Good morning, Councilmembers. I'm Amanda Bergson-Shilcock from the non-profit Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians. We are strongly in support of this proposed ordinance. The most powerful tool that a person has to protect themselves is Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 information about how the world is supposed to work. But when you're transplanted into a new culture, you don't necessarily have the tools to assess that. For example, those of us who grew up here in the United States, we may take for granted that we know that just because a person purchased an advertisement doesn't mean that they are qualified or eligible to provide a professional service. But newcomers to this country are looking for cues and clues about what a legitimate business is and what a reputable business is that can help them. Too often people are confused, misled, and defrauded by bad actors who exploit their lack of detailed knowledge about American processes. This ordinance would establish clear standards for acceptable behavior and an enforcement process. We support it, and we strongly hope that Council moves forward on this bill. Thank you. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014
Good afternoon, City Councilmembers. My name is Maria Sotomayor and I'm a Community Outreach Coordinator with the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition. We're a non-profit organization. PICC is a diverse coalition of over 50 member organizations and hundreds of individual members. Our membership includes community groups, mutual assistance associations, non-profits, social and legal service providers, advocacy organizations, labor unions, faith communities and community leaders, and concerned individuals. Our mission is to advance immigrant rights and promote immigrants' full integration into society by advocating with a unified voice for the greater public understanding and welcoming public policies through Pennsylvania. First of all, we would like to thank Friends of Farmworkers, Councilman O'Brien, and the Mayor's Office for the Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 tremendous work to get this important legislation to City Council. The issue of notario or immigration fraud is a widespread, but under-addressed problem in Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania. It impacts immigrants of all immigration statuses, in all ethnic communities. With those who are most marginalized due to lack of immigration status, limited English proficiency, low income, and lack of social connections are those who are most significantly impacted. Immigration fraud is rampant not only in our Latina communities but in Chinese, Indonesian, African, and all immigrant communities in our city. Nothing stops these people from making fake promises and taking advantage of people's only hope. Some of the ways immigrants are being taken advantage by fraudulent notarios acting as immigration experts are often by giving out immigration advice, charging for Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 consultations, representation, even printing and filling of forms. They are making expensive, impossible promises that put many individuals and families at risk. The proposed legislation is comprehensive and addresses the many ways in which immigration fraudsters prey on vulnerable individuals. As with other City policies and immigration issues such as language access, no inquiry of immigration status, the key to success for this important legislation will be the implementation within the Department of Licenses and Inspections. Passing this legislation at this time is very important given the recent executive action by President Obama. This moment in time, when an announcement has been made but before details have been released, is a typical window of opportunity for immigration fraudsters to prey on vulnerable communities and make false promises. This is why PA is Ready Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Coalition was created. Pennsylvania is Ready is a coalition through PICC with more than 25 organizations who are organizing together to inform our immigrant communities in Pennsylvania. Our sessions provide location to immigrant community about this program and how to protect themselves from fraud. As we expect, fragile individuals have already begun to reach out to different communities to advertise our services and assist them with applications or to ask people to pay money to hold their place in line before something has already happened. As an immigrant community member, I have seen close family members, friends and other members of my community being taken advantage by these people. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Decker, will you please read the next panel to testify.
Joe Piette, Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Estina Baker, June Cohen, and Cindy Hayward, commenting on 140990. (Witnesses approached podium.)
Good afternoon, House. My name is Cindy Hayward. I'm from the American Postal Workers Union. I'm the Philadelphia lead organizer for the Stop Staples Campaign. Staples and the U.S. Postal Service has cut a deal that jeopardizes your mail service in your local post office. In fact, post offices across the country are at risk, along with thousands of good jobs. The Staples deal will replace full-service U.S. post offices or knock-off post offices in Staple stores that are not staffed with U.S. Postal Service employees. You have a right to a post office staffed by workers who are accountable to you and the American people. You have a right to postal services provided by highly trained, uniform Postal Service employees who are Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 sworn to safeguard your mail, whether it's at the post office or Staples. The Staples deal is bad for consumers like you, who will pay the same for less service, and if Staples and the USPS moves forward with the deal, it could lead to the end of the Postal Service as we know it. In the meantime, the Staples deal is replacing living-wage jobs that our community depends on for low-wage jobs that hurt our economy. On November the 14th, the Board of Governors met in Washington and because we believe of our boycotts and petitions, Pat Donahoe had announced that he was stepping down, but he's stepping down not before January the 5th when they are going to delay your first-class mail and practically eliminate overnight delivery. What he's planning on doing is at 7600 Lindbergh and throughout the country, our plants are going to abolish the current jobs and they're going to post new jobs. They're going to Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 eliminate overnight. The overnight jobs are when the trucks come in from picking up the mail at the post offices. It's the night tour that works that mail so they can be delivered that next day. Now what they're going to do is just have a tour two. That's day work. So that mail is going to sit all day. This is because in order for Staples privatization to work, they have to allow that mail to sit inside a Staples store. When we close, the mail will not be picked up. The mail is going to sit there until it's picked up by a letter carrier. If it's left there on a Saturday, it will not be picked up for Monday. So in order to go through with the plan of privatization, they have to change the standard of mail. So we're saying don't delay Americans' mail. We're against privatization, and we believe that it's the people's mail and the U.S. mail is not for sale. And on behalf of our national President, Mark Dimondstein, we Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 hope that you will support and pass the bill. And once again we're saying the U.S. mail is not for sale. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Good afternoon. I'm Estina Baker. I'm the Senior State Director for Working America, the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO. We stand in support of Resolution 140990 and we urge this to be passed. We stand in support of the American Postal Workers Union, and we realize that we are going down this road too often of sitting back while living-wage jobs are eliminated and the unions are under attack and services are diminished, and we say no more. (Applause.)
We stand in support of this resolution. We hope that all within the sound of my voice will continue to do so. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 We are not weak. We are not going anywhere. Working America has a membership of over 534,000 in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with 274,000 members within the region of the City of Philadelphia. We are here. We're getting louder, we're getting stronger, and we're asking you today to pass this resolution. Thank you. (Applause.)
Good afternoon. I'm June Cohen with the American Postal Workers Union. First of all, thank you very much, Councilwoman, for introducing this resolution. I just want to read one thing. Title 39, U.S. Code, Paragraph 101, Postal Policy. United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 people by the government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by act of Congress, and supported by the people. The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind this nation together through the personal, education, literary, and business correspondence of the people. We need the Postal Service. Thank you. (Applause.)
Good afternoon. I'm a retired letter carrier. My name is Joe Piette. Black and brown lives matter. The communities protesting the plague of police brutality in this country are the same communities who suffer from mass poverty, hunger, and low wages. If our communities of color need $15 -- sorry. Our communities of color need wages at least $15 an hour in order to provide -- Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 (Applause.)
