suggest that perhaps you ought to, because you're the agency that's originally charged with the money. During the hearings on the budget, do you testify or does the Commerce Department testify with respect to items that are originally in NTI but are then sent to Commerce for development?
Well, because we haven't used NTI's bonds to date to fund any Commerce activities, they have not testified. They submit written testimony, I believe, on the Block Grant portion of their expenditures, and that's overseen through the Office of Housing. 100
Well, where does it get initiated? Does it get initiated, the particular economic development project, does it get initiated at NTI and then sent to the Commerce or does Commerce get in touch with NTI and say, We have a good project for use of NTI funds? Where is it born?
Well, again, it depends if it's -- if you're talking -- are you talking about the 2.1 million that's in FY06?
Maybe we can explain the process, because most of the Commerce Department and economic development money for neighborhoods has been coming out of the Block Grant. So maybe it will be helpful if we explain that process.
I think the Councilman is referring specifically to NTI dollars --
But as Pat has said heretofore, there has not been any NTI dollars transferred to Commerce for any specific initiative.
We haven't programmed it for neighborhood economic development.
There is one proposed for the upcoming budget, but up to now, they haven't transferred or provided any dollars to Commerce for any specific --
Has there been testimony with respect to the upcoming one given to Council yet?
I gave the testimony. It was part of my opening remarks. I talked about the Commercial Corridor Support 102 program. And I hear your concern about making sure that we have appropriate apparatuses in place to monitor --
Yes. I understand that. So I agree. We'll make sure -- and I will pass that on to my successor to make sure that issue is addressed.
Could we see an organizational chart for this new support program, if you can give it to the President.
At present, we don't have one. What we would probably need to do is, over the summer we were going to put one together, but we can expedite that. But there is not one existing. Again, the purpose 103 of the budget is to say that we're going to put $2 million to help commercial corridors. Organizationally the NTI office is part of the Mayor's office, and I think there's five staff people at this point as part of that. Now, that could change, but the Renewal Community would still have its staffing, and Empowerment Zone. I mean, we can put something together, but it will be what exists now as opposed to what's being planned.
I'm just still concerned how the coordinated effort will be with the Commerce Department.
Can you talk to us a little bit about the Equitable Development Strategy? There's, I believe, 2.17 into FY06's budget. This is a very important program, from my point of view, because we all have been witnessing the appreciation of real estate in Philadelphia, the appreciation of my property as well, and then real estate appreciation has gone up throughout this City. Only for the exception of a handful of pockets of the City, property values have gone up, but we all know, especially those of us that are older, know that there could possibly be a downside to this, and, that is, when we do real estate assessment, if people that have lived in neighborhoods where the property value has skyrocketed, can they afford to stay there, can they pay all the additional taxes that comes along with the appreciation of the value of property. Can you talk to me a little bit about how does the public access this program, 105 who qualifies for this program, please?
Again, this is being proposed to Council as a priority, for which we'll work out the programmatic details. We, I think, listed five objectives, and one of them is to assist long-term homeowners by providing information around tax assessment. We may end up providing assistance with taxes. There's issues around -- I think some people have been talking about even how we might be able to assist existing tenants in neighborhoods where there's been an extraordinary amount of appreciation. So, again, we haven't filled in all the details of each program activity. What we're saying to Council is that the Administration acknowledged that, one, it's a growing concern, that it can be a double-edged sword. We want to learn from other cities that were caught offguard by it and really begin to put into place -- make sure we have adequate protections in place, as well as expand on some of our existing programs. So, again -- and we've done this 106 before. For example, when we put forth the Employer-Assisted Housing program or the Anti-Predatory Lending campaign, we didn't have every "I" and "T" dotted. What we're saying to Council is that this is what we want to make a priority, and over the fiscal year, we'll work out the programmatic details with respect to that. There are some ideas that we've been tossing around. One is grants to homeowners to assist with -- and how that gets administered, we'll start to figure out, but grants to homeowners. Another concern we hear about is the inability of -- let's say you live in a neighborhood and you grew up in the neighborhood, where your values have increased and really want to remain in that neighborhood and you're in a position to buy a house, but the sales price is too high. Is there a way we can provide assistance to a low-income family to remain to buy a house, to maybe move from a tenancy to a homeownership position within the neighborhood. So those are the kinds of things 107 we've been like, I would say, brainstorming about.
Well, I think it's a marvelous idea and it can help a lot of people, but I think that since it's in the FY06 budget, that we'd better get that program going so when the calls -- and for people that are listening and watching at this moment, they want to know do I qualify, how I do qualify and where do I go for this help. So that's going to be very important for us to find out when this program is going to get started, who qualifies and where do I go.
And one of the things that probably will be helpful is, as we work out the program details, bringing it back, make sure that the Council understands and all the contact information and what that will end up being. The intent is really to take the summer to do that.
I'd appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I understand there are many people here waiting for a hearing on the Housing Trust Fund issue and I was wondering whether we could move on to that. (Applause.)
Because they're from the community. And on NTI, I think the discussion has been helpful to everybody, but I believe that maybe we ought to get the community to the point of expressing itself and telling us why they're here and how important it is. Thank you, Madam Chair. (Applause.)
