Good afternoon. My name is Sterling Scott. I'm a member of the Citizen Congress of Nicetown. Also, Vice President of our own RCO, Nicetown, RCO. The Marcus Foster Pool is a lifeline for the Nicetown residents. PHILAquatics is vital for our community. There are many benefits in our pools -- for pools in our neighborhood. One, pulls community -- it pulls community together. Parents will want their children to learn how to swim and they will assist in the curriculum. Also, the guidance that comes from the instructors will be a lifelong benefit and add structure to the child's development in our community. Marcus Foster Pool is --we have been asked many a times, why has Marcus Foster Pool not been rebuilt? These are young and old adults. The older seniors, they need this for their treatments and the pools can eliminate a lot of weight or stress on their bodies where they cannot do regular exercise. Okay? Our neighbors want to be -- don't want to be an afterthought or neglected. Thank you. One other thing, the pools are -- the pools are -- Marcus Foster Pool is in the historic area. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Okay. Thank you. Sir, we need you to -- if you're speaking, speak in to the mic so we can get it on the transcript. But thank you very, very much. The clerk will please call the next set of witnesses.
Christina Gosnell, Shihong Lin, Yvonne Lung, Vivian Chang and Alex Wiles.
So, hello. Thank you for this opportunity for me to be here to speak. So, hello, my name is Shihong Lin. So I work in Asian America United. So we are a community-based organization that's raising youth and family for success. So personally, I came to America when I was years old. My family chose Philadelphia because it was a work owned immigrant city like ours. I'm a proud graduate from my Marco Elementary School and Furness High School from our public school from Philadelphia. So I was able to attend and graduate from Temple University because of support I received in the public system. So, yeah, so personally as an immigrant student who used to graduate from Philadelphia, I really hope there will be like more resource going to our popular education system to support all the students who have better learning environment and a safety school. But, like, those support are under attack right now. The Newcomer program to help children learn English and be protected at school are almost gone. Even though students are getting left behind every day, our city is not doing enough to help them. Many students come to Philly because they are escaping from the war, violent and traumas. So City Council should provide 2 million for newcomer programs so there is no children left behind in our public schools. City Council should provide 1.8 million from the Philadelphia Immigrants Family Unity Projects. If the city abandoned its responsibilities, then more of our children will be more suffering in our popular Philadelphia high school. So that's not what we want to see in our cities. So, we're all here to look forward to a better future of our public systems. Better budget -- like, better budget and better future of our Philadelphia on next years. And also, of course, include another champions to win for our Super Bowls. So yeah, Go Eagles, Go Philadelphia. Thank you.
City Councilmembers, thank you for this opportunity to testify. My name is Yvonne Lung. I'm an artist who has called Philadelphia home since 2007. And I have been active in art and -- in the art and cultural community for just as long. I'm also a second- generation immigrant with close ties to my API community. So I'm here today to oppose Bill No. 250199. I want to talk about how getting rid of BIRT would affect small business owners, which includes artists. As an artist, I'm a small business. Artists, musicians, dancers, writers and actors are all small business owners in the city. While Philly has a very, very vibrant arts and community -- arts and culture community, as makers, as contractors, entrepreneurs, our income fluctuates and every penny we earn counts. Since the conception of the BIRT exemption in 2014, small businesses like me have experienced its benefits. It is because of the exemption that my partner and I who he is also an artist, were able to save up for a down payment to buy a house that is not only our home, but also, we have our artist studio in there as well, instead of renting a studio from a slum landlord. Just recently, the arts and cultural organizations in the Philadelphia region have received notification from the National Endowment of the Arts, rescinding grants, left and right, that have been promised to them wreaking havoc in our community, which also means this is going to be less money that will trickle down to individual artists, musicians, dancers, writers and performers, people like me. Should the BIRT extension be cut or canceled, this will add another financial burden to people like me, which will cause talent to leave Philadelphia and search for a city that supports makers and creatives. I ask the city not to remove the BIRT exemption. Why are we providing tax cuts to those that don't need it? The big corporations, the multimillionaires, the billionaires. In order to create a city that is livable, diverse, and beautiful, the city needs to support the local and small businesses. Imagine the Mural Arts program not having any artists to be able to create the beautiful murals that you see around the city. Imagine FDR Park not holding a Southeast Asian market. And I want to say yes, those aunties and uncles that are cooking there are artists as well. Imagine the Bok Building empty with no artist studios and there are no art communities. I sincerely ask the City Council to support the continuation of the BIRT exemption. Thank you.
