Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. A majority of all members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, 220664.
An ordinance STATED MEETING 127 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING amending Chapter 9-1100 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Fair Practices Ordinance: Protections Against Unlawful Discrimination," to protect against discrimination related to reproductive health, modify and harmonize related provisions of the Chapter, and make other related or technical changes.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Councilwoman Gauthier. STATED MEETING 128 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Councilman STATED MEETING 129 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Squilla.
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. A majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, 220846.
An ordinance approving the plan, estimated costs and proposed method of assessment and charges of the Center City District for and concerning business improvements and administrative services to the central business district of the City of Philadelphia for 2023 through 2027; STATED MEETING 130 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING amending an Ordinance (Bill No. 1069, approved November 2, 1990, as amended by Bill No. 960631, approved November 25, 1996, as further amended by Bill No. 120800, approved December 21, 2012, and as further amended by Bill No. 170927, approved December 20, 2017) adopted pursuant to the "Municipality Authorities Act of 1945"; and approving estimated costs for debt service through 2045.
Thank you. This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Councilman Driscoll. STATED MEETING 131 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Councilman STATED MEETING 132 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Phillips.
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. A majority of all members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, do you have any additional resolutions?
A resolution honoring Kyasha Tyson, and recognizing her for her tireless service to the people of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, STATED MEETING 133 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING introduced today by Councilman Phillips.
Thank you, Council President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
And a resolution honoring and congratulating Champion of the week, St. Joseph's Preparatory high STATED MEETING 134 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING school football team, for their success in winning the PIAA 6A title, in Harrisburg, introduced today by Councilman Thomas.
Thank you, Council President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted.
And a resolution amending Resolution No. 200001-A, as amended, which provides Rules for the STATED MEETING 135 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Government of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, by establishing a new Standing Committee titled the "Committee on Neighborhood Services," introduced today by Councilman Jones on behalf of Council President Clarke.
On your behalf, I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
And a resolution authorizing City Council's Committee on STATED MEETING 136 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Fiscal Stability and Intergovernmental Cooperation to hold public hearings to discuss the status of the City's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, introduced today by Councilman Jones on behalf of Council President Clarke.
Again, on your behalf, Mr. President, I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
And a resolution honoring the historic and trailblazing STATED MEETING 137 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING leaders of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Philadelphia House Delegation; Joanna McClinton, Jordan Harris, Morgan Cephas, Danilo Burgos, and Malcolm Kenyatta, introduced today by Councilman Jones.
Yes. Briefly, I just want to recognize that Philadelphia is well served by these group of young, and I'll say young, leaders that are taking leadership roles in spite of court cases and challenges to lead Philadelphia and Pennsylvania into the future. So with that, I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.) STATED MEETING 138 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted.
And a resolution recognizing Africatown, a broad-based economic development initiative in Southwest and West Philadelphia led by the African Cultural Alliance of North America, introduced today by Councilman Johnson.
Thank you, Council President. Before I move for the adoption of the resolution, I also want to acknowledge my colleague from West Philadelphia, Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier. We're working in partnership with the creation of Africatown, which covers the parts of Lower Southwest Philadelphia and Upper Southwest STATED MEETING 139 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Philadelphia. We think it will not only be an economic boom to the region, but also a cultural boom to the region. And so I enthusiastically move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
And a resolution recognizing and honoring City Year Philadelphia for its 25 years of service in Philadelphia, introduced today by Councilman Johnson.
The Chair again recognizes Councilman STATED MEETING 140 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Johnson.