Thank you, Councilman Cohen. Right now we're still in a joint Committee of the Whole and Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development 109 and the Homeless and there are nine people who signed up to testify on this bill before we get to the Housing Trust Fund, which will be considered just in the Housing, Neighborhood Development and Homeless Committee. So I believe Councilman Nutter had questions. If my colleagues are satisfied, we can move on to these people who have come up and call three at a time and try to get to the Housing Trust Fund, if that's acceptable. Thank you very much. Thank you, Councilman. MR. McPHERSON: The first witness is Jimmy Shrode, Disabled in Action. The next one is Albert Seawright, Tenants Action Group, and Brad Baldia, United Communities of Southeast Philadelphia.
Thank you for your patience. Please identify yourself for the record and begin your testimony.
Good afternoon. I'm Albert Seawright for the Tenant Action Group of Philadelphia. Along with me is -- 110 would you identify yourself?
George Gould, Community Legal Services. I also represent the Tenants Action Group.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding the need to fund the Philadelphia Homeless Prevention program or a program similar to it. TAG has participated in the Philadelphia Homeless Prevention program for the past 12 years. There's a serious problem in that this is the first year that we didn't participate in the program, in that the program was cut back last year substantially to only a three-month program. Initially it was cut out totally. And this is a serious problem. I will give you a few reasons as to how this has impacted our clients and your constituents and the problem that it's causing. A couple years ago, the City abandoned the Rental Housing Abatement program, which will repair heaters or other 111 systems for neighborhood landlords that were neglectful of their property. This program was disbanded two years ago, meaning that in the wintertime when L&I go out to do an inspection for heaters not working, the only option is for the City to close the property down and in fact make the tenants homeless. Whereas, the abatement program used to allow the City to put a lien against the property and make the family whole and have a decent place to live. The City Housing Authority had cut back on Section 8 certificates as well as vouchers, which makes it very difficult for low-income families to find housing and they're forced to use whatever means necessary and possibly even resort to the City shelter system. With the Philadelphia Gas Works and other utility companies' new policies, it makes it impossible for low-income families to get the service restored if in fact the service is terminated. The Philadelphia Homeless Prevention program, as it was used in 112 the past, would help solve these type of problems. Long-time homeowners are now being foreclosed upon in record numbers here in the City of Philadelphia. These are homeowners that could have used the Philadelphia Homeless Prevention program to maintain their housing situation. These are some of the instances that -- in fact, the Philadelphia Homeless Prevention program has been a lifeline to assist the hidden homeless population in the City of Philadelphia. I'm talking about people that are forced to live in their automobiles, families that are forced to double up, triple up and use whatever means necessary to provide housing, simply because they can't pull together the resources to in fact have a decent home for themselves. The Homeless Prevention program would help address some of these problems, and the Philadelphia Low-Income Housing Coalition believe that the Philadelphia Homeless Prevention program has actually saved lives in the past because people had these options open 113 to them. George, you wanted to say something about some of the stuff?
Good afternoon. Let me try to be brief. The need for some kind of homeless prevention program to be restored in the City is critical. There are three areas where we need to take a look at where we have a crisis now, and the crisis is clearly going to get worse. The first is that sheriff sales in this City continue unabated, that we are at record high. This past year the court imposed a moratorium on sheriff sales and mortgages because the situation was so bad. The situation is getting worse, and we clearly need some kind of prevention program to help low-income homeowners who are facing this pressing need. Eviction of tenants, it continues also to go unabated in this City. In Harrisburg, the state legislature is considering legislation which would decrease the amount of time it takes a landlord to 114 evict a tenant in this City, further causing substantial problems, further causing a great crisis and just exacerbating the problem of homelessness. Finally is the energy and utility situation. I think all of you are aware of the legislation that was passed in Harrisburg, Act 201, which makes it extremely difficult now for people, especially low-income people, to enter into payment agreements and makes it very difficult if their utilities have been cut off to get it restored. If you take all these factors together, what we have is a crisis that is clearly projected to be getting worse, and we ask that the City put some monies in -- we're asking for $5 million -- into a prevention program so we help people who are being evicted, whether they're homeowners, whether they're tenants, and we help people prevent life-threatening utility shutoffs from taking place in the City. Thank you. (Applause.)
In closing, I 115 think it's important that you give serious consideration, because I get calls from staff often asking for services. Who are you going to call when a family, wage owner, finds a new job and they can't get the gas service turned on simply because they don't have enough income? It's not available now. The program is just not existing. When a homeowner or a tenant is being forced out on the streets because they can't in fact pay their mortgage and/or rent, we don't have the services available. We have some programs such as FEMA and HAP, but the fact of it is, by the time they reach our office, they're usually two, three months behind in rent and we have to blanket the programs together to make a family stable, which in fact makes a community stable, and it increases the City housing stock to keep the City housing stock in good condition rather than have it deteriorate. That's why we feel that the program needs to be immediately reinstated and expanded to a level of $5 million so that we can in fact provide decent 116 housing in the City of Philadelphia.
Thank you, Mr. Seawright. Let me say that we will go by those on the list. Mr. Gould, we were happy to recognize you, but we will not recognize people on the list until after those nine who are on the list speak. So everybody is welcome to speak who wants to speak on the NTI list. And, remember, that we still have -- I mean, there are another some 30 other people who want to testify, some on Housing Trust Fund, some on Community Block Grant, and we tried to ask you when you called which bill 16 you chose to speak about. Having said that, we're happy to hear you, but you can't come in before -- we had three people we called. We're happy to hear you after we go through the next six people who are already on the list. Then you can speak. But we won't let everybody come in at once behind one person, because it's just not fair. Thank you. We'll respond. 117 Mr. Shrode?