Yes, that's right. Should I go? My name is Vivian Chang. I am a member of the Alliance for a Just Philadelphia. Also work at -- yes. We're a coalition of so many organizations, so many people in this room, and sadly, so many Councilmembers not listening to us, I just want to name that. I think there's so many people who took time out of their day. And look, I'm looking at all these empty seats. So I hope that, like, you know, even if folks aren't able to hear us live, maybe they can come back and listen to us here. But, you know, in short, everything we've testified today relies on city services. It relies on funding for our city government, right? Where there's no way we're going to have safe, healthy homes for all if we cut taxes on big corporations. There's no way that this city can really live up to its promise to protect all people, including our immigrants if we cut those taxes on big corporations. And the BIRT tax is part of that, right? There is a plan right now that the mayor has put forth to tax 80,000 small businesses, two thirds of all businesses in Philly. So squeezing blood from those little stones, so that there can be cuts made on the biggest corporations; on union busters like Aramark; is that fair? Does that make sense? Yeah. So the city right now, this proposal before us is choosing to steal from the poor to give to the rich. Take food from the mouths of babes so that billionaires like David Edelman can destroy more neighborhoods and buy more cyber trucks and that doesn't make sense. So 80,000 businesses, I just want to repeat that number, these are the smallest businesses in Philadelphia, and these are sole proprietors, family businesses, longtime shops, many of whom were redlined out of federal loans and grants, and they're only surviving today by the skin of their teeth. These are businesses that are going to be forced to suddenly pay, you know, upwards of a thousand dollars in taxes even more. And the proposal is a $30 million fund for transition. Well, if we do the math, 80,000 businesses, $30 million, that's not even enough money for the first year of this new tax. So, you know, these small businesses are not looking for a handout, but they don't want to high-five when they're drowning. How many small businesses will be allowed to be destroyed? How many services are we going to be allowed to cut because of this? I urge City Council, do not remove the BIRT Exemption. Fund our people's budget. Thank you.
Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Alex Wiles from Bonfire Media Collective. We are a media co-op that is actually a very short walk away from here. I'm here also in support of the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance and the Alliance for a Just Philadelphia. If you recognize our business name as a member of local government, it may be because we are the ones who ran the campaign, the media campaign for Kendra Brooks, who I'm very happy was able to win her run and still occupies office in this building, and was able to do lots of amazing things as a member of local government. Years ago, I also worked alongside Helen Gym and Media Mobilizing project on the Cap Comcast campaign to help ensure through our ongoing franchise agreement with this company that they will pay their fair share in this country. This also led to lots of other cities across the country stopping their franchise agreements with their large corporations to get some of the more equitable things that Philadelphia was able to accomplish. This is the exact kind of leadership that we need right now. We were able to help lead our country by example as a city and we can continue doing so. This is the kind of leadership and advocacy we need, especially now as our country and communities are threatened with so much violence, injustice and inequity. As a member of a cooperative, I have seen the work that can be accomplished in a worker-owned company. We need city funding for co-ops and we cannot lose our BIRT taxes exemption. Co-ops are run democratically, where all workers have a voice in a time when so many companies take advantage of their workers, we need more co-ops and we need them to flourish, not just survive. We need leaders to help restore the rapidly fading trust that voters have in our government. I'm asking for a $1.3 million investment in our fully co-ops, which embody democracy and community. We are exhausted as a city and as voters with just-the- survive mindset. Support us with vital funding so that we can thrive, not just survive. Thank you.
Next, we have Terrell Cannon, Jacob Russell, Linnea Bond, Marissa Johnson Vale, Paul Hannick, and Nicole Brunette.
Okay. Hello, I know a number of you. My name is Marissa Johnson- Valenzuela. I am a union leader and I think years full-time faculty member at Community College of Philadelphia. And maybe it's 14, maybe it's 12, I don't know, it's somewhere, a long time. I'm also a former CCP student. And I am here because I love Philadelphia deeply, that's why I teach at Community College of Philadelphia. I'm also really proud that our union is part of a coalition of more than 40 organizations with these t-shirts here calling for increased investment in our communities. My joke here is that I am an English professor, but the math is not mathing. Our city needs more investment in our people, and as part of that, I am here today to advocate for increased investment in Community College of Philadelphia, million more in general operating funds, and two million more for SEPTA passes for students, which we were able to win an agreement on, but yet the funding is still in question, as you heard from Harold Epps when he was here testifying to you. So, but I do also want to take a moment to thank folks in this room for their support; for the faculty, and staff, and students at Community College of Philadelphia. I was there all night long to reach the deal that our members overwhelmingly agreed to, and that 97 percent were willing to strike for, right? And I know you got a late night phone call yourself to try to make that happen, you know, but after four and -- so the city's headed in the right direction, but after four decades of defunding at the city and state level, after four decades of breaking the promise that CCP and all community colleges across the state were founded with, the city still needs to do more to do right by its college. And so, you know, again, 5 million increase in general funding, 6 two million for SEPTA passes, and 7 you know, you know, I trust that 8 everyone in this room is aware of 9 the cuts coming from the federal 10 government and is upset by them. 11 And this is a real 12 opportunity to push back against 13 them and to make sure that CCP is 14 okay, because those cuts will gut 15 us, right? The financial aid cuts that the Republicans are pushing will have a devastating effect and now is not the time to go cheap on the community -- on our college. Thank you.