-- in order to provide their families with the most basic necessities. But to provide a comfortable life in which paying for college for our kids is possible, wages like those at the Post Office are a necessity. The Post Office is the second largest employer of African American workers in the country, behind Walmart. Veterans and women are also a large percentage of postal employees. But hundreds of thousands of these jobs, these living-wage jobs, are being eliminated to privatization such as at Staples. Supporting the boycott of Staples will, in the long run, support living-wage jobs in our communities instead of pushing down wages to levels that only increase poverty. Thank you. (Applause.) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014
Patrick Duff, Alford Williams, Anthony Reynolds, commenting on 140829. (Witnesses approached podium.)
So when I read this bill -- and this is the entire bill -it's funny, because they give you a Twitter blurb at the front there. You see the Twitter blurb of what the bill says. Here's the bill, and I'm going to read a little bit of the bill, because it's offensive to me. It says, "Whereas, the poor working conditions of contractor employees who perform Ground Handling Services at the Airport has an elevated risk of strikes, boycotts or other forms of service disruptions due to labor disputes among these employees, which Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 directly threatens the volume-based revenues the City receives." Now, when you start to read that, you think, hey, poor working conditions, maybe this bill is going to address the poor working conditions. Maybe it's going to address the pay. Maybe it's going to address certain conditions. But, no, this is an absolutely pro business bill that takes the rights of people away to boycott, to protest, and to be an American. As I read the bill, I'm shocked that it says down here basically you're going to be signing a non-binding -- or a binding arbitration agreement. It doesn't give them the rights to go to a court. It gives them the rights to go to an arbitrator, which let's be honest, the people who go to the arbitration the most usually win. It's not the citizens that win in arbitration. Never has been. Never will. So to address the poor working Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 conditions in this bill, I mean, that would have been a good start, but it's not addressed. Now, $15 an hour is something that -- guarantee you if any folks in this room, especially in this side, tried to live on just $15 an hour and do it for one month, you couldn't do it. You would be calling your lawyer, you'd be calling your Congressperson, you'd say, I cannot live on this wage. And that's the wage that we're asking for, not the wage that they're already getting. If you tried to live on the minimum wage, you would probably be hungry. Your kids wouldn't have education. They wouldn't have schools. There's a problem in this country, and it's the taking of wealth and the transfer of wealth, but there's no trickle down. The old trickle-down economics, it's not trickling down. So it has to come from the legislation where the legislation says we're going to stop Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 for a second and we're going to see if we can live on what the people live on, because if it's a true democracy, the people who are speaking -- you see all the red shirts here. These people need a living wage, these people need good working conditions, and these people need good legislation. (Applause.)
Secondly, I wanted to say -- because you know who I am, I have come to the Council before -- I'm suing the Council to get open public comment back in Philadelphia where it belongs, where the First Amendment was signed, and the great thing is, Monday morning I had a meeting with the ACLU, and the ACLU has joined the fight and they will be contacting the City Council in hopes that you capitulate to bring open public comment back to the Council so people can bring their problems and their issues and their concerns to you directly and don't have to go through an Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 arbitrator. Thank you. (Applause.)
Hold on, Mr. Decker. The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode.
I'll be speaking on that bill later, but I wanted to make some quick remarks. The gentleman who just spoke has often talked about public comment and what it means, and I believe in free speech, but clearly he read the bill wrong. So just to inform him, the bill was supported by SEIU, Unite Here, AFL-CIO, AFSCME District Council 47, and District Council 1199C. So I don't think it's a pro business bill. Thank you. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014
Good afternoon, Council and observers. My name is Anthony Reynolds. Until a couple of days ago, I was a cabin cleaner employed by Prospect at the Airport. I was abruptly fired on Sunday. Many of you have seen me testify here before. I appeared before you to raise concerns about my co-workers, Airport workers, receiving little or no training or protection in dealing with infectious diseases. And I appeared before you to talk about why my co-workers and I need a living wage and an end to unfair treatment of contract workers at the Airport. I have been speaking out for better wages and conditions because I believe if we fight, we can improve things at the Airport. However, the more I've spoken out, the more Prospect has come down on me. In fact, Prospect's Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 actions against me have been predictable, almost like clockwork. I spoke out in late October about infectious disease concerns, and a few weeks later I was suspended for a minor infraction. I spoke out in late November about the need for the labor peace bill, and like clockwork, a few weeks later I was fired. I was terminated on December 5th. The reason Prospect provided was tardiness. However, according to my termination notice, the most recent incident of tardiness occurred on July 8th, over five months before my termination. I keep hearing that we need Airport contractors to be consistent and stable for the Airport to run smoothly and bring money into the City. The problem is, the only thing that's consistent right now is their mistreatment of their employees. I am not alone in experiencing mistreatment at the Airport. Just this Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 week, two of my co-workers were fired for reasons that make no sense. Since we started organizing for better treatment and speaking out about our poor working conditions, me and my co-workers are suddenly getting fired and punished for the most minor of infractions or, in my case, being tardy five months ago. These are also the men and women fighting for a union at the Airport. I simply do not see this happening to the workers who are not speaking out for better wages and treatment. The company has not been firing the workers who keep quiet and do not demand change. The only workers I've seen terminated lately are those that support the union. What Prospect is doing is messing with people's lives. Prospect ruined my Thanksgiving by suspending me and now they're ruining my Christmas by firing me. Right before the holidays, I Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 am left without a wage to support my family. While I am scared about the future, I don't regret speaking out, because I have hope that you, City Council, will do the right thing and make things better for the workers who come after me. I am 51 years old and most of my kids are grown. Don't get me wrong, I still need to earn a living wage, but it's so much worse for many of my young co-workers who are trying to raise a family on $8 an hour, with the constant threat of being fired. This is no way to live, and this is definitely no way to run a world-class airport. Please support the labor peace bill and help get my former co-workers and myself a better future by making our Airport and our City stronger.