Good afternoon. My name is Jimmi Shrode and I'm testifying on behalf of the Disabled in Action of Pennsylvania, which is a membership organization in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. (Applause.)
And we're an organization of over 350 members. We're a grass roots advocacy organization who believes that we, people with disabilities, have been and always will be our own best advocates. And Disabled in Action has been empowering people to do self-advocacy now for over 32 years. The number one call that we receive always concerns housing. There is a great lack of affordable, accessible, permanent and integrated housing for people with disabilities, and even though there are 66,000 people with disabilities in the City who have been identified in need of such housing, we are not a priority when it comes to getting 118 housing at all. Today I'm here to testify to the needs of the Homeless Prevention program. The program was discontinued by OESS and it is very much needed. Doing away with the Homeless Prevention program is a case of being pennywise but pound foolish. While doing away with the program seems like it is saving money, it doesn't. Receiving shelter services costs 21,000 per family a year, as opposed to the Housing Prevention program, which only costs about $1,200 a year. 98 percent of the people who used the Housing Prevention program when it was funded did not go into the shelter. Therefore, we would like to see the Homeless Prevention program funded at $5 million for fiscal year 2006. We would like to see the $5 million come from the NTI line item for Residential Demolition, because there is $15 million in that line item available. In addition, I'm asking that the Adaptive Modification program be kept at $5 million. Despite the cuts from the Community 119 Development Block Grant funding by the federal government, OHCD has to keep this program funded at a current level. In the current Consolidated Plan for Year 31, people with disabilities are not listed as a priority, even though the elderly population has been designated as a high priority. According to Table 3.4 on of the OHC Consolidated Plan, the estimated housing needs of people with disabilities far outweigh people with AIDS, HIV, frail elderly and MH and MR combined. Therefore, we would like to see 2.5 million taken from the NTI line item for Residential Demolition from fiscal year 2006 and 2007. (Applause.)
And we would like to see this money added to the Adaptive Modification program that's already been funded to 2.5 million, for a total of 5 million. And, finally, despite the cuts in CDBG funds, we cannot afford to cut the Basic 120 Systems Repair program out. If you are serious about eliminating blight, you need the Basic Systems Repair program. (Applause.)
It is important to many very low-income homeowners to keep them from losing their homes and becoming homeless because their homes have become hazardous or unlivable. There is money in the NTI line items to fund this program. Therefore, we're asking that 1.5 million be taken from the NTI line item Equitable Development for Basic Systems Repair and 5 million be taken from the Residential Demolition line item and put into the Basic Systems Repair program. (Applause.)
This City has been very good about funding the building of new condominiums and townhomes that cost a half a million dollars in the City of Philadelphia but have neglected the poor and the very low income, and it's time that City Council accepts its responsibilities. Thank you very much. 121 (Applause.)
Thank you very much, Mr. Shrode. We thank you, gentlemen. While the next three witnesses are coming. MR. McPHERSON: The next three, Brad Baldia, United Communities of Southeast Philadelphia. Somebody else took a seat.
Excuse me one moment. We'll have two more people take seats. MR. McPHERSON: Jerry Bennett, Energy Coordinating Agency, and Nora Lichtash, Women's Community Revitalization Project.
Thank 122 you. While they're coming forward, let the Chair note that in terms of the issue of Section 8's, as a Commissioner on the Philadelphia Housing Authority, I would like to say that I wish there were Section 8 certificates sitting around, but certainly your issue is not with the Housing Authority but your issue is with the philosophy -- the Bush Administration's philosophy that has cut back with the Section 8 application. That is where you should address your concerns. Everything is not local. Hey, we wish it were. If everything was local, we wouldn't have a cutback. But we wanted to note that for the record, and thank you for mentioning that important issue, and we agree with you, we need our Section 8's. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Good afternoon. My name is Brad Baldia. I'm the Director of Development and Outreach, United Community of Southeast Philadelphia. 123 United Communities is an active organization in the first City councilmanic district. On an annual basis, United Communities touches over 10,000 City residents. Our services range from pre-school to senior citizens. However, two of our most active programs are Energy/Emergency Assistance and Housing Counseling. As a result of this work, United Communities encounters a significant number of low-income Philadelphians who are on the edge of homeownership. In all instances, they want very much to retain their homes, remain in our neighborhood and avoid the need to relocate. United Communities became an active member of the Philadelphia Affordable Housing Coalition two years ago. As an organization with settlement house roots, United Communities has a strong obligation to advocate for the needs of our diverse community. While the community has experienced housing changes in the past several years, there are increasing numbers of homeowners who would benefit from increases in 124 resources to address the affordable housing needs of low-income Philadelphians. It is for that reason today that United Communities is asking that City Council pass the Housing Trust Fund, reinstate the Homeless Prevention program and increase resources to the Basic Systems Repair program. 50 percent of the Housing Trust Fund is targeted to provide resources to low-income families. This is a critical need, as the City finds itself with shrinking housing resources. This new funding can add to the range of resources available. While some of this funding may go to Homelessness Prevention and Basic Service Repair program, United Communities on behalf of our community residents is urging that the Trust Fund not be regarded as the end-all to addressing these issues. While our organization appreciates the varied needs of communities throughout the City and recognizes the value of the Trust Fund, we are concerned that relying on the Trust Fund to address affordable housing needs 125 will not fully address the needs of low-income Philadelphians. As a result, I am here today to advocate for the following steps related to funding for affordable housing in this year's City budget: Amend the NTI line items Residential Demolition and Equitable Development Strategy to the following categories below: $5 million for the Homelessness Prevention program from fiscal year '06 to fiscal year '07 NTI Residential Demolition line items; 1.5 million for the Basic Systems Repair program from FY06 NTI Equitable Development Strategy line item; 5 million for the Basic System Repair program from FY06 and FY07 NTI Residential Demolition line items; and, lastly, 2.5 million for the Adaptive Modification program from FY06 and FY07 NTI Residential Demolition line item. (Applause.)