Yeah. Again, Council President, before I move for the adoption of the resolution, I just want to briefly state the great work that City Year Philadelphia has been doing here in the City for 25 years. It's a program that I joined immediately out of college. At that particular time, Bill Clinton was the President and the issue of public service and national service was key on the agenda, not only here in the City of Philadelphia but all throughout the country. And so I used to do PT, which is physical training, across the street with my red jacket on and my Timberland boots, but also while I served as the project manager in City Year, it's there that I learned my leadership skills in terms of managing individuals but, most importantly, taking on projects that may seem impossible but working with a group and a team to make sure that whatever STATED MEETING 141 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING we're trying to accomplish becomes possible. And so with that being said, they do great work with youth inside of Philadelphia School District and want to take this moment to honor them for their 25 years of service. So with that being said, I enthusiastically move for the adoption of the resolution, Council President. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
And a resolution authorizing the Philadelphia STATED MEETING 142 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Redevelopment Authority to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Land Bank deeds conveying title to 3418 Kensington Avenue, 3420 Kensington Avenue, and 3422 Kensington Avenue located in the 7th Councilmanic District, introduced today by Councilwoman Lozada.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted. STATED MEETING 143 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
And a resolution Philadelphia City Council calls on the Pennsylvania General Assembly to add xylazine to the controlled substances list in Pennsylvania, introduced today by Councilwoman Lozada.
The Chair again recognizes Councilwoman Lozada.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted. STATED MEETING 144 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
And a resolution designating Wednesday December 21, 2022 as National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day in the City of Philadelphia, introduced today by Councilwoman Gauthier.
Thank you, Council President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
And a resolution STATED MEETING 145 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING authorizing the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless to conduct hearings regarding discrimination against households holding tenant-based vouchers, putting thousands of vulnerable Philadelphians at risk of homelessness, and the effect of this discrimination on Philadelphia's affordable housing crisis, introduced today by Councilwoman Gauthier.
The Chair again recognizes Councilwoman Gauthier.
Thank you, Council President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
Those opposed? STATED MEETING 146 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING (No response.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
And a resolution honoring Samantha J. Williams, Esquire, recognizing her service to the citizens of Philadelphia, and wishing her well in her future endeavors, introduced today by Councilwoman Gauthier and Councilman Curtis Jones.
Thank you, Council President. Even though it is bittersweet, I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
STATED MEETING 147 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Those opposed? (No response.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
And a resolution authorizing the creation of a "Special Committee on Retention and Recruitment of Municipal Workers" to analyze and recommend ways to modernize the City's hiring procedures; recommend strategies to retain current City workers; and recruit new workers by, to the greatest extent possible, hiring City residents, introduced today by Councilman O'Neill on behalf of Council President Clarke.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. STATED MEETING 148 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
And a resolution recognizing the month of December as National Write a Business Plan Month in the City of Philadelphia, introduced today by Councilwoman Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.) STATED MEETING 149 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
And a resolution recognizing the month of December as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month in the City of Philadelphia, introduced today by Councilwoman Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
Those opposed? (No response.) STATED MEETING 150 12/15/2022 12/15/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
And a resolution proclaiming January 13, 2023 as Korean American Day in Philadelphia to Celebrate and Commemorate the Proud Heritage of Korean Americans and Their Invaluable Contributions to Enhance the City's Culture, Economy, and the Founding Ideals of Independence and Democracy, introduced today by Councilman Oh.
Thank you. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
Those opposed? STATED MEETING 151 12/15/2022 (No response.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
There are no other resolutions on the Final Passage Calendar, Mr. President.
Thank you very much, Mr. Decker. That completes our Calendar for today. Are there any speeches on behalf of the minority? The Chair recognizes Councilman Oh.