Thank you. (Standing ovation.) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014
Good afternoon. My name is Alford Williams and I work at the Philadelphia International Airport for PrimeFlight. I make 7.25 an hour. A few weeks ago, me and some of my co-workers from PrimeFlight, we went on strike, and the reason we did that was for unfair labor practices and disrespect and mistreatment at our job. This is something that goes on at the Airport every day, and I spoke out publicly to the media about the poor treatment and the working condition that we receive at PrimeFlight. I spoke out because we're not getting paid and we're getting mistreated and disrespected at our workplace on a regular basis. And, yes, this goes to at the Airport, something that the City controls and that they do nothing about. We deserve better working conditions and better pay. Like my Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 former co-workers here said, 7.25 is not enough, and why should it be enough. We deserve the pay that you promised us, and we're not getting it, and PrimeFlight should be held responsible for their actions. I feel good about joining my co-workers out on that picket line because I knew that I wasn't the only one who feels this way. There are people here today and people who was there that support us, and they're going to continue to support us in our endeavors. The day after the strike, I went back to work and my manager threatened my job. Not only my job, but my life. He confronted me and several co-workers about speaking out to the media and started spreading lies and allegations that none of my co-workers did during that time. He even asked me to take a walk with him outside. I wish I could say this is the only incident where this has happened, but it's not. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Months before, I went through the same incident and filed a complaint with PrimeFlight and nothing was done. I urge -- this is just one example that we deal with at the Airport, the City's airport, that you own and that you have control of. We speak for better wages and we experience intimidation and termination. We strike for better treatment and we get threatened. This should not go on anywhere, especially in an airport that's controlled by the City. We deserve better than poverty wages and poor treatment, and I urge you, City Council, everybody here today, to please support the labor peace bill so that we can make the Airport better and that we can support ourselves and our families. Thank you. (Standing ovation.)
Richard Gliniak and Alan Taylor, commenting on 140638-A. (Witnesses approached podium.)
Good morning, Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Council President Clarke -
Or good afternoon. Thank you. And members of Council. I'm actually here again to speak about the LOOP bill, Bill 140638. And this was the LOOP bill that would extend LOOP to people that bought their houses from the City and who also are classified as having an abatement. So I'm here with some of my good neighbors who are also here in the same situation, and we need your help by passage of this bill. Again, I'm a low/moderate income homeowner on a fixed income living in the Graduate Hospital/Southwest Center City area. I'm also a homeowner who was denied LOOP. In 2002, I bought my house from the City in a HUD-funded program that was run by the Office of Housing and Community Development. Part of the Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 guidelines with this program was that you had to be low and moderate income. Also you needed to live in the house for 15 years. And in addition to that, the homeowners were given a small tax reduction, which is now being classified as an abatement, of a few hundred dollars per year. Today, however, under the new AVI system, my 2014 property taxes have increased from $782 to $4,119, even with the homestead exemption. On my fixed Social Security income, I simply cannot afford this 427 percent increase. And because my property is classified as having received an abatement, I have also been denied LOOP. Moreover, and not because I would want to, I am not allowed to sell, rent or refinance for approximately another two and a half years because of the imposed housing guidelines. I ask for your support and passage of this Ordinance 140638 Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 extending LOOP to abated low/moderate income subsidized affordable homes purchased from the City and/or other non-profit agencies. Passage of this bill will allow me to remain in my home where I have lived for the past 12 and a half years, without the threat of tax delinquency and/or foreclosure. Again, I want to say thank you very much to my Councilman, Councilman Johnson. He listened to our concerns and submitted this bill on our behalf. And, you know, this is a matter of people who were given the opportunity of purchasing a home and being part of the American dream, and we want that dream to continue and for us to remain in our home. And I thank you, and I ask again for your passage of this bill. Thank you.
Good morning, Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 everybody. I'm basically in the same situation as Richard with the 400-plus increase in my property taxes. I'm here today to ask you to support 140638-A. Basically that bill will give us the option to stay in our house a little bit longer. That's what it's going to do. Eventually we're going to be taxed out of these houses anyway. I heard that the Real Estate Association is against this bill. And I looked for a mission statement for these people, and basically the mission statement is, it's a good time to buy and sell properties in the City of Philadelphia. It's nothing there about people, nothing about neighborhoods, nothing about the opposition to the ten-year tax abatement, nothing about tax breaks for Comcast, universities, and stadiums. Basically the alignment of a Point Breeze realtor who has stepped into the political arena and a politically defeated realtor, basically what they're Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 doing is they're joining together, in my opinion, to oppose this bill. I don't think it's the whole association. I just think it's these two individuals. Basically I don't see what their platform could be other than they want to buy and sell and build real estate. What you won't hear anything in there is about the treasure of every neighborhood, which is the people. Opposition to this bill will hasten the demise of our neighborhood. South Philadelphia currently is looked at as a modern-day gold rush town. The treasure of a city, City of Philadelphia, is the people, not bricks and mortars. (Applause.)
I'm here today to ask Council to invest in people and support this bill. Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. (Applause.) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014
Good afternoon to one and all. I'm here to just speak here from the heart, from heart to heart and breast to breast. We went to a hearing regarding this Bill 140638-A, and my brother-in-law and myself and on his behalf as well as the others that's going through this circumstance -- this, oh my God, ungodly circumstance -- we just found out through the hearing that he was unable to receive the LOOP just on Monday, this past Monday, because we tried to figure out over and over if he qualified for the three qualifications. One was to be in your home for ten years, which he was there -- they were there 15 years. Also to -- taxes have gone up three times as higher. Of course, that was happening in the Graduate Hospital area. And also the third thing was to not make over $83,000, in their case $90,000, $91,000. So they qualified, and Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 we were busting our heads. So when we went to the hearing, this is what we found out, that when he purchased his home from the City, the PHDC, I believe it is, he found out that day that he had an abatement on his property. And when they called the judge, told him to come over to the side or whatever and they were going to deal with the numbers, and we just found out that on Monday that instead of his home under the LOOP being $1,483, it will now be $4,100-some-odd dollars. That is a humongous ungodly jump in one year. It's just unreasonable. So I'm here just to not only just City Council, everybody to get involved in this, because if you're not involved yet, you will be. And in my heart, I do see, as I understand it, seven areas that's been affected. And, you know, I personally think it's going to be the whole City once they get finished perking these seven, and as you Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 go further, you're going to find other issues where people are going to be trapped. He's absolutely trapped. So what the man said to us on Monday, he said, Well, is he a senior citizen? He hesitated, my brother-in-law did. He's sitting right here. He said, Well, I'll be 65 in September. And so he went on -- and I know which way they were going, about low income. He is not low income. Everybody is not low income, and he's not. And then so he said, Well, maybe we can try to -- the home -- what's the other thing? Renter rebate thing. And I don't think -- he's not going to be able to qualify for that, because he will be getting his Social Security next year, 2015. So I urge City Council, I urge anybody that has a heart, do something about this matter. Other things are going to come up. Other issues is going Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 to come up. You watch and see what you're trying to do. I personally think y'all went at it the wrong way. I don't know who was totally in charge, but I, an undereducated person in the City of Philadelphia that brought my home -- and I'm involved in this because I started to do the abatement myself in the private, buying my own home. I was one of the first people back in the early '90s, I think it was later '80s, early '90s, to get that application. And my brother-in-law looked at me and he asked me, Why are you crying? I said, Because I thank God I didn't do the abatement. I would not be able to afford my home had I did that abatement. I said, These are tears of joy, because my taxes will be $2,500 after these ten years, and I cannot afford to pay that. Thank you. Thank you. (Witness in tears.)
Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Thank you for your testimony. (Applause.)
Alison McDowell and Lisa Haver, commenting on 140997. (Witnesses approached podium.)
Good afternoon. MS. McDOWELL: Yes. Good afternoon. My name is Alison McDowell and I'm the parent of an 8th grader at Masterman School and a member of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools and the Caucus of Working Educators. I appreciate having this opportunity to discuss briefly the harm being caused by standardized testing in our schools, and I would like to thank Councilman Squilla and members of the Education Committee and their staff for all the care and attention they have given to this issue in recent months. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 also have this information so that we can make some plans for what to do for our children. In 2017 -- so starting with this year's high school sophomores -students will have to pass three Keystone Exams in algebra, English, and biology in order to receive a diploma. Even if they have passed all of their classes and completed all requirements, they cannot graduate if they do not pass all three exams. If the requirement had been in place this spring, I heard from a superintendent of schools in West Chester, Pennsylvania he had a student ranked 15th in her class accepted at Johns Hopkins who would not have been able to go because she could not graduate high school. Currently, 55 to 60 percent of students in the State of Pennsylvania are failing these Keystone Exams. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 second time do not pass. Students who fail twice must do an online project that takes 14 or more hours to complete. No one knows how many students are passing these project-based assessments, and it is unclear how such projects could even be administered in schools in Philadelphia where hundreds of students may be forced to take them and our computer facilities are woefully inadequate. In Philadelphia's neighborhood high schools, only about maybe 5 percent of students are passing the biology Keystone. So as a result, in two years, thousands of students in Philadelphia and statewide will not be able to graduate if we do not act now. School districts in the suburbs are organizing politically around this issue, and we must do the same. Over the past decade, standardized testing has grown to be a multi-billion-dollar industry. 3 million to administer in grade PSSA and Keystone Exams, and students will lose hundreds of hours of meaningful instruction preparing for and taking standardized tests. In addition to selling tests, companies like Pearson profit from the sale of textbooks aligned to the tests they sell, books, and online test prep material and materials to provide remediation when students don't pass their tests. And when students fail, there are consequences. A school may be closed. A teacher may be laid off. A child may not be allowed to advance or even graduate. These are high-stakes tests. Testing companies profit by developing products that label our children failures. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 emergent bilingual students, and students living in poverty. In Pennsylvania, parents can refuse to have their children take standardized tests. We want you to know your rights. Starve the data. Refuse the test. Reclaim our schools. As a parent of a Philadelphia public school student and a citizen who is very concerned about the Keystone Exams and their place in the school-to-prison pipeline, I encourage you to vote in favor of Resolution 140997. Thank you. )
Good afternoon. My name is Lisa Haver. I'm a retired Philadelphia school teacher and a member of the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools. I speak on behalf of the members of the Alliance in favor of passage of Resolution 140997, which calls on the School District of Philadelphia to Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 examine the financial, academic, and emotional costs which standardized tests exact on our students and our schools. High-stakes standardized testing has become a plague on education. These tests cost a great deal, not just money, which should be spent on librarians, which we now have eight of in our Philadelphia school system, on counselors, teachers, and nurses. They waste valuable instruction time. Once again, we thank Councilman Squilla for sponsoring the November 17th hearings on this subject, and we thank the Education Committee for their attention to this crucial issue. We'd like to thank Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez for sponsoring today's resolution. All of the students and the schools in every district are facing a new crisis, the requirement that all high school students pass the Keystone Exams in order to graduate. This is what we Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 tell our children: The only thing that matters is what you do on one day on one test. You may be sick. Your grandmother may have died the night before. You may have just arrived in our country a few months ago and are not fluent yet in English. Too bad. Your work in the classroom for four years and the grades that you earned there don't really matter. This is unfair and sends the wrong message to our students. Again, we urge the members of Council to pass Resolution 140997. May I say briefly we also support passage of Resolution 140974, which Councilman Kenney has introduced, which addresses the crisis of the growth of charters, which have no oversight from the School District, and that is addressed in today's Daily News editorial page. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014
Xu Lin and Helen Gym, also commenting on 140997. (Witnesses approached podium.)
Good afternoon. My name is Xu Lin and I am the Youth Program Director from Asian Americans United. I'm here to support the resolution introduced by Councilman Squilla, the high-stakes standardized testing. I was here three weeks ago to support the youth from AAU who testified on the experience with the Keystone test. I guess that our leaders in City Council took this matter seriously and responded with a resolution in a timely manner. As someone who works with immigrant youth on a daily basis, I witness firsthand the anxiety and stress these young people have to go through before, doing, and after the Keystone tests. These young people from AAU interviewed 110 Chinese immigrant Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 students in their public schools about their experiences with the Keystone test and wrote a report based on their findings. In their report they state clearly that the School District of Philadelphia did not provide appropriate language assistance to immigrant students. When we look at the District's current financial situation, it's hard to believe that they could come up with sufficient resources to deliver the kind of language assistance required by the state. Clearly, resource is an issue, but I am more concerned that the Keystone test itself is a barrier for students to graduate from high school. According to the District's own data, 80 percent of all students in the District failed biology in the Keystone test last year. I am not sure if our School District or any school district could come up with a level of resource to help our students pass the test. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 I urge the District to adopt City Council's resolution, high-stake testing, quickly and seek a waiver of the Keystone test from the state before the next round of Keystone tests, which starts in January. It is unnecessary to put thousands of young people under the tremendous stress of long hours of testing and under the threat of not graduating from high school. AAU and young people we work with will continue to work on this issue and be vocal. Thank you. (Applause.)
Hi. Good afternoon. I'm Helen Gym. I'm with Parents United for Public Education and Asian Americans United, and we're here specifically to thank City Council and especially Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez, Councilman Mark Squilla, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, and others who hosted the hearing on high-stakes testing. One of the most important Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 things to remember is that in January there will be eight full days of Keystone testing that begins, and the School District of Philadelphia is now embarking on a program of testing called benchmarks, which has been banned or I guess you could say boycotted in places like Seattle, Washington, where they successfully ended sort of irrelevant testing measures. But as the District struggles with finances this year, it seems inconceivable that they're spending so much money on testing that has both low-level impact, which means it doesn't have any impact on students' lives or the way they change things, but costs a ton of money, and then secondarily at the extreme level that we're forced into a state situation where we're potentially denying thousands of students in the School District of Philadelphia a diploma. The fact that the City Council has found a way to kind of make the first Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 steps by demanding an assessment about the financial and personal impact on students is a great way to demonstrate that there are creative ways in which City Council can have an influence on what happens in the School District of Philadelphia. It matters a lot to parents. It matters a lot of students. It matters a lot to teachers and principals who have to deal with the situation of high-stakes testing. It will also ultimately matter a lot to our City finances if we don't spend millions on testing, if we don't hurt our children in ways that are not necessary, if we don't continually force them into a remedialized situation and start focusing back on fundamental education needs. I want to thank Council for thinking creatively. I also want to hope that as we move into January, that City Council takes a very creative approach to school funding. We definitely need it. We want to see a culture of investment Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 around our School District. We want to see a culture of financial investment in the School District of Philadelphia. I think we have the opportunity to do that together. I think that there's clear indication that the State of Pennsylvania and if the City of Philadelphia were to also work with parents and teachers and students, we have an amazing opportunity this year to, for the first time in a while, see this District really turn around and get us back on the right track. Thank you. (Applause.)