Hi. My name is Linnea Bond. I am a resident of the 5th District and the director of Education for Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania. Based on what they treat in clinic and the latest research, the medical professionals I work with are advocating for investments in public health with serious concerns about climate change, air quality, and environmental pollutants. We support the Safe and Healthy Homes initiative, including PEA's $10 million ask for the Built to Last program and administrative costs that enable coordination and communication with residents who receive assistance. Speaking as a renter myself, who lives next to a home that had multiple gas leaks and where the landlord had an illegal furnace and renters found mold, and two years of respiratory issues ended when they moved out, I personally want to underscore the need for inspections with funding for L&I. Both inspections and repair funding help prevent long-term health harm. Physicians again and again also impress on me the need for investment in green and public spaces that improve air quality, and for the public transit that many residents depend on, and that reduces pollution from car congestion. Again, speaking for myself as an educator who has worked in many Philadelphia public schools and currently as a reading coach for a brilliant but distractible kindergartner at Alexander McClure, an excellent elementary school in Councilmember Lozada's district, I urge council to prioritize school funding. Perhaps it was a failing of my own education, but I have trouble with the math of how we can fund our priorities if we cut taxes for the wealthiest people and corporations who can most afford to pay for them. Thank you.
Hello, City Council. My name is Jacob Russell. I live on Spruce Street between 5th and 6th, and I want to share today my support for the $10 million investment in Vision Zero and concrete protection on the Spruce and Pine bike lanes. I'm far from the only resident of my street looking forward to these improvements. Nearly 400 Philadelphians attended the open-house on the protection plan, 80 percent of which expressed support for concrete protection on the exit survey. Those 400 residents included 150 residents of Spruce and Pine, and among those 150, 62 percent raised voice support for the plan. Protected bike lanes are not a niche issue for a small vocal minority; they're a broadly popular policy that will save lives throughout the city. I know some of my neighbors have complained about the cost of the bike lanes. I'd like to remind them that $5 million is 0.07 percent of the city budget. If the city was a person making the Philadelphia average of $60,000 a year, the bike thing would cost $42. Protecting thousands of lives for the relative cost of a restaurant dinner is quite a bargain. A $5 million investment in safety also pales in comparison to the massive parking subsidy Center City residents receive each year from the city. A market rate parking spot in Center City is about $3,000 per year, and the city charges a measly $75 for the privilege of parking their private vehicle on public streets. Each parking permit constitutes a subsidy of thousands of dollars to the city's richest residents. If my neighbors are also concerned about the cost of safety improvements, hope they can get behind drastic increases in the parking permit costs to pay for these improvements. While the bike lanes are in Philadelphia's richest neighborhood, they do serve residents from every part of the city. They're an essential affordable connection to the jobs and services in Center City. 7,000 Philadelphians joined our petition demanding Congress protection on Spruce and Pine, 1,000 living in Center City and 6,000 from other districts. Philadelphians in every district want these improvements. I do agree with my neighbors that the challenge the city faces in traffic violence go far beyond Spruce and Pine Street. The DVRCP estimates that Philly needs an investment of two billion to actually achieve Vision Zero. While the proposed million 7 is a welcome step in the right 8 direction, it falls well short of 9 the investment needed to really keep 10 Philadelphians safe on their streets. If we were serious about protecting people from traffic deaths, we should be investing tens of millions, not -- sorry. We should be investing hundreds of millions, not tens of millions. I hope this council and the mayor can build upon these huge investments to finally actually work to eliminate traffic deaths in our community. Thank you.
Hello. My name's Nicole Brunette. Thank you so much, Council. I'm the policy director for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, and I'm here testifying in support of the proposed Vision Zero budget found in Mayor Parker's Proposed FY26 capital budget. The Mayor's proposed budget is one way to show the city's commitment to Vision Zero and reaching zero traffic fatalities. The main budget line for Vision Zero was increased -- from 1 million last year to 3.5, and an additional 1.5 for Vision Zero shows up in another set of budget lines. This Vision Zero budget line also includes $5 million from another source of funding to pay for concrete protected bike lanes on Spruce and Pine Streets. So this issue is really important to me. Philadelphia is a beautiful historic city, and parts of the city have maintained dense neighborhoods with small roads and short blocks. This design is perfect for safe streets, for people walking, biking, taking transit, and even driving by encouraging lower speeds. However, over the past half century, city planners have built highways through a majority/minority neighborhoods, causing the most diverse neighborhoods of Philadelphia to have some of the most dangerous roads. There's a discrepancy between the safety of state roads versus city-owned roads. The state roads are typically wider cross cut through full neighborhoods and require state and federal funding to improve. With the uncertainty of federal infrastructure funding, having stable city funding to improve locally-owned roads and work with state partners is critical to improving the safety of underserved communities. I applaud the Parker administration for increasing the city's contribution to Vision Zero and listening to community members who feel the largest impacts of traffic violence. Now it's up to all of you to approve a budget that continues to prioritize safety for all users over the speed of one. I was also surprised to see a new budget line for multimodal trails and side pass to help maintain trails throughout the city in Fiscal Year 2027. However, it currently doesn't include funding for this coming fiscal year. I request the budget line include $500,000. Having this money could provide funds to help with any additional costs for state or federally funded trail projects, safeguarding against potential delays caused by unexpected costs. This is especially important during the time of federal uncertainty. Thank you so much and for your consideration.