Or amend the City budget and transfer money for these programs from the $20 million surplus from this year's real estate transfer tax revenues. 126 Thank you on behalf of United Communities and low-income Philadelphians who desperately need action on increasing resources for a basic human need. Thank you.
Hello. I'm Jerry Bennett, the Director of Programs at the Energy Coordinating Agency. Over the last years, the Energy 15 Coordinating Agency has solved energy and 16 housing problems of low-income Philadelphians 17 by delivering services through a network of 11 18 neighborhood energy centers, each of which 19 serves as a one-stop shop in low-income 20 neighborhoods. Each network provides access to bill 22 payment assistance, energy education and related housing and human services, and together they serve nearly 30,000 households annually. 127 From about 1996 to 2004, ECA's Homeless Prevention program was a key resource used to stabilize the residents of thousands of families across Philadelphia, preventing eviction and foreclosures due to debt. The City of Philadelphia's ten-year plan to end homelessness urges the implementation of prevention strategies focused on meeting the needs of at-risk populations, such as those experiencing eviction, foreclosure or transition from institutions such as prisons, hospitals, substance abuse facilities and foster care. Restoring and improving programs that address these needs could go a long way towards containing and reducing shelter residencies. There are some reasons why this could happen. An OESS study of Philadelphia shelter residents concluded that to 30 21 percent of shelter residents were transferred 22 directly from residential institutions. A 23 Temple University Institute for Policy Studies 24 report cited a survey stating that 25 percent 25 of shelter residents came to shelter from an 128 apartment, so evictions lead into homelessness. The Center for Mental Health Policy and Service Research at the University of Pennsylvania stated in a 1995 study that 7 percent of all households and 20 percent of 8 family households that were admitted to 9 shelter had their utilities terminated within 10 a year of their admission to a shelter. 11 As an administrator of ECA's 12 Homeless Prevention program, I know the 13 stories of thousands of families that have 14 crossed my desk that tell a compelling 15 financial crisis brought on by medical emergencies and the loss of steady employment. We work intensively with these families to assemble a package of financial support that would avert evictions, foreclosures and utility terminations. By funding for many of these programs that address these needs have recently been severely reduced, making Homeless Prevention grants a much more critical component of the debt interventions 129 that we design for families. These programs include the PA Housing Finance Agency's Homeowner Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, the Federal Home Administration Mortgage Assistance Program, the Federal LIHEAP and Crisis Program, the Utility Emergency Services Fund and the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging Utility Fund. The impact of funding losses in utility debt payment programs are made worse because they have to repay debt generated by the rising natural gas and oil prices that have doubled in the last five years. More aggressive debt collection action to counter rising customer delinquencies will inevitably follow, as it did last year when the Philadelphia Gas Works terminated the service to 35,000 customers. Recent eliminations of many consumer protections under the Pennsylvania Act 201 will only lead to more utility service terminations and evictions. Lack of funding for the Homeless Prevention system is one major factor driving up admissions to Philadelphia's shelter 130 system. Last year the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the shelter and street count of homeless persons rose by percent. The 5 average cost of homelessness prevention 6 services at least at ECA was a total of $960 7 per household, which included all costs such 8 as case management, emergency housing 9 assistance, job development and the 10 administration of the program for $960 per 11 family.
In stark contrast, the average cost 12 providing emergency shelter for a same family 13 was $21,600. That's 22 times as much and a major waste of tax dollars. I urge you to reinvest in the Homelessness Prevention system with a $5 million allocation from the FY06-07 NTI Residential Demolition line item or a portion of the $20 million surplus from this year's real estate transfer revenues. If this program is not restored, we'll all pay the consequences. Thank you very much. )
Thank 131 you. Thank you, Mr. Bennett. We assume that the issue you were working with Belmont Improvement Association, NAC, has that worked out?
Thank you. My name is Nora Lichtash. I work with the Women's Community Revitalization Project. I wanted to do two things in my testimony today. The first thing is thank you in Council, thank you. We wanted to thank you and also the Administration for working with the advocates and all the folks who are here today and around the City who know firsthand the need for the Philadelphia Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Other people know the need for that, right, Housing Trust Fund? (Applause.)