Marvin Robinson, commenting on 140853. (Witness approached podium.)
Good afternoon, President of the Council. To all the Councils, I just want to actually really say about this bill -- I really don't have much comment on this bill. I have something that I really want to say to Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 all my Councils. It's from my heart and from my constituents back in my neighborhood. We thank y'all for all the hard work y'all do. I know we come here pounding on y'all, but I know a lot of people say what they want to say, but I'm here constantly and I see the hard work that all y'all doing here. So on behalf of myself and my constituents back in West Philly -- as my Council Curtis Jones call me, the Mayor of West Philly -- we say thank you.
Al Brown, commenting on 140897. (Witness approached podium.)
Good afternoon, Council President and Councilmembers and everyone in attendance. My name is Alburn Brown. I'm the contractor of Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 manufacturing of steel, structural steel, and miscellaneous metals and I'm also a union contractor, the only African American union contractor for erection of structural steel in the tri-state area. I'm one of two manufacturing companies that are African American in Philadelphia that does manufacturing of metal products. Basically I'm here to speak on this bill, because in it it had for procurement of and commission of a certain product and the terms -- it had terms and conditions attached to it. I'm just asking City Council when they go to approve this bill, if they approve it, that part of the terms and conditions, that it's going to be fair and equitable and also that it's going to be local. I'm a local fabricator of steel products and I'm also a local erector. For the street furniture project, it's going to require fabrication of metal products and it's also going to require Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 the erection and the placement of the bus shelters. I can't understand if companies that are coming in that are not local, how they can compete and do work when you have a local company here. Just as the Reverend said earlier this morning, he's asking for wisdom, and I think it would make good sense and good wisdom to have local companies do work here in Philadelphia. I also would like to invoke the spirit of Ferguson. I'd like to put my hands up, and those hands are up for making sure that we get fair -- we're asking for help, and I represent black contractors and also specifically black businesses here in Philadelphia. So we need help, and that's why we have our hands up. For Staten Island, in that spirit, it's not that I can't breathe, but I can't eat if I don't get the local and equitable opportunities to do work here. I can't employ here and I can't put people to work. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 I have 30 seconds. And then, lastly, just to give homage to speak about a great person that believed in community and local work is the passing of Marion Barry. He made sure that things were local and that African Americans in his city got work. And that's all I have to say.
Rosslyn Wuchinich, commenting on 140860; Hanford Jones, commenting on 140275; Sarah Giskin, commenting on Councilman Johnson's minimum wage resolution introduced today; Justin Murden, also commenting on Councilman Johnson's minimum wage resolution introduced today; and David Feldman, commenting on 140915. (Witnesses approached podium.)
Good afternoon. My name is Rosslyn Wuchinich. I am the President of Unite Here Local 274. Unite Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Here in Philadelphia is over 5,000 food service, hotel, and casino workers. I'm here today to comment on two bills. The first is 140860, hotel labor peace. We feel very strongly that this bill will protect the City's investment in hotels. The Philadelphia Inquirer report in 2010 that Philadelphia is losing out on up to $30 million in union convention business and, therefore, union hotel stays, in words of AFL-CIO President, Richard Trumka, labor peace enhances the marketability of Philadelphia as a meetings destination, especially for progressive groups such as ours. By passing this bill, Philadelphia will join many other U.S. cities such as Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Miami, Miami Dade County, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, as well as the states of New York, Maryland, and Minnesota, and we urge Council to pass this bill. I had also signed up to comment in support of Bill No. 140898 on the Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 lease between Philadelphia International Airport and MarketPlace Development. On behalf of the members of our union, we support the direction the Airport is heading in. We look forward to working with MarketPlace and with the City to create an unparalleled concession program with great jobs. Unite Here Local 274 endorses the proposed lease between Philadelphia International Airport and MarketPlace Development for the management of PHL's concession program. Thank you.
Good afternoon, Honorable President and members of this City Council. I'm commenting on Bill No. 897, the Titan 360 contract. Please, if you are really serious about inclusion, this is not an inclusion contract. Four of the firms that are listed as minority and female Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 firms aren't from Philadelphia. So for 20 years, this Council is going to give somebody a contract with minority and female firms that aren't from Philly. Two of the people who are going to do what Mr. Brown can do are from Ohio. Ain't certified in Ohio. And a lot of them from New York. The certifications are suspect, and as I testified last week in Mr. Henon's subcommittee on this bill, please don't pass it until the investigation by the City Controller's Office that I've asked for five months ago that only began to two days ago is complete. Now, I don't know what is all behind the scenes. I used to work for the City government, so I do know what goes on behind the scenes contractually, trust me. This is not the contract to pass. It is absolutely exclusive of local participation. Not one black firm is on this company's contract. Last night they put a little thing together Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 with a firm that they listed, but have given no work to the last three years. This is bad. Please don't pass it. On 898 for MarketPlace, when that contract went out, I was with the City. We had an equity ownership requirement when Woodward Advisory, the black firm, equity partner, to MarketPlace fell out. So what MarketPlace did was took the black and female employees and hired them and didn't replace the deep disadvantaged business equity owner. So black businesses lost on this contract an equity owner. MarketPlace gained black employees, which they supposed to have had all along anyway. That's a bad deal. Please don't pass it until someone looks into why the Mayor's Office of Transportation allowed the disadvantaged business enterprise equity owner not to be replaced. The 860 hotel bill, you know, this City Council here is in cahoots with Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 the unions. Outside of the laborers, there's not one black signator on any private labor agreement either with PHA, City Mayor's union, and the School Board, the union agreements. Not one black signator is on that project labor agreement if you take out the Laborers Union. And, finally, on 265, on 4601 Market, I've been asking for the minority and female business reports for over five months. Yesterday we reported later on what OEO does there reporting during that quarterly period, but in the interim, I would hope that this Council will make available the black and minority and female firms that are working on the new Police Headquarters building prior to any contracts being awarded. And please don't let my light be in vein, because I've been doing this for my entire life, and if you pass 897 in particular...