Good afternoon, Councilmembers and neighbors. My name is Paul Hannick. I'm a human rights lawyer. I'm a proponent of transparency and accountability. My comments involve the Philadelphia Police Department's budget and also Vision Zero. The other day I called my police district to bring attention to multiple observations in my neighborhood of motorist: personal and commercial unlawfully covering the registration plates and rendering them unreadable, Amber alerts, stolen vehicles, valid insurance arrest warrants, all checked based on reading license plates. I mentioned that after I took a photo in a public place of an illegally parked vehicle in the bicycle lane, pretty typical, I was chased, physically stopped in accosted in the middle of the intersection of Pine and 17th. And Philadelphia Police's response was, "We know you're upset about people parking the bicycle lane. Next time, don't engage." Why not? Thanks for bringing attention to this unlawful behavior of obscuring plates. We'll ensure our officers patrolling those areas keep an eye out."? On any given day I observe 7-8 police officers on bicycles in a gaggle near the south side of City Hall. They can't spare one or two to ride along the unprotected, unenforced, high-injury network streets to provide presence and enforcement in those areas. It probably has nothing to do with me publicly expressing to municipal leaders of their duty to ensure the safety of all its residents, and alleging the unreasonable delays in implementing valid safety laws breached that duty, and that city were to implement and enforce would've clearly prevented unnecessary, preventable traffic deaths. I'm certain that my reports to the District Attorney's office and the Inspector General have nothing to do with the disrespect I experienced. And by not enforcing public safety and traffic laws, officers often violate the laws themselves. The PPD, not allowing hostility to grow between vexed neighbors that underlies the very violence your department struggles to subdue. Stop over policing black, indigenous people of color communities and start fighting rampant corruption. Free Palestine. I yield.
Next, we have Jenny Zhang, Devren Washington, Jordan Brittingham, Thomas Kowalczyk, and Jules Rodgers.
My name is Jenny Zhang. I'm with the Alliance for a Just Philadelphia, APIPA, and I live in Chinatown. We're seeing every day at the federal level cuts to lifesaving programs and essential services, and these affect every Philadelphian, and especially our most vulnerable and marginalized. And that is why it is crucial our city not accept this budget at face value, we need more. Our libraries, parks, transit, housing, other services are already at risk, this budget puts them at further risk through the tax cuts to big business. We need Council to pass the wealth tax so that ultra wealthy Philadelphians pay their fair share. Why are we codifying years of tax 6 cuts? They're already getting tax 7 cuts at the federal and state 8 levels. If we want to budget that 9 protects and supports Philadelphia 10 for the people long term, we need to 11 fund it. In order for a budget to 12 function properly, it needs funding, 13 billionaires need to pay up. And one of the things we really need to fund in this city are mobile mental health crisis units. I'm speaking today in support of $20 million of funding for mobile crisis units in Philadelphia. We need care, not more policing. And I'm also here today because of Christian Hall. Many of you already know his story, but Christian was experiencing a mental health crisis in Monroe County. When police arrived, they shot and killed him. Access to mobile -- multi mobile crisis unit could have saved his life and it could have saved many people -- these units could have saved many people's lives. When these units are fully funded, they can save even more lives. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we need to take mental health seriously in this city. As Council considers the budget and as we face potential federal cuts, we cannot afford to skimp on life-saving resources in favor of over-policing. It is now more important than ever that we fully fund culturally competent linguistically accessible mental health services that protect the health and safety of Philadelphians. We need and deserve compassionate, professional mental health response to mental health crisis. Thank you.