We hope that every Councilperson will pass this important legislation, will vote to pass it. It's a 132 vital first step to create resources that meet the housing needs for people in every Council district. I also want to thank the Administration -- and this is an example of what we can use the Trust Fund for -- for the support of WCRP's development named after a North Philadelphia resident and activist, Ms. Evelyn Sanders. I have her picture attached to my testimony. She's this lady right here in the middle. She passed about two months ago, and we're naming our next development after her. I wanted to thank Rick Mariano, our Councilman, for helping us get the land. We have the active support of neighborhood residents, and we're going to build 60 townhouses. (Applause.)
Yeah. That's a good thing. It's going to be in two phases, 30 rental homes and 30 lease purchase homes at Percy and Hutchinson, and our hope is to get resources from the Trust Fund once it's a 133 reality. So we're looking forward to that. Thank you. As I said, the Trust Fund is a critical step, but it's only a first step. And the second thing I want to do today in my testimony is to ask you in Council to take a stand to save your constituents tax dollars. Does anyone care about saving constituent tax dollars? The average cost -- what we want to do is prevent costly problems before they happen, and I'm talking about saving money by increasing the budget for home repair and Homeless Prevention programs. The average cost to taxpayers to fix up a house through BSRP is $5,300. The average cost to taxpayers if a child needs to be removed from the home because of a serious housing situation is $13,500 a year. To maintain a family in a homeless shelter, between 21,000 and 22,000 a year. To demolish an unsafe house, 22,000. And to place an elderly person or a disabled person in a nursing home is 40,000. So we believe that by increasing the funding for BSRP, the Basic Systems Home 134 Repair, and the Homeless Prevention money, we'll be saving taxpayers a lot of money. Our suggestion is that that funding could come from the NTI budget. We've talked about a lot of items today. Pat Smith said that there's more than $21 million that was unexpected coming into the NTI budget this year. Some of that money is in demolition. Again, I'm not an expert on this, but we believe that it can be taken out of some pots that are demolition, maybe some pots that are Commercial Corridor Support program and the Equitable Development line item. I just for a minute want to finish by talking about equitable development. We really appreciate Council and the Administration bringing up the issue of equitable development where gentrification is happening in the neighborhoods where we live and work, and we welcome the opportunity to work with anyone who wants to in the future, Council, the Administration, to strengthen our communities. We don't want communities where new 135 homeowners who may very well be wealthy can get a ten-year tax abatement where at the same time long-time residents are struggling to pay their property taxes, where rents are going up and too many residents are forced to leave. People have talked about it here today. We want to work with Council and anyone else who is interested on trying to get programs. But we don't expect that money to come just from the public sector. We believe that there's an opportunity to figure out how to get genuine mixed-income communities that stay mixed income, they're not on their way to being just rich communities, by getting a percentage of the development costs from market-rate development to come into a fund like the Affordable Housing Trust Fund -- am I screaming? I'm sorry. I feel strongly about this -- to come into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund that will help both new residents as well as old residents and ensure a sustainable, inclusive community. Thanks. (Applause.)
Thank 136 you all very much. MR. McPHERSON: The next witnesses are Cheryl Weiss, Diversified Community Services; Judith Robinson; and Don Kelly, GPUAC. The next group after that will be the Girard Avenue Coalition, Roger Kerns, Sam Weiner, Cicely Magman.
Thank you very much. So you'll be ready so we can move it along. Thank you very much for your patience. Feel free to identify yourself for the record and begin your testimony. Thank you very much.
Good afternoon. My name is Donald Kelly. I'm with the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition and I'd like to testify on behalf of the funding for the NTI regarding two programs that we have been contracted for and are now administering, the Home Buy Now Employer-Assisted Housing Program and the PHIL-Plus Anti-Predatory Lending program for home improvements. In 2003, the Neighborhood 137 Transformation Initiative committed to invest in an innovative community and economic development tool, an Employer-Assisted Housing program for Philadelphia employers called Home Buy Now. This program offers employers a menu of housing-related benefits to offer to their employees. The benefits include home purchase mortgages, down payment and closing cost assistance, home improvement loans, home buyer education and credit counseling. The program is designed with maximum flexibility in mind so that each employer may choose a combination of benefits that best suits its needs and resources. By offering employers a vehicle to assist their employees to purchase homes in Philadelphia neighborhoods, the program helps private and not-for-profit employers alike to address critical employee recruitment and retention needs, while boosting the rate of homeownership in the City. Philadelphia employers of all sizes enroll in the program to enhance their employee benefit packages, thus making working 138 in Philadelphia more attractive. A participating employer could structure Home Buy Now to serve as a neighborhood revitalization strategy as well as a business strategy by linking eligibility for its housing benefits to those housing units that are located in the vicinity of the place of employment. Such a live-by-near-your-work strategy would reduce commuting time and contribute towards improving the neighborhood around the job site. As an incentive for both employers and employees, NTI provides up to $3,000 in matching grant funds to every employee who receives an employer contribution towards down payment and closing costs. As an economic development tool, the City has decided that there will be no employee income limits to obtain the City funds. Home Buy Now is entering now its third year of operation and has begun its marketing stage as of last fall. Since that time, ten employers have enrolled and offer at least one of several housing benefit options 139 available through Home Buy Now, and ten employees now have bought homes. Participating employers include Citizens Bank, Fannie Mae Corporation, New Courtland Elder Services, the Energy Coordinating Agency, Germantown Friends School and People's Emergency Center. Employees from all income levels have participated. Household income have ranged from 25,000 to 200,000, and sales prices of the homes range from 80,000 to 525,000. Employees have purchased homes in a variety of Philadelphia neighborhoods, including Germantown, Rittenhouse Square, West Oak Lane and West Mount Airy. While these results show some early success, this is only the beginning. With continued funding from NTI, GPUAC intends to build on the strong foundation that has been laid early in the program. Goals for the third year of the program will significantly build momentum for these housing benefits. GPUAC plans to enroll at least 28 new employers, bringing the total number of 140 employers enrolled to 38 by the end of the next contract year. So through Philadelphia Home Buy Now, the City has a powerful and effective strategy to work with employers to make Philadelphia a better place to work and live. So we urge you to continue funding this creative public/private partnership. The second NTI-funded program for which GPUAC wishes to testify is the Anti-Predatory Lending program marketed as PHIL-Plus and Mini-PHIL Home Improvement Loans.