Hi, everybody. My Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 name is Sarah Giskin. I'm a senior at Temple University and I currently work two different part-time jobs right now. At one I make 8.35 an hour and at the other I make $10 an hour. And I want to encourage all the City Councilpeople to support the resolution that Councilman Johnson has introduced to have a hearing about raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, because this would have a huge economic benefit to our city. The working-class people spend a much higher percentage of their income than upper-class people do. So if the 50 percent of workers in our city that currently make under $15 an hour all got a significant raise, they would spend that money on hair cuts, on clothes, on toys, on textbooks, and everything else that they need for their life. Not only would this help to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty, but it would also create an economic boom that would directly affect small and Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 local businesses. This would create more demand, which would create jobs to fill that demand. Additionally, if the majority of workers and families in our city had higher income, they would be able to contribute much more to taxes, which go towards things like funding our public education, which we all know is direly needed. Additionally, these families would also be able to get off of welfare and food stamps and other forms of public assistance, which they currently require because their wages are so low. Instead, companies would have to pay their workers a living wage in the first place rather than relying on the government and government money to subsidize the poverty of their workers. So I just want to end by saying that nearly 30 percent of Philadelphians live under the poverty line and are struggling to get by, but it doesn't have to be this way. I was inspired by Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Elijah, the 6th grader who spoke earlier. So when we say justice and prosperity for all, let's make that a reality. Thank you. (Applause.)
Good afternoon. My name is Justin Murden. I'm a low-wage worker and I support $15 minimum wage in Philadelphia. I was born and raised in North Philadelphia. Then I went to high school at John Bartram in Southwest, and my hope is to attend CCP, Community College of Philadelphia, in the spring semester. I work two jobs. One of them is the service industry. The other one is security guard. One day I want to own my own home and buy my own car. Just like me, there are tens of thousands of families here in Philadelphia with these same dreams. Moms, dads, grand-moms, grand-pops, cousins, sisters, brothers, all working one job will soon find that they have to work two jobs or three just Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 to make a living. Yes, we're struggling. I know. I'm struggling too, families struggling. And right now my dream seems too far for me to reach. I can't save money for school. I can't plan the future. It's just not physically possible for me or any other family in the Philadelphia region. Many people have families now. How can we think about tomorrow with poverty wages today? Corporations, big businesses here in Philadelphia make billions of profits. Low-wage employers like McDonald's, Walmart, Amtrak can afford to pay us more. Did you know that the CEO of McDonald's makes over 9,000 an hour? Every hour, 9,000. That's more than I would make in an entire life of my job, which can't be on the year. It's not right. I believe I'm worth fighting for -- I mean, I believe that $15 is worth fighting for, and I would like to Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 thank Councilman Johnson for advertising a hearing on $15 an hour, $15 an hour in wages. I urge all City Council men and women to approve the request to attend this hearing. Thank you. Have a nice day. (Applause.)
Good afternoon, Councilman Clarke, members of Council. I'm here to speak on Bill 140915, the Land Bank Strategic Plan. My name is David Feldman. I'm the President of Right-Sized Homes, a local development and community development consulting company located at 1315 Walnut Street specializing in providing affordable homes and consulting non-profit organizations on affordable rental and homeownership projects, housing preservation, commercial corridors, and neighborhood revitalization. I'm also the author of a handbook issued to help municipalities and counties understand Pennsylvania's Land Bank law, an Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 executive summary of which was submitted a copy for each member of Council, and I'm also an instructor in housing and community development at Temple University. The process City Council set in place for enactment of Philadelphia's Land Bank with a thorough, data-based Strategic Plan preceding the start of operations is sound and represents best practices. The Strategic Plan that is being presented today for approval is thorough, rich in data, and skilled in its description of how reuse of vacant property will be evaluated. Using this guideline, District Councilmembers will receive strongly supported requests for property acquisition and disposition developed with community support and reflecting neighborhood directions laid out in established community plans that were enacted through an intensive community involvement process. The Strategic Plan itself was Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 developed with extensive community feedback and notification, with all materials provided online in a timely manner, allowing detailed and substantive feedback to the team developing the Strategic Plan, who responded with changes and further information along the way as the plan was finalized. The plan that Council is voting on today is not only a strong framework for the Land Bank, but is a model being viewed favorably by experts nationally who have been involved in the evolution of land banks in states throughout the Northeast and Midwest United States. Thank you for this opportunity to include my strong support for approval of the Land Bank Strategic Plan presented today and for the Land Bank of Philadelphia to begin acquiring properties and moving them towards productive reuse following the guidelines of the Strategic Plan. Thank you. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 (Applause.)
I'm Stephanie Singer, City Commissioner for elections. I'm here to testify in favor of 140990. Any attack on the U.S. Post Office is an attack on American elections. (Applause.)
We depend on the Post Office and its commitment to serve every single resident of the United States in order to have free and fair elections. Privatizing the U.S. Post Office would lead inevitably to some people being served worse or served not at all by the Post Office. That would put us at the Board of Elections in a real bind, as we would have to find another way to make sure people could vote absentee ballots or even just to maintain our voter registration lists. So I speak in support of 140990. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 (Applause.)
There are no other speakers on the public comment list, Mr. President.
Thank you, Mr. Decker. So at this time, I would like to ask Mr. Decker to read the titles of all of the resolutions on the Consent Agenda. After each title is read, any member may object to inclusion of the resolution on the Resolution Consent Agenda. Upon such an objection and without debate, the resolution will be immediately removed from the Resolution Consent Agenda and placed on today's regular and Final Passage Calendar. Mr. Decker, will you now read the titles of the resolutions on the Resolution Consent Agenda.
Resolution No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Thirty-Sixth Ward of the City of Philadelphia"; and Resolution No. 140911, entitled "A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Thirty-Sixth Ward of the City of Philadelphia"; and Resolution No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 how new charter schools would impact the performance of existing nearby schools, and to give preference to new charter schools planning to locate in neighborhoods with the fewest high-quality education choices"; and Resolution No. 140976, entitled "A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Third and Sixth Wards of the City of Philadelphia"; and Resolution No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 as 3109 Morse Street"; and Resolution No. 140978, entitled "A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Twenty-Ninth Ward of the City of Philadelphia"; and Resolution No. 140982, entitled "A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Thirty-Sixth Ward of the City of Philadelphia"; and Resolution No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 "A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Thirty-Sixth Ward of the City of Philadelphia"; and Resolution No. 140989, entitled "A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Seventh, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Wards of the City of Philadelphia"; and Resolution No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Union in its efforts to protect living-wage jobs and its insistence on the highest possible standards of customer services, opposing efforts to privatize postal operations, and calling upon Philadelphians to consider this issue when deciding whether to patronize Staples"; and Resolution No. 140991, entitled "A resolution appointing Jennifer Kates, Courtney Voss, Herb Wetzel, Anjali Chainani, and Angel Rodriquez to the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Land Bank"; and Resolution No.
