COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC MEETING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON LICENSES AND INSPECTIONS - - - Room 400 City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, April 15, 1998 9:40 a.m. - - - BILL NO. 970693 - An ordinance amending an ordinance approved January 3, 1992, establishing vendor locations in Center City, pursuant to Subsection 9-204(8)(a), by deleting one location on South Fifth Street and by creating a new location on South Fifth Street. BILL NO. 980121 - An ordinance amending Section 11 9-205 of The Philadelphia Code, relating to sidewalk sales, by adding a new provision prohibiting sidewalk sales on certain blocks in the 7th Councilmanic District. BILL NO. 980174 - An ordinance amending Section 14 9-205 of The Philadelphia Code relating to sidewalk sales, by adding a new provision prohibiting sidewalk sales on certain blocks in the 7th Councilmanic District. BILL NO. 980175 - An ordinance amending Section 17 9-205 of The Philadelphia Code, relating to sidewalk sales, by adding a new provision prohibiting sidewalk sales on certain blocks in the 7th Councilmanic District. PRESENT: COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY, Chairman COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI COUNCILMAN ANGEL L. ORTIZ COUNCILMAN FRANK DICICCO COUNCILMAN RICHARD T. MARIANO COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 561-2220 2 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON LICENSES AND INSPECTIONS I N D E X BILL NO. 970693 John P. Campbell, Manager. . . . . . . . . 3 Legislative Regulatory Affairs Department of Licenses and Inspections