This Anti-Predatory Lending program had its origin in 2002 when 40 partners came together to create an alternative loan product for homeowners with less-than-perfect credit for needed home improvements and repairs. The idea was to give homeowners who would not normally qualify for a traditional bank loan an honest and affordable alternative to the aggressively marketed predatory loans that were destroying people's lives and neighborhoods. The partners include nine banks, 25 City-funded housing counseling 141 agencies, two City agencies, three home inspection firms and GPUAC. PHIL-Plus and Mini-PHIL were launched on June 30 of 2003 by Mayor John Street. 3 million. Loans are available up to $25,000 for owner occupants only of one- to four-unit residential properties anywhere in the City of Philadelphia. Up to half of the loan can be used to pay off existing high cost debts. 50, which is considerably below what banks normally require. The City has encouraged the banks to extend themselves and make riskier loans than they would normally make under this program by creating a reserve fund of $450,000 with the NTI funds. The partners in this program plan for the program to grow and to serve approximately 65 more vulnerable homeowners in the coming year. So your continued support for this worthy program is also encouraged. 142 Finally, I'd just like to close my comments by encouraging the Council to support the Housing Trust Fund, which we also have endorsed previously and consider a strategic element of a comprehensive affordable housing program for the City of Philadelphia.
Thank you. Before you speak, Ms. Robinson -- and we'll recognize Councilman O'Neill. Before that, let me just ask, we only have two more panels to come forward and we'll ask if the members of the Housing Committee can just stay in the room long enough to give us a quorum so we can hear testimony. I know you may not be able to stay through all the testimony, but if you can just give us a quorum, then we can legally take testimony so that all of these folks who are here will have an opportunity to speak, and, likewise, we'll ask you -- the President has been real generous where time is concerned, but if we keep in mind there's still many of you here, if you look around, who would like to testify, 143 if we try to consolidate it, if we could keep it like no more than three minutes, it would be very helpful to those of you who work in the field and try to help one another, so that we can get everybody in in a timely manner. Having said that, Councilman O'Neill, did you want to say something?
All right. Thank you, Ms. Robinson. Please identify yourself for the record and begin.
Yes. Good day. My name is Judith Robinson and I'm here today as a founding member of the Strawberry Mansion Civic Association. Because we are consolidating all the testimony, I'm going to try to connect my Neighborhood Transformation Initiative testimony along with the Housing testimony, in addition a little bit on the Housing Trust. So in that regard, I hope I'm not too disconnected in stating that I'm happy that two new organizations have been funded in 144 the Strawberry Mansion area. Although they have been funded, the Strawberry Mansion NAC, Neighborhood Advisory Council, and there's a CDC that has been created, none of them are here today -- correct me if I'm wrong. If they're in the room, let me know -- to talk about housing and the massive proposed demolition for Strawberry Mansion area. It's truly unfortunate that no one is here to say no to massive demolition. I see that according to the Program Statement and Budget for NTI there has been an increase in residential demolition. There was some earlier testimony about reducing that amount. I will agree with that reduction 100 percent, especially since the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative is supposedly for future development. To use these taxpayers' dollars, dollars that would have to be paid back by taxpayers to demolish areas that will not be -- where there will not be any proposed development in the future is a waste, especially when there is a need in so many 145 other areas. Massive demolition is destabilizing to communities, is disrespectful and it will not bear any future value. The people that are left there feel demoralized because their value cannot be realized. Any home, no matter what the price, probably is the major asset for the family. So to come in with massive demolition without any plan for future development is a misuse of money, especially when all of this meeting regarding NTI was supposed to be for future development and using best practices. I have attended last week a Policy Link conference that was held in this town and everything they talked about was about new urbanism, being able to access transportation, being able to use commercial corridors, being able to walk to work, et cetera. To have massive demolition in a community doesn't live up to any of these best practices that were talked about at this Policy Link session. In addition, I have been going to Redevelopment Authority Board meetings where 146 the implementation of what you all vote on here happens. It's not enough for you all to vote on this policy and then turn a blind eye and deaf ear to how it's implemented. Fair market value is the law. Also community participation is the law. So there should not be massive demolition in communities without community participation, and when community says no, that means no. 11 (Applause.)