com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 No. 140995, entitled "A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Twenty-First Ward of the City of Philadelphia"; and Resolution No. 141001, entitled "A resolution approving the redevelopment contract and disposition supplement of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority for the redevelopment and urban renewal of a portion of the Franklin Urban Renewal Area, identified by house numbers and street addresses as 1001 through 05 Vine Street, 1007 through 1011 Vine Street and 314 North Tenth Street"; and Resolution No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Twenty-Fifth Ward of the City of Philadelphia"; and Resolution No. 141003, entitled "A resolution approving the assignment agreement of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority for the redevelopment and urban renewal of a portion of the New Kensington-Fishtown Urban Renewal Area, identified by house number and street address as 2414 East Gordon Street"; and Resolution No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 house number and street address as 2039 East York Street"; and Resolution No. 141005, entitled "A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Wards of the City of Philadelphia"; and Resolution No. "
Thank you, Mr. Decker. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones for a motion to adopt each of the resolutions on the Resolution Consent Agenda.
Thank you, Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 I move for the adoption of each of the resolutions on the Resolution Consent Agenda. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and seconded that each of the resolutions on the Resolution Consent Agenda be adopted. All those in favor say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and each of the resolutions on the Consent Agenda has been adopted. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Mr. President. I apologize. I have to leave the Chamber. I would like to be recorded aye on all votes on the Consent Agenda and all votes individually and all resolutions at the end of today's Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Council, voting aye. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. Sorry, Mr. Decker. We will now consider today's Bill Consent Agenda. I would ask Mr. Decker, please read the titles of all the bills on the Consent Agenda. After each title is read, any member may object to the inclusion of the bill on the Consent Agenda. Upon such an objection and without debate, the bill will immediately be removed from the Consent Agenda and placed on our regular Final Passage Calendar. Mr. Decker, would you please read the titles of the bills on the Consent Agenda.
Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 service contracts with air carriers, including subcontractors providing such services, who are operating at Philadelphia International Airport to secure labor peace agreements to minimize the risk of service disruptions and lost revenue to the City generated by enplanements"; and Bill No. 140860, entitled "An ordinance establishing a new Chapter 17-2200 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Labor Peace Agreements For Hotels Where The City Has a Financial Interest,' by requiring a labor agreement to protect the City's proprietary interest in hotel operations which lease property from the City or are financed with City assistance"; and Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 offices, departments, boards and commissions"; and Bill No. 140862, entitled "An ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2014 within the Water Fund from certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions to certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions"; and Bill No. 140863, entitled "An ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2014 within the Aviation Fund from certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions to the Police Department and the Director of Finance - Fringe Benefits"; and Bill No. 140804, entitled "An ordinance amending Title 14 of The Philadelphia Code, by revising the Center City East Overlay use regulations for Personal Credit Establishments"; and Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by South Street, Schuylkill Avenue, Christian Street (Extended), and the Schuylkill River"; and Bill No. 140864, entitled "An ordinance amending Title 14 of The Philadelphia Code, by creating a new Central Roxborough /NCO for the area generally bounded by Henry Avenue, Acorn Street, Ridge Avenue, Hermitage Street, Silverwood Street, Leverington Avenue, Fleming Street, Monastery Avenue, Dexter Street, Roxborough Avenue, Manayunk Avenue, Rector Street, Mitchell Street, Roxborough Avenue, Ridge Avenue, Green Lane, Jannette Street, Monastery Avenue, and Henry Avenue"; and Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 an area bounded by 33rd Street, Cumberland Street, 22nd Street, Glenwood Avenue, Dauphin Street, Sedgley Avenue, 25th Street, Dauphin Street, 29th Street, and Diamond Street"; and Bill No. 140888, entitled "An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by 33rd Street, Lehigh Avenue, 18th Street, Glenwood Avenue, 22nd Street, and Cumberland Avenue"; and Bill No. 140889, entitled "An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by 33rd Street, Diamond Street, 29th Street, Dauphin Street, 25th Street, Diamond Street, Glenwood Avenue, Oxford Street, and Railroad Right-of-Way"; and Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Adams Avenue, Castor Avenue, Roosevelt Boulevard, Cheltenham Avenue, Harbison Avenue, Aramingo Avenue, the Northeast Corridor Railroad Right-of Way, Orthodox Street, Torresdale Avenue, and Ruan Street"; and Bill No. 140209, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 19-2600 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Business Income and Receipts Taxes,' by providing for certain exclusions and deferrals relating to businesses distressed as a result of nearby public works projects"; and Bill No.
com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 140942, entitled "An ordinance authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2015 from the General Fund, certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions, the Water Fund, the Grants Revenue Fund and the Aviation Fund to the General Fund, the Water Fund and the Aviation Fund, certain or all City offices, departments, boards and commissions"; and Bill No. 140943, entitled "An ordinance authorizing an increase in authorizations for Fiscal Year 2015 within the Municipal Pension Fund"; and Bill No. 140229, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 16-800 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Philadelphia Affordable Housing Opportunity Zones,' by designating the Allegheny Avenue, Roosevelt Boulevard and Erie Avenue Affordable Housing Opportunity Zones"; and Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Bill No. 130946, entitled 'An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to purchase from the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development a certain tract of land together with the improvements thereon known as 1601 Market Street,' to include an Economic Opportunity Plan"; and Bill No. 81 acre parcel of land known as 3600 North 11th Street"; and Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 sublease"; and Bill No. 140940, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to convey to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development all or part of a parcel of land located at 2600 through 26 North 3rd Street"; and Bill No. 140946, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to convey to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development all or part of a parcel of land bounded by West Wildey Street, Leopard Street, Richmond Street, and North Front Street, for further conveyance"; and Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Street, for further conveyance"; and Bill No. 140606, entitled "An ordinance authorizing Brandywine Cira South to construct, own and maintain various right-of-way encroachments at 2930 Chestnut Street"; and Bill No. 140890, entitled "An ordinance establishing a no truck parking regulation on both sides of Saint Vincent Street, from Brous Avenue to Roosevelt Boulevard"; and Bill No. 140891, entitled "An ordinance establishing a no truck parking regulation on both sides of Princeton Avenue, from Cottage Street to Walker Street"; and Bill No. 140899, entitled "An ordinance legalizing an existing external steel stairs to the second and third floors encroaching on the public right-of-way at 1900 East Somerset Street"; and Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 on the public right-of-way at 4632 North 5th Street"; and Bill No. 140905, entitled "An ordinance authorizing Frank LaRosa to install, own and maintain an open-air sidewalk cafe at 829 Christian Street"; and Bill No. 140937, entitled "An ordinance establishing parking regulations in the vicinity of: Mt. Vernon Street and 17th Street; Thompson Street and Frankford Avenue; Wallace Street and 22nd Street"; and Bill No. 140945, entitled "An ordinance authorizing Charles Weiner to install, own and maintain an open-air sidewalk cafe at 601 Jamestown Avenue"; and Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Street; Ellsworth Street and 9th Street; Mercy Street and 11th Street"; and Bill No. 130628, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 10-1200 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Posting of Signs,' by revising enforcement and penalty provisions relating to posting and advertising upon signs on utility poles, street lights, and other structures"; and Bill No.