Good afternoon. My name is Devren Washington. I'm the organizing director at People's Tech Project, and co-convener of the Philly Tech Justice Collective. We are also members of the Alliance, and we work on -- we fight for community control over the technology that shapes our lives, especially when used by the government and corporations. Right now, the Mayor's budget earmarks tens of millions of dollars for tech projects that include police surveillance. At their hearing, the police admitted that the surveillance data that is captured is shared at times with the federal government. This is the same government that is conducting mass deportations to El Salvador, and targeting citizens for their first -- for exercising their first amendment rights. This is also the same government that just opened a detention center next to the Newark Airport in New Jersey and arrested the mayor. And so this isn't hypothetical, right? ICE and other law enforcement agencies, federal law enforcement agencies use local data to persecute immigrants, black and brown communities, and by funding surveillance, you're bankrolling the tools they need to violate our rights. We have a -- we also want a safe and thriving Philly too. A clean, green, safe Philadelphia with economic opportunities for all, like the mayor says. But we think that by -- that we demand that you all divest from surveillance, and invest in what actually works, which is a fully funded people's budget. Organizations like YEAH estimate that the city could be spending around $30,000 per youth to almost eradicate youth involved violence by focusing on the youth that are most at risk instead of the 220,000 that they are spending to maintain the Juvenile Justice Center. So just to wrap it up, because I know my time is just about over, you know, we want to move away from policing, we want to make sure we're continuing to fund things like the PHL Connected program, and we also need for City Council to start holding hearings on how the city is using technology especially with the police department because we understand that there are -- there's a lack of transparency in how it's used. Thank you.
Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Jordan Brittingham and I'm an organizer at Peoples Tech Project. For the last two years, we at Peoples Tech have been talking with community members, leaders, and organizers to build our understanding of technologies impact on our communities. Through those conversations, we can see how tech is changing our society right before our eyes and not always in the best way. Particularly, in this proposed budget, we can see how tech is going to be an integral part of the city's plan to exercise services and running city programs. We see a lot of money being spent on drones and other technologies. However, we do not see much oversight around these technologies. We are calling City Council to ask more questions about tech purchasing and its efficacy, as well as challenge this administration on full public transparency of the acquisition, implementation, and implementation of tech. Mass deportation is happening. Most of these technologies and data sharing practices are assisting the federal law enforcement with these deportations tearing families apart. We need to protect every member of our community and not allow for this type of application of tech and data. Tech should be used to improve the lives of our community members and not used as a way to surveil and incarcerate them. As members for JP, we are supporting real people's budget, and thank you for your time.
Good afternoon, Councilmembers. My name is Jules Rodgers and I live in West Philadelphia. I work at Amistad Law Project, and I'm here with the Alliance for a Just Philadelphia asking you all to pass a people's budget. We know that you do what you do because you care about the people. So please hear us out. I'm here specifically today to say that I am completely dismayed that less than two months ago, on March 20th, Philadelphia police shot and killed Aaron Rainey while he was suffering from a mental health crisis. Aaron Rainey was a black father, he was unarmed, and he was voluntarily seeking treatment at the age of 36 years old. If mobile crisis teams had been dispatched, Aaron Rainey would still be alive. A social worker, a peer support specialist, an EMT would've approached him with care in a calm manner. They would've had no guns, so there would've been no guns at the site for him to be shot with. Instead, Philadelphia police responded, they threw him in the back of a van, and when they got to the hospital, he was confused. There was a struggle. He didn't understand what was going on. A scuffle broke out, and a police officer shot and killed his -- shot his partner by accident and then shot and killed Aaron Rainey. Aaron Rainey should still be here. I'm also dismayed that this has gotten very little attention in the city, that the family hasn't heard from the Mayor, from the police chief. I just -- I feel, I think this is really outrageous. At any point in Philadelphia, there are 20 percent -- 21 percent of Philadelphians have 24 a serious mental health diagnosis. And that means at any point one in five Philadelphians, that's 357,000 people are at risk of a serious mental health crisis. We shouldn't be at risk of the police killing us when this happens. That is a cousin, this is a daughter, this is a mother or father. And speaking as somebody who grew up with a mentally ill mom, I had to watch her be forcibly removed from our home against her will multiple times. It was traumatic. It's traumatic to see that happen to a mother, a child, a family member. So what we're asking for to make sure that mobile crisis teams can be fully staffed operating 24/7 citywide, we need $20 million in the budget to go to them. This is a very reasonable ask. Mayor Parker has set aside $872 million to go to the Police Department. It is very fair and reasonable to ask that 2 million go to the Philadelphians 3 suffering from a mental health 4 crisis. Thank you for your time. 5
Thomas Gwalsic, 6 Dyymond Whipper, Angela Woods, 7 Tyrese Rogers, Charles Haynes, Gail 8 Banks, Allen Drew. 9
Good morning. 10 My name is Reverend Allen Drew. I'm 11 a resident of the 5th District. I'm 12 a pastor in the Christian Reform 13 Church, and I direct the Hunting 14 Park Community Solar Initiative or 15 HPCSI, which is working to help the 16 community of Hunting Park gain 17 access to affordable solar and is 18 currently running its seven-solar 19 installer job training course for 20 low-income Philadelphians. I'm here today on behalf of myself and HPCSI because we have seen firsthand the incredible benefits of the Philadelphia Energy Authorities Built to Last program on people's lives. In 2023, HPCSI and HPNAC worked together to bring the BTL program to a number of low-income homes in Hunting Park. A documentary was made that followed six of them, What Needs to Be Done: Six Stories of Built to Last. You can find it on YouTube. One of HPCSI's board members was a beneficiary. She's a rock star in the neighborhood running her own community organization, helping out with other orgs, and providing steady leadership on her block. BTL helped repair and improve some serious issues in her home and had installed solar panels and heat pumps for her. She and the other beneficiaries in the documentary were deeply, positively impacted by this program. It stabilized their homes in the face of aggressive gentrification, helping them preserve generational wealth, it made their homes healthier places to live in, and the weatherization, heat pumps and solar power are now saving them significantly on their utilities. And they represent just six families. 214 other families have been impacted by this program, 400 others are in the pipeline, and 2,600 are on a growing wait list for this program. As if these weren't enough, BTL Clean Energy projects mean more work opportunities for the graduates of HPCSI's Solar installer training program. Build to Last has proven itself to be an extremely valuable program and there's a huge demand for more of it. And so, I respectfully ask that you allocate a full $10 million at minimum to the Philadelphia Energy Authority this fiscal year so that BTL is given the support it needs to expand. Its incredible work for all the families that are begging for it. I believe both City Council and the mayor care a lot about housing, and BTL is a powerful tool in your toolbox. I hope you will use it. Thank you for the opportunity to speak and for your consideration.