Thank you very much, Council President. This is the last day of the Council meetings for this term. We will be going into what's called winter break, as they call summer break. I'd just like everyone to know and the public that we're not actually on break. We don't go on vacation. We're still in our offices. STATED MEETING 152 12/15/2022 don't meet here, but we are available. You can call us. You can reach us. And during this time, I'd like to say that I have several events that I'd like to invite the public to. The first, this Saturday is going to be our Holiday Fun Day and Toy Giveaway. Unfortunately because of the violence in our city, we really focused on children whose parents and family members were taken from them. And so this is a free event. I'd like to thank the persons providing, the entities providing the actual toys, Walmart, Five Below, and others, Temple University providing the location. It is this Saturday at the Student Pavilion, which is actually like an indoor football field, so the kids will have a nice soft surface, plenty of room. There'll be moon bounce, food, snacks, and at the end of it, they will leave with toys. So that's 1:00 to 4:00, 15th STATED MEETING 153 12/15/2022 Norris. Please register at Eventbright, Holiday Fun Day, Toy Giveaway, and that will assure that you have space and room at the event. The next one is the end of our PHL Live Center Stage. We've gone through ten genres of music, ten concerts, and we will be presenting our awards, but fortunately this year the award show is free. So everybody is welcome to come. We are featuring Laurin Talese and Marcus Bryan, who is Rated Art, and we'll have another band. That's going to be at World Cafe Live at 3025 Walnut Street on December the 20th, Tuesday, December the 20th. Doors open at 7:30, show starts at 8:00 p.m. Then as we have often talked about, I don't have any money and neither does any of the at-large Councilpeople, so what I started to do was put together a time for folks to come by who needed money, and it is our 2023 Youth STATED MEETING 154 12/15/2022 Symposium, where it's all about getting money, getting funds. If you're a non-profit that service children and youth, come on by. It's free. It's on January the 10th, starting at 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Temple University. Our keynote speaker is J. Culotta, Wawa Foundation President. We'll have about 15 or 17 foundations and corporations that will talk to you about funding your organization. We have breakout sessions. You can talk to them and meet up to three foundations or corporations, funders, on a small group basis. And, finally, as we talked about the Korean American Day, this is actually our 10th anniversary. The event has always been free, but we're doing something a little different. We're going to go have a dinner, a gala. So that's not going to be free, unfortunately. It is $75 a ticket, but it will be a great celebration. If STATED MEETING 155 12/15/2022 go, we'll celebrate on that day, January the 13th. I didn't set that date. That was set by Congress, because Koreans took a boat or something over to Hawaii. So for us, it's super chilly, and so it's a -- we do the flag-raising and we'll have this event. And those are just some events that we'll be doing over the winter break, and I'm sure my colleagues will have more, but anyway, I appreciate the opportunity to shout that out. Thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brooks.
Thank you, Council President. I want to say a few words about the Reproductive Freedom Platform. I first want to thank Councilmembers Gauthier and former Councilmember Gym for STATED MEETING 156 12/15/2022 this issue. When we first heard the news of the leaked majority draft opinion, we were in the streets together. We marched hand in hand with a diverse, broad movement of people who wanted a future that was not categorized by shame and stigma and hatred but with freedom, the freedom to define our own path and control over our bodies, your family, and your future. And together Councilmember Gym, Gauthier, and myself decided that we couldn't stand by and just wait for others to determine our fates. We would do everything in our power to protect our constituents and everyone who chooses to travel to our city. So we joined together with leading reproductive health advocates and legal experts to figure out what must be done to protect providers, patients, and anyone seeking reproductive care in Philadelphia, because we knew that while STATED MEETING 157 12/15/2022 still legal in Philadelphia, it didn't mean that it wasn't under threat. And I'm incredibly proud of the work that we did arrive to at that legislation. We want to give specific thanks out to the Women's Law Project, so many folks from New Voices, ACLU PA, Planned Parenthood, Penn Med, and Penn professors for shaping it and supporting it through the committee hearing and final passage today. This precedent-setting legislation ensures that no matter who you are, where you work, and where -where you work or your reproductive health decisions can't be used against you. And even though this Council body has experienced a great deal of change recently, I'm proud that Council President has enabled the members to continue to pass meaningful legislation and supporting our incoming Councilmembers and adapting to the City STATED MEETING 158 12/15/2022 body, and we will still be doing the people's work, because this legislation is something we can't wait -we couldn't wait for. This legislation shows that we are responsive to the needs of our residents and that whenever our rights are under attack, we won't remain silent and we will stand up and fight back. So I'm grateful to have strong, powerful women on this Council who are such strong advocates for protecting the basic rights and freedoms. And I especially want to thank Councilmembers Cindy Bass and Katherine Gilmore Richardson for their support as well. Thank you, Council colleagues, and thank you, Council President, and happy holidays.
Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gauthier. STATED MEETING 159 12/15/2022
Thank you, Council President. Since the beginning of my time in office, the preservation of affordable housing has been high on my list of priorities. That is why today I introduced the People's Preservation Package. In a city that already lacks sufficient affordable housing for its residents, we must do everything we can to prevent this crisis from getting any worse. This package will give the City and its affordable housing partners the tools to maintain as many existing affordable units as possible. By compiling an official directory of properties with affordability subsidies and their terms, we will have a unified way of keeping track of when affordability at a particular property is at risk and provide a longer runway to create solutions that preserve STATED MEETING 160 12/15/2022 who intend to sell their affordable properties to notify affordable housing providers of their intent to sell will allow time for potential fundraising efforts to buy and maintain the properties as affordable. In addition to preserving existing affordable units, we must also take a hard look at the discriminatory practices that have kept Philadelphians with housing vouchers from competing on the private market. Even though source of income discrimination is illegal in Philadelphia, for years landlords have been denying units to households with vouchers, and we need to examine how this discrimination is exacerbating an already critical housing situation in our city. This legislative package is just the first of many steps we can take to preserve affordable housing and STATED MEETING 161 12/15/2022 safe, stable housing for all Philadelphians. I'd like to thank the co-sponsors of the legislation, and look forward to working with my colleagues to create innovative ways to preserve and create affordability in our city. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Harrity.
Hello, Council President. It's been 17 days since myself and my new colleagues were sworn in to be members of this body, and I wanted to reiterate the appreciation of both me and my staff to both you and to each member of this Chamber who has taken the time to help us become accustomed to the norms of City Council. I'd like to extend my additional appreciation to the Council STATED MEETING 162 12/15/2022 approachable and welcoming, which -- and I think I can speak for all of us when I say -- made us feel like a full-fledged member. With the spirit of camaraderie, I look forward to working with all of you in the new year. And in the holiday spirit, it was the other day that I was sitting down to write letters to Santa Claus with my grandchildren, and as I was writing them, I thought for a long time about what I wanted for Christmas. It was then I realized that Santa couldn't leave the presents I wanted under the tree. So instead I wrote a letter to the only person who could, and if this body would indulge me, I'd like to read it now. Dear Mr. Mayor, while you enjoy the holidays, I'd like to ask that you keep me and my neighbors on the 700 block of East Willard Street in mind. Nowhere else in the City would they want what's going on in my neighborhood, and no one STATED MEETING 163 12/15/2022 what they have been tolerating for so long. Kensington has been ground zero of the opioid epidemic in our city, an image so bad that the Mexican government is using video of the Ona House (ph), an addicted population in my neighborhood, in state-sponsored anti-drug advertisement. This is only an embarrassment to that neighborhood, but an embarrassment to our entire city. We have become the flattened girl in Mexico's "just say no" campaign. " The residents of Kensington are being asked to deal with so much and is an example of what the rest of the City is now dealing with. Senior citizens are living like prisoners in their own homes. They are afraid to leave, for fear of being victims of crime or witnesses of the zombie-like state of those addicted to heroin laced with fentanyl. STATED MEETING 164 12/15/2022 leave their homes, the children who have to walk to and from school, have to walk through open-air drug markets and witness their peers peddling poison to make profit. We need help. We need you to step up. We need you to say enough is enough. We need you, Mr. Mayor, to do what the people elected you to do, what you swore an oath to do, protect Philadelphians, all Philadelphians, regardless of where they reside in the City, regardless of what they need to protect them from. To paraphrase Edmund Burke, the only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is for good men and women to do nothing. As we are all aware of in this body, there is much work to be done in the new year. We all know the plight of gun violence in our respective districts and in the entirety of our city. We all know the problems of the understaffed STATED MEETING 165 12/15/2022 responders, including our paramedics and police officers. We all know about the significant problems faced by parents and children to cope with the decrepit school buildings and school closures. And while our country faces a potential resurgence in the COVID-19 pandemic, our city is still grappling with the fallout of the opioid epidemic, the symptoms of which trickle down through every facet of this city's life, from the increase in homeless population to drug trade-related shootings, and the demoralized workforce whose job it is to respond to these alarms. However, despite challenges that we face as a body, I am delighted to be working with some of most intelligent, caring and, most importantly, kind people in our city who truly wish to achieve good for all for our fellow Philadelphians.