Thank you. There are many among this massive list of demolition that we in the Strawberry Mansion community received, there are many of City-owned properties and PHA-owned properties in that bunch. With a long list of people needing affordable housing, I find it just unconscionable that we would demolish houses that can be salvaged. So I also support additional monies going towards rehabilitation of properties, basic system repairs, everything that can support preservation of properties. (Applause.) 147
We're talking about affordable housing and having a Housing Trust, and I think that's a good thing, but I wish those that are advocating for affordable housing would help those of us that are advocating against massive demolition. Let's not tear down affordable housing. In the issue of time, I'm going to be brief, but I just want to read this because this is very important. "The consequences of a typical urban renewal program are often harsh. People are forcibly evicted from their homes. Businessmen are forced to close their doors. Buildings, good and bad, are destroyed, all in the name of an appeal to some higher good, the public good." That sounds very familiar, but I'm reading from a book called The Federal Bulldozer by Martin Anderson that was written back in 1964. This whole process of demolishing properties and so-called transforming neighborhoods is old news. It's not something new. So to change it to a fancy name called the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative and 148 come at a community, mostly African-Americans, in a very negative way to destabilize our community is not going unchallenged. We know that this has a negative effect on our community, especially when lots in North Philadelphia are selling for 20,000 and I'm selling shells as a real estate broker for over 100,000. Back off of our assets. We can sell them. New urbanism and growing greener is the order of the day. We're looking forward to taking part in greening, but we don't want our houses to be demolished and our neighborhoods destroyed in order to have that happen. In addition, regarding economics, I want those numbers to be proven. We don't believe it and we don't see it in our community. Every time economic stimulus goes on to communities, supposedly it's to benefit the communities. We don't want to be left with a bunch of vacant lots and we can't even get jobs mowing the lawn. (Applause.) 149
In addition, I see there's an increase for historic preservation. We just hope that in North Philadelphia, which has Diamond Street, one of the first historic districts, that our historic properties will be preserved. Give us the same respect that you would in other areas, like Rittenhouse Square, et cetera. So we want to make sure that money is spread around. (Applause.)
In closing, we are real clear on this regional approach and equitable approach to regional distribution of land, et cetera. I have this book here called Flight or Fight. We want to fight too for the betterment of Philadelphia, but we don't want to have our community destroyed as you reduce sprawl in other areas. We understand everything as it relates to policy link and regionalism. We're real clear on that, and we support that 100 percent, but we feel that in-fill housing and the ring around Center City, North 150 Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, et cetera, can be better developed in a respectful manner where we all can grow and develop. In addition, there should be more outreach as it relates to everything related to Philadelphia and its land management program. There is an international design competition being put into place regarding vacant land, most of the land that's in North Philadelphia and along the river wards, et cetera, but you don't see that diversity in these meetings. So I would encourage you to encourage the folks you give money to to reach out and truly be inclusive. In closing, regarding the Housing Trust, I just again would reiterate that I would like to have some support from those members that are pushing the Housing Trust. Help us reduce demolition, especially on our stable blocks. We have affordable housing in those blocks and our neighborhoods are definitely affordable. In addition, prevention of what 151 we're dealing with right now is important. There's no money in this Housing Trust Fund to deal with tangled deeds and titles. It's a very important and very much a reason why we have the vacancy and abandonment that we do. So I would suggest that some of that money be taken from demolition and put into the area to support people with tangled titles and deeds. In addition, I would encourage you all to make sure, the district Councilpeople, to make sure that this board, this Housing Trust Oversight Board, includes people where the vacant land is and where affordable housing is needed. So often people that do not live in these conditions are the ones making decisions. I contend decisions -- (Applause.)
-- would be better made and some of this mess would be cleared up if the people that live in the communities would have the dollars to make those decisions. I thank you very much for the time. (Applause.) 152
Thank you very much, Ms. Robinson. MR. McPHERSON: The next witnesses are the Girard Avenue Coalition.
After the Girard Avenue Coalition? MR. McPHERSON: Tracey Gordon and then Andrea Torres.
Good afternoon. My name is Roger Kern. I'm the Corridor Manager for the Girard Avenue Coalition. The Girard Avenue Coalition, Incorporated is a group of more than 50 organizations, four separate business organizations located along Girard Avenue from I-95 to 33rd Street. We have been working for the past two years to develop a plan for the revitalization of Girard Avenue. We feel it vital that we come today to speak in support the Commercial Corridor Support project, because we feel that where jobs are created is a long the commercial corridors and the neighborhoods. It's the small neighborhood development activity that will generate the improvements to the quality of 153 life for the citizens of Philadelphia. When we look at where jobs are actually created, you see some hotels, you see some large-scale development activities around the City of Philadelphia, but where actual wealth is created, where actual jobs are created, that is taking place on the various commercial corridors around the City of Philadelphia. We feel that for a minimum amount of money that is provided in the NTI budget, the commercial corridors will be able to leverage vital dollars from the federal, state and other private resources. We use ourselves as an example of what can be done in terms of leveraging dollars from other sources. Of the more than $2 million worth of site improvement work to be done on Girard Avenue, most of that is in dollars leveraged from federal and state dollars. Thank you.