Good morning -- I mean, good afternoon, all. My name is Tyrese Rogers. I live in District 9 of Philadelphia, and I'm a proud member of OnePA Renters United, and a lifelong Philadelphian. I was born in West Philadelphia, lived in Southwest Germantown, Logan, North Philly, Somerton, and now Frankford. My family has dealt with evictions, and as a member of OnePA, I am very concerned about housing justice in the city. It is not fine for some of our landowner corporations to neglect tenants' complaints, or retaliate against them for doing so, or consistently raising rents on these establishments that probably should be condemned. I am here to speak up for an increase to the budget, that's for L&I, that's $10 million for proactive inspections, and what was it? Hold up just a moment. And -- what, going to L&I -- oh, that's right, I'm sorry. Okay. That's $10 million going to them, and somebody in here can get them on board with what they need to do. I was here a couple of weeks ago, so I heard it. And $10 million for a Built to Last program for continuing to do their good work. I've heard about them, too. It's disgusting that some landlords keep getting the way with not making repairs that they -- and then they retaliate against people that complain. Right now, our department of L&I is not funded well enough to be effective. There are only about inspectors for rental units for 9 the entire city. And the department 10 needs a significant increase in 11 staff to actually conduct proactive 12 inspections. We are -- oh, that's 13 me. Okay. All right. 14 We are the only major city 15 in America that doesn't fund 16 proactive inspections or rental 17 units. And this being the city with 18 the oldest housing stock in America, 19 it is sorely needed. 20 I want to employ City Council to increase the budget for Built to Last by $10 million. It's already a great process, it gives people a chance to stay in their homes and build community, it builds generational wealth, which is critical for Philadelphia as we are once again, the nation's largest poor city. Thank you for your time.
Hello. My name is Dyymond Whipper Young. I am an artist, and I know we talked about a lot of numbers, but I just want to share my testimony. I came to Philadelphia as a Temple student. I am an artist and an educator. And the first thing I noticed is I was a part of the gentrification happening in North Philadelphia, being a Temple student. So my first goal was to look how could I use my tools and my gifts to help this community? And the best program I could have ever been introduced to was the Mural Arts program. I was introduced to them through the Guild program, which if anyone knows is they were help returning citizens, and unfortunately, my family is affected by that to this day. I thought it was so important how they gave jobs, so I wanted to learn more. And through my years, I've interned with them, I've acted as an artist assistant, and now a lead artist with multiple murals around the city. Since working with Mural Arts, I have won a Guinness World Record with Franklin and Crayola. But because of Mural Arts, I then brought my students into the museum and taught them about careers in arts. Since Mural Arts, I have won 150,000 grant for the percent for art to make a bronze in South Philadelphia. And because of Mural Arts, I learned how to incorporate the community and incorporate community healing. Mural Arts has been so important to my career and my purpose as an artist. I have traveled all over the world from Brazil -- doing murals in Brazil, traveled to Colombia. I just worked with an artist in Cincinnati. And the amazing thing as the world looks at mural art as a blueprint, and I just think that it's so important to combat crime, to violence, and to give artists jobs. And I just want Philadelphia to realize that what they have in Mural Arts and increase that $1.5 million in the budget, Mural Arts has the structure to fund artists and to fund our livelihood, Philadelphia, we are the city of brotherly love, sisterly love, arts, and culture, we cannot forget arts and culture is the backbone of Philadelphia. So thank you so much. Shout out to my artists, shout out to the budget for all the people. Philadelphia, to the people, artists are everything that makes Philadelphia go round, so thank you.
Angela Woods, Charles Haynes, Gail Banks, Joshua Reeves, Manira Edens, Craig Borowiak, Brad Forbes, Margaret Guerrera, Sterling Scott, Martin Lewis, Alejandro Castellano, Emily Davis, and Alexia Clarke.