While I know some of us may STATED MEETING 166 12/15/2022 many of these problems that I have pointed out today and that we try to address every Thursday, I am excited to continue to work for all of Philadelphia. And, Council President, as you can see, I'm dressed in all black today, and that's because I'm mourning our city. I'm mourning all the victims of gun violence. Enough is enough. Somebody has to do something about it. I'm asking Mr. Mayor to please help me and my community as well as the rest of the City of Philadelphia. Thank you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes STATED MEETING 167 12/15/2022
Thank you, Council President. Colleagues, it means so much to me that you all have co-sponsored Resolution 220984. Philadelphia has a perception of lawlessness. I'm here to talk reality. We have more than 6,000 police officers and countless professionals who fight every day to keep Philadelphians safe. They could earn more money elsewhere, but they are here because of their dedication, sacrificing themselves under intense public and political pressure because of how much they care. So we know Philadelphia is not a lawless place. However, perception becomes reality. This is especially true in Kensington where residents have dealt with poverty, language access issues, the drug epidemic, and the gun violence crisis for years. These are the same conditions STATED MEETING 168 12/15/2022 fled to come here. And this deep intergenerational harm must come to an end. People fear there is no end in sight. We have seen what does not work. It's time to fix it. When Kensington thrives, this whole city thrives. This great city was built on countless programs to help people who are suffering so they can heal and live with dignity. The billion dollar drug market, the billion dollar drug market continues to find new ways to stop that progress. Without enforcement, all we can do is encourage treatment and pray that people don't slowly kill themselves while their families wonder where they are. This resolution is my first concrete step toward helping Kensington return to a vibrant community where parents can walk their children to school without stepping on needles and where everyone can be safe and thrive. Thank you all, and happy STATED MEETING 169 12/15/2022
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Thomas.
Thank you, Council President. Real quick I just want to remind the members of the Education Committee as well as the listening public that tomorrow we're having an important hearing around Act 158. If people don't know, the state guidelines as it relates to what a high school student has to complete in order to graduate from high school has changed, and tomorrow we're going to examine where we are as a municipality as it relates to our young people graduating from high school in June and what steps we need to take. That hearing is going to be virtual. It's going to be tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Thank you, Council President. STATED MEETING 170 12/15/2022 you, colleagues.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Phillips.
Thank you, Council President. I too want to echo Councilmember Harrity for all he said about the work that we need to do to curb gun violence, among other things, but also I want to thank all of you for welcoming Councilmembers, our colleagues Councilmember Sharon Vaughn and Councilwoman Lozada and Harrity and myself. You all have been extremely welcoming and helpful over the past few weeks as we become more acclimated to this work and the service that we're going to do to Philadelphia. I just want to quickly say that when St. Joe's Preparatory School's victory came across my desk as Councilmember Thomas presented his STATED MEETING 171 12/15/2022 them, I've been running around the City serving for a little while now and it shocked me as a student. As a graduate of La Salle College High School, I must say that I want to say congratulations to those young men, but, you know, Councilman O'Neill, our La Salle guys are going to come back next year strong, I'm sure. All right. But I want to also just add that my colleague Councilwoman Cindy Bass, her legislative team in particular, did a phenomenal job with putting together a piece of legislation that's really important for all of us in the City of Philadelphia, and that's around catalytic converters. So I just wanted to acknowledge the Councilwoman for pushing that legislation, because no matter what room many of us enter throughout our districts and folks as Councilmen at-large, we hear about this issue, and I really hope this STATED MEETING 172 12/15/2022 to curtailing this issue in the City of Philadelphia. And I will -- I actually already started talking about it in the district, and hopefully that this will create ways to really prevent this from happening to many of the citizens in Philadelphia. So thank you, Councilwoman.