140142, entitled "An ordinance amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code by adding definitions, duties, penalties, exceptions, prohibited acts, licensing requirements and other related items regarding provision of immigration services"; and Bill No. 140750, entitled "An ordinance amending Section 9-613 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Junk Dealers,' to establish additional requirements in connection with engaging in the business of a junk dealer"; and Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 various provisions of Subcode PM of Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'The Philadelphia Property Maintenance Code,' as it will take effect January 1, 2015 pursuant to Bill No. 120647; and further amending The Philadelphia Code by updating cross-references to Subcode PM to now appear in other Subcodes of Title 4 and in other titles of The Philadelphia Code"; and Bill No. 140892, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 9-3900 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Property Licenses and Owner Accountability,' by reorganizing the provisions of that Chapter into separate provisions for Rental Licenses; Vacant Lot Licenses; Vacant Structure Licenses; and Vacant Waterfront Structure Licenses"; and Bill No. 140894, entitled "An ordinance amending Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 Construction and Occupancy Code,' by repealing Subcode PM, entitled 'The Philadelphia Property Maintenance Code,' and adopting and incorporating, with certain additions, deletions and amendments, the 2009 International Property Maintenance Code as the Philadelphia Property Maintenance Code,' by delaying the effective date of the Bill"; and Bill No. 140939, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 9-3900 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Property Licenses and Owner Accountability,' as it is amended by Bill No. 140892, by requiring the seller of a property that must be licensed under that Chapter to provide written notice to the buyer concerning the property license and other requirements of that Chapter and the property maintenance requirements of the Philadelphia Property Maintenance Code"; and Bill No. com) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 the Commissioner of Public Property to lease from the Philadelphia Housing Authority a parcel of land bounded by a portion of Brown Street, a portion of 47th Street, Aspen Street and Markoe Street, along with the improvements thereon, to be known upon the completion of its construction as the Lucien E. Blackwell Community Center"; and Bill No. 140854, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the Public Property Commissioner to accept from The School District of Philadelphia title to certain parcels of land located within an area bounded by Media Street to the North, North 52nd Street to the East, Master Street to the South, and North Peach Street to the West"; and Bill No. "
Thank you, Mr. Decker. The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode.
Thank you, Mr. President. Today we will consider two bills on the Consent Agenda that deal with labor peace. The Nutter Administration has testified that labor peace requirements could have unintended consequences, although the Mayor himself signed Executive Order No. 15-11 on project labor agreements for the same reason expressed in these two bills. The difference is that the Executive Order covers only construction jobs but not service-industry jobs. But not also Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 peace for the service industry, this Administration has created its own set of unfair consequences. It has established two different classes of workers, first class and coach. It has been suggested by some that also requiring labor peace within the service industry is not big business friendly. Once again, some people dare us to choose between big business and low-wage workers. That's a false choice. But if I have to choose, I choose the people who really need representation the most, those who don't own airplanes and hotels, but some clean airplanes and hotels where they can't even afford to stay sometimes. The issue of income inequality, the issue of the have's and the have not's, the issue of the wealthy 1 percent versus the other 99 percent is a growing issue that breeds economic resentment and is not going away. Therefore, we must aim for labor peace and economic justice, Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 in the best interest of the City. So my vote will be yes on labor peace for all industries in the pursuit of economic justice. Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.)
Thank you, Councilman. Thank you so much. We will now consider -- I'm sorry. I lost my place. These bills have been read on two separate days. The question is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker shall call the roll and... Thank you. It's great to have a great parliamentarian. These bills have been read on two separate days. The question for each bill now is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker will call the roll, and upon being called, each Councilmember shall vote aye on each of the bills, nay on Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 the bills or indicate those bills for which the member is voting aye and those bills for which the member is voting nay. Mr. Decker, please call the roll.
Councilman Henon is voting aye on all bills. Councilman Johnson. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014
Councilman Kenney is voting aye on all bills. Councilman Neilson.
Councilwoman Tasco is voting aye on all bills. Council President Clarke.
Aye on all bills. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative for each of the bills, the bills on the Consent Agenda are passed. (Standing ovation.)
Thank you. Councilman Squilla, on 997 you did not have that on the Consent Agenda; am I correct? Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 12/11/14 - STATED - 2ND READING
Thank you. Mr. Decker, can you please read the title of 140997.
A resolution calling upon the School District of Philadelphia and the School Reform Commission to analyze the financial and human impact of standardized testing, to identify strategies to minimize its use, and to request a waiver of the Keystone Exams from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in order to adopt assessments that better serve local needs and priorities.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla for a motion.
Thank you, Mr. President. Also co-sponsor of this is Councilwoman Sanchez, Blackwell, and Neilson, and I move for its adoption. (Duly seconded.) Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 12/11/14 - STATED - 2ND READING
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and Resolution 140997 is adopted. (Applause.)
Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill No. 140782-A.
An ordinance amending Title 14 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Zoning and Planning," by revising the size requirements for accessory structures for residential uses.
This bill has been heard on two separate days. The question is shall the bill pass finally. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 12/11/14 - STATED - 2ND READING Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Councilman O'Brien. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 12/11/14 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, 140638-A. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 12/11/14 - STATED - 2ND READING
An ordinance amending Chapter 19-3900 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Tax Exemptions for Longtime Owner-Occupants of Residential Properties," by amending the eligibility requirements to make eligible properties owned by certain individuals who received assistance in the acquisition of the property as part of a government or non-profit housing program.
This bill has been read on two separate days, the question is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Aye. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 12/11/14 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 12/11/14 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. (Applause.)
Mr. Decker, let me recognize Councilman O'Neill. I believe we had requested an amendment for 140831. Councilman O'Neill, you just want to make note that you want to -
Due Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 12/11/14 - STATED - 2ND READING to the request of the sponsor, 140831 is being held. Mr. Decker, 140857.
An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by South Street, 15th Street, Kater Street, and 16th Street.
This bill has been read on two separate days. The question is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Councilman Greenlee. Stated Meeting December 11, 2014 12/11/14 - STATED - 2ND READING