Anybody else that hasn't been called? CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: Okay. Please proceed.
Good afternoon, City Council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Craig Borowiak, I'm a professor of Political Science at Haverford College. I'm here to testify in support of the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance's request for a $1.3 million grant and pro-bono technical assistance fund for Philadelphia cooperatives. For over years, I have 6 been researching cooperatives in 7 Philadelphia. This research has 8 culminated this past year with the 9 publication of a book that's 10 entitled Solidarity Cities, in which 11 my co-authors and I analyzed 12 cooperatives and other solidarity 13 economy initiatives in Philadelphia, 14 Worcester, Massachusetts, and New 15 York City. I want to briefly share a few -- a few of our findings. First, as you know, Philadelphia is a divided city characterized by both deep poverty and sharp lines of racial, ethnic, and poverty segregation. We find that cooperatives have particular salience in precisely such context. This is because they operate differently than conventional investor-owned firms. They're animated by different values, the cooperative principles which prioritize cooperation, community building, and democratic governance above competition. This is really important in communities that are underserved by the conventional capitalist economy. When we map cooperatives in Philadelphia, we find that they cluster in what we call edge zones. These are urban spaces characterized by extensive racial and economic mixing of populations. This is in large part because cooperatives animated by those cooperative principles do the edge work of building bridges, fostering community learning, and working through cultural differences with intention. A second major finding that we have is that cooperatives serve as defensive ballparks for disadvantaged communities facing adverse economic forces. For example, we find that dollar-for- dollar cooperatives generate more work, more jobs than conventional firms do based upon dollar-for- dollar investment. We show how faith-based credit unions, which are predominantly located in poor communities of color provide fair access to finance, and we provide and show how housing cooperatives help people stay in their homes in the face of gentrification. And finally, I want to observe that cooperatives achieve scale differently than investor- owned firms do. And this is important. They build scale through cooperation, they build scale by developing a cooperative ecosystem, and this is why PACA is so important. It provides the networking, the communication, and the technical skills, so cooperatives can build that kind of cooperative ecosystem. So thank you for your time.
My name is Brad Forbes. I am the current president of PACA. I'm also the treasurer of a cooperative Land Trust in southwest Philadelphia called the Life Center Association. There's a lot I can say to echo what the good professor just said about the utility, and the real answer that is embodied in the cooperative economic model. My co-op personally is bridging the gap in a lot of the issues that we have heard about today. We are in housing. We have co-ops in food, we have co-ops building knowledge bases for skills in construction, in farming, in food production, food preparation, housekeeping, childcare, education, where building initiatives around knowledge-based building so that folks can have -- can walk into a space with no skills and gain those skills and then pipeline those skills into operating businesses that they own. Imagine a housing co-op like my own, which is not just a housing co-op, it is a land trust, but we do a whole lot of housing. And one of the things that we are -- one of our main initiatives right now is a space on Baltimore Avenue, the West Philly Cultural Center. Thank you, Councilmember Gauthier, for your support. And I've had the pleasure of discussing with Councilmember Gauthier's office the ways in which the cooperative economy is really the one truly concrete answer to a lot of these issues and economic issues. We're talking about the people of Philadelphia taking self- determination. We're talking about all of these things that we're coming to the trough here and saying, we need money for this, we need money for that. Right now, we're building initiatives, particularly in our Baltimore Avenue model right now, where we can actually begin to address some of these issues, and we can ask you to invest in the Philadelphian people directly into sustainable models so that we actually don't have to come back here, and keep asking because we're building it from the ground up. So I'm asking for $1.3 million of investment, which is a pitiful investment into something that will return massively in the ability for Philadelphia to once again be a leader in really a revolution for independence and economic independence of our people. So please invest in the people of Philadelphia, invest in the care for technical assistance for these businesses to really get off the ground and to really be the concrete answer that so many people are looking for. Thank you.
My name is Emily Davis, and I'm a resident of Philadelphia and a climate -- okay. And a climate voter. I ask you to fully fund Philadelphia Energy Authority. In fact, I think it would be great if you could give them even more than the 10 million that they're asking for, given that PEA has a record of creating $75 of investment for every $1 that the city provides in funding, it seems logical not to give them more. Who wouldn't want that kind of investment? The Built to Last program, in particular, is a bright star for our city. PEA's ability to coordinate the work of different 12 agencies has probably saved badly deteriorating homes from abandonment or owners from homelessness. PEA is part of fulfilling the Mayor's goal of making Philadelphia the safest, cleanest, and greenest city in the nation. Given that about 75 percent of the carbon footprint comes from homes, we need this program to make our homes more efficient. Homes in the program become energy efficient, some even get solar panels, and at times add energy to the grid. Their workforce development program provides training and experience and a path to employment for city use and leads them to a brighter future. The city has a great need for affordable housing. One part of being affordable is being able to afford your utility bills. Low-income houses on average have a 10 percent of their income on utilities, spend 10 percent of their income on utilities. So having an energy efficient home provides greater economic stability to the household. Mixed income housing bill requires developers in the city to provide funding payments in lieu of affordable housing if they don't wish to include affordable units in their project. To date, only about 1.5 percent of these funds have gone to affordable housing until the housing trust fund is fully funded, perhaps some of this could be used for PEA. Again, I ask you to fund -- fully fund PEA. Thank you.