Thank you. Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Vaughn.
Good afternoon, everyone. It is afternoon now. I am moved by my colleague's speech also to the Mayor, but I'm more concerned and I'm working with my team diligently to see what I can do opposed to what the Mayor is going to do. I believe it's important to this body that we all get together and start making moves in this city in order to make a difference. STATED MEETING 173 12/15/2022 everyone a happy holiday. I also want to thank the 42nd Ward and relentless non-profit in my ward. We had a fish fry this past weekend and raised money to do a toy giveaway, and I'm inviting anyone that wants to attend. It's going to be on December the 23rd at the Feltonville Recreation Center from 1:30 until we give away the toys. We have also been blessed with a STEM program from Snipes at this recreation center, and the unveiling will be prior to. So any child that wants to come in and utilize the computers and things like that that we will have available to them, and we also will be serving them a nice holiday dinner. So I would like for people to try to come, and this is definitely a free event for anyone that wants to join us at the Feltonville Recreation Center on Wyoming Avenue.
STATED MEETING 174 12/15/2022 you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Johnson.
I'll be real brief, Council President. I just want to also commend Councilwoman Cindy Bass, and I was going to say it when the bill was brought up, but that catalytic converter bill is major, and hopefully it goes toward just totally eliminating this practice. It reminds of like growing up in the crack era, and they were like stealing any and everything, right? You might come out the house and your car might be on crates, right? And so hopefully the people that's doing all the stealing get the help that they need. But any time you see a story where the educational institution, day care center gets up in the morning and the drivers go out to start their school buses to pick up their kids and can't go out and pick up the kids because the STATED MEETING 175 12/15/2022 is totally unacceptable. And so when we talk about the issue of public safety, this falls in line with making sure that we're enforcing all the laws on the books to hold those who are accountable that are destroying the quality of life here in the City of Philadelphia. So, Councilwoman Cindy Bass, thank you for putting forward that legislation, because at the end of the day, you know, I'm never going to be shy about the people in the City being hard-working Philadelphians and shouldn't have to wake up and come outside and get in their car and their car is damaged because someone decided to come and steal from them. And especially being the number one big city when it comes to poverty, you know, your coins are valuable. So, you know, when you're destroying somebody else's quality of life and they can't just get up the next STATED MEETING 176 12/15/2022 their car fixed, it could be a problem. And so -- and insurance companies will take advantage of them as well. So thank you, Councilwoman Cindy Bass, for stepping up for that quality of life piece of legislation. (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Mr. President. As we end 2022, we thank God for small favors, the fact that we didn't exceed so far last year's murder rate and that we're doing substantive work in this Chamber and in this city to address gun violence. But I want to shout you out, Mr. President. We had a lot of publicity STATED MEETING 177 12/15/2022 topics, but one of the things that went under the radar was your trip to Camden. You took members of this body, Member Thomas, Member Gilmore Richardson, over to Camden where we toured ShotSpotter, looked at their configuration of cameras, looked at how they integrated the technology with some good old-fashioned community policing, that they know the people in the area, that they use the technology not only to hold those who would do people harm accountable but to the members of their police force accountable as to where they were, how long they were there. But the one thing that we picked up from Trenton or Camden or wherever we've gone, Chester, was cooperation, was the fact that these individuals, stakeholders, could sit in a room and figure it out. I appreciate the new members of this body for some of the things that they've proposed today. I appreciate STATED MEETING 178 12/15/2022 the Mayor, but what I also know is that if we're going to do better in 2023, we have to do better working with each other, and that means that we all can't point the finger at each other. We have to point the finger towards solutions, because our people depend on us to do so. So thank you, Mr. President, for being, as Blondell Reynolds would say, laserly focused on the issue and moving us in the right direction. And I want to say if I don't see you during the course of the holidays, have a happy holiday and a prosperous, safe new year. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilman. Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson.