Good 154 afternoon, Council President, members of Council. Thank you for this opportunity. My name is Cecily Peterson-Magman. I am the Director of the Avenue Project for Mount Airy USA. Mount Airy USA is a community development corporation serving the Mount Airy community through programs and real estate development, housing counseling, youth career development and commercial corridor revitalization. Like Roger Kern, I am the Business District Manager. I work with business recruitment and retention, working closely with the business association. Mount Airy USA supports the use of the FY06 proposed NTI budget for commercial corridors. These funds will enable us to continue our work along the Germantown Avenue commercial corridor, including streetscape improvements, facade improvements and the elimination of blight. Mount Airy USA was recently awarded a matching grant of close to $1 million from PennDot for home town streets. If allowed 155 access to the NTI monies, Mount Airy USA will be able to match the home town street funding and leverage other monies, as Roger said, with local dollars, which will allow us to implement greatly needed streetscape improvements, including pedestrian lighting, attractive trash receptacles, et cetera. NTI funding will also allow Mount Airy USA to continue awarding facade improvement grants to our merchants, storefronts who seek to create more attractive storefronts, which will attract new business and generate greater revenue. This money will supplement monies provided by the Local Initiative Support Corporation and allow us to help additional small businesses who otherwise would not be able to afford storefront improvements. Vibrant commercial corridors contribute to healthy neighborhoods and a healthy quality of life. Mount Airy USA, through its commercial corridor revitalization efforts, has had the resulting significant impact on our community. They include 30 new 156 businesses over the past two and a half years, an average of one new business per month, creating approximately 175 total new jobs; $25 million in new capital investment, an average percent increase in revenues for area 7 restaurants following the release of the 8 Restaurant Directory; and a 150 percent 9 increase in average property values along 10 Germantown Avenue. 11 Accordingly, our efforts and the 12 efforts of local community development 13 corporations add directly to the City's tax 14 base and increase revenues through wage taxes, 15 real estate taxes, net profits, use and occupancy and more. In conclusion, Mount Airy USA respectfully requests your favorable resolution of proposed Ordinance 050388, which will fund programs like ours designed to improve the physical appearance of our commercial corridors and, in turn, improve the quality of life of our residents. Thank you again for the opportunity to present this testimony before Council. 157
Good afternoon. Thank you for your patience. Please identify yourself for the record.
Yes. Madam President, good afternoon, Madam Chair, Councilmembers. My name is Juan Guiterrez. I am the Business District Manager for the Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises known HACE. El Centro de Oro is alive and thriving right now, much thanks to the help of Councilman Mariano's office, State Representative Angel Cruz's, LISC and the Commerce Department. Recently HACE was awarded $2 million from the Governor's office matching grant, as well as a $1 million PennDOT grant to do some capital improvements, long needed in El Centro De Oro. We have acquired and established a heritage plan strategy that has helped revive and has helped in the recovery of the El Centro de Oro. I'm here today to advocate for support of the NTI Commercial Corridor Support 158 program, because as Ms. Smith noted earlier in her testimony, some of those monies can be used to leverage other monies to complete our $4 million project that we're looking to complete. Like all my colleagues up here today, it is very important because it also becomes an issue of a quality of life issue for our community, a proper place where they can buy shoes for their kids, jobs from within the community. HACE has been involved in many of those things. Recently we did an Aramark project and created new jobs in that area. 15 So HACE is asking you to please take 16 into consideration and support this NTI 17 initiative. 18 Thank you. 19
20 You're welcome. Thank you very much. 21 Good afternoon. Thank you for your 22 patience. Please identify yourself for the 23 record. 24
Good afternoon, 25 Madam President. My name is Tracey Gordon. 159 I'm with Concerned Citizens for the Preservation of Southwest Philly. I'm also a block captain on the 6500 block of Windsor Avenue. Having been a block captain for over six years, in the first year our block was nominated Philadelphia's most beautiful block. So I am a stakeholder in what I'm about to talk about today. Also, good afternoon for the Councilpeople here. I just want to show -- and I also want to thank you, Madam President, because last week I sent a notice to you, a notice to Kevin Hanna from Housing Preservation, Pat Smith of NTI, and I got an immediate response from you. We met. So basically what I'm getting ready to put on record, you already took care of. You sent the appropriate parties out there to do the proper investigation, but in support of your testimony and in support of some of the questions you asked, I felt it was necessary that we put this on document of what went on in the second councilmanic district, which is 160 the Kingsessing area. And although we can't put these pictures on record, I just want to show members of NTI, Pat Smith and Kevin Hanna, pictures that I attempted to fax them, and this is how the demolition area was left in this particular community. This is a picture of a neighbor where her steps was damaged. And it's supposed to be a roof on top of here, a roof over here. They collapsed. And this is several properties that it happened on.
Tracey, I think Mr. Hanna is sitting right in the front row there, so perhaps you could just pass him the photos. But aren't those complaints being addressed?
Well, not really, because this one is an imminent dangerous abandoned house that was left on the corner. So this should have been addressed the hour after I left your house, because a child lives next door and this is an abandoned property on the corner of 60th and Upland, where no doors, no steps and all this debris that was left 161 there during the demolition and after it, and this is how all the green lots looked.
I think the Commissioner of L&I is here. I don't know if you were out in the community last week if you in fact saw this vacant structure and made any determination if it is --
Just a moment, please. Let's address one issue at a time. Now, the corner property's address is what?
This is on the corner of 61st and Upland, but actually, the street is 60th and Upland and 60th and Reinhard. And he wasn't there, but Tumar was there.
162 Tumar, since you were there, can somebody address this issue? Was it found to be structurally unsafe? If so, when will it be demolished?