Good afternoon. My name is Alexia Clarke. I am the CEO at Covenant House, Pennsylvania, and I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. We are the largest provider of shelter, housing, and support for young people experiencing homelessness and survivors of human trafficking in Philadelphia and York. Each year, we serve over 2000 young people aged 18 to 24, primarily black or African American, 70 percent, percent are LGBTIQA+, 21 40 percent have foster care 22 histories, and many are survivors of 23 violence and trafficking. They are among Philadelphia's most vulnerable, and yet with the right supports, they thrive. Eighty-five percent of our youth in transitional housing transition to stable housing and employment, but right now, we're turning youth away. We turned away 121 young people last year, and this year so far we've turned away 59. And that's not because we lack space, but because we lack the resources to fund all the beds that we have. That's an avoidable crisis. And so I'm asking the city to fully fund existing beds and existing units that exist in the city. I'd like the City Council to invest in the full continuum of care from shelter, transitional housing, workforce, and behavioral health so young people don't just survive, they stabilize and they thrive. Fifty-seven percent of our young people experience a mental health disorder. And we ask the city to commit to housing policies that create true affordability for youth. Our youth earn 13.83 per hour, and so we need affordable housing that is for the lowest income earners, dedicate at least 9 percent of home initiative or other 10 city housing investments specifically to youth-focused housing, and advance overlay and zoning incentives that make room for youth-serving organizations like ours to build and operate housing in every neighborhood. And finally, support small- project financing and CDBG set-asides that make it possible for youth-focused organizations to compete to create affordable housing. It's a solvable problem and I hope that we can work together to actually ensure our youth are housed and doing well. Thank you.
Hi. My name is Regina Brown. I am a mother of 5 children. I currently live in West 6 Philadelphia. I'm testifying in 7 City Council today for two things: 8 One thing I want city to council to 9 increase funding for diversion 10 programs that keep kids out of 11 prison. 12 Two, I want City Council to 13 work with Mayor Parker's 14 administration to improve partnerships with Philly-based service providers. I want Councilmembers to consider these things because the juvenile justice system has wrecked irreparable harm on my family. I have a son who is 17 years old. He got in trouble last May. He got picked up by police, he was charged, this put us in contact with the court system. It was a system that gave him and me confusion information and a few clear answers. We had little stability; we had little support. Eventually, he was sent to placement earlier this year. The problem was that he was sent to a Braxton's youth detention center because there were -- there were no service -- no services available in Philly. For those who don't know, Braxton is in South Mountain PA. South Mountain PA is 150 miles away. It's a three-hour drive to and from. My son was in South Mountain for nearly three months. During this time, I only had virtual visits. At times, that were not convenient for me. The staff at Braxton told my son that he had to make amends with us. This is true, but how could he do this when we were never able to see him in-person? How can we do this if he is 150 miles away from home? He was given an impossible task. City Council, I know kids make mistakes and they need to learn. I also know from experience that kids don't do this if they're -- if you put them away in a new environment and expect them to be perfect. Please do what you can so that what happens to my son and me does not happen to other families. Fund diversion programs, make sure that the service providers are working closely with the juvenile justice system here so that families are not separated when they are struggling. Thank you.
Thank you. Is there anyone else here for a public comment that would like to speak? Okay. Hearing none, the Chair recognizes Councilmember Major Leader Gilmore-Richardson --
-- for a motion that the public hearing admitting on the bills and resolution before the committee today stand in recess until Wednesday, May 14th, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. in City Hall, Room 400. CHAIR GILMORE-RICHARDSON: So moved, Mr. Chairman.
It has a moved -- it has been moved and properly seconded. Jim Harrity having a bad influence on you -- but Member Gauthier. It has been moved and properly seconded that the public hearing and meeting on the bills and resolutions before the committee today stand in recess until Wednesday, May 14th, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. In Room 400, City Hall. All those in favor will signify by saying aye. COUNCILMEMBERS: Aye.
Those opposed? The ayes have it and the motion carries. This committee will stand in recess until Wednesday, May 14th at 10:00 a.m. And thank you, everyone, for taking time out of your schedule and being here today to speak on the FY26 proposed budget. (Public hearing and meeting on bills and resolutions concluded at 2:55 p.m.) C E R T I F I C A T I O N I hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence are contained fully and accurately in the notes taken by me of the above case, and this copy is a correct transcript of the same. Samanda Rios