Thank you, Council President. On the occasion of our last STATED MEETING 179 12/15/2022 2022, I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, Council President. Thank you to all of my colleagues, to all of our team members, particularly your staff, Council President. We appreciate each and every one of you for all you do to help us do the work that we do on behalf of the constituents of the City of Philadelphia. I also wanted to pause and say thank you to the men and women of the Philadelphia Fire Department. Maya Angelou says, "Always say thank you, because it's the greatest gift you can give someone, because thank you is what you say to God." And so I wanted to say thank you so much to the men and women of the Philadelphia Fire Department, particularly Engine 54 and all of the first responders who are our heroes in the Wynnefield community for their work this week. Earlier this week the house next door to me caught fire. I live in a STATED MEETING 180 12/15/2022 home, and the efforts of the men and women of the Philadelphia Fire Department certainly made the difference. We all were able to make it out safely. My neighbors are safe, and we had very minimal damage. And so I wanted to say thank you so much, particularly to Firefighter Davis, who came in after the fire, we were cleared to reenter our home, and made sure we had our smoke detectors in the right spaces and places and even moved our carbon monoxide detector to the right space, because we have a boiler in the basement. So I just wanted to say thank you so very much from the bottom of our hearts from all the neighbors in Wynnefield for your work. And, finally, I wanted to remind everyone about a program we'll be having next week, particularly in light of the loss of tWitch. I know so many of you have probably heard about the DJ from STATED MEETING 181 12/15/2022 Show, and I was really struck by his loss, and every year since I've been in Council, we've had a program around managing grief and loss during the holidays. And I know it's a very tough season for so many of us who have lost so many. And so that program will be Thursday, December 22nd, 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. It will be live-streamed online, and you can get more information @CouncilmemberKGR on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Thank you, Council President, and happy holidays to each and every one of you.
Thank you. Thank you so much, Councilwoman. Before I call for a motion to adjourn, I just want to thank all of you all. Another successful year, but as witnessed, this conversation that we've just had on speeches, there's a whole lot of work to do. So we don't have the STATED MEETING 182 12/15/2022 our laurels and patting ourselves on the back. We got to keep pushing, keep moving the needle, continue to do what we need to do. Councilman Johnson, I know what it's like to look out the window and see your car on cinderblocks, okay, firsthand, right? Called Councilman Jones, I can't make the meeting, I'm on cinderblocks. So there's some challenges out here, but, you know, we have to figure out a way, like Councilman Jones said, that all of the trips from Camden to Baltimore to Chester, it was all about collaboration, and it was clear that that was the one single formula that was consistent across the board. So we will have to work together. We will have to check our egos at the door. We work for the citizens of the City of Philadelphia. When somebody says in the street, I pay your salary, they actually do. So we got to recognize STATED MEETING 183 12/15/2022 to figure out a way to make sure that we do whatever we need to do. So with that, I just want to say you all have an awesome holiday season, enjoy it for a couple of days, because it's time to go back to work shortly thereafter. And I want to say how much I appreciate you all. I'm going to say this again. I know I'm not soft. I love you guys, right? Somebody said, man, you're getting soft, Darrell. But I do, right? So as my Council family, I just want to say you all be safe. Enjoy yourself. Enjoy your holiday. Love you guys. With that, I call for a motion to adjourn, Councilman Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. STATED MEETING 184 12/15/2022 (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, January 19, 2023, 10:00 a.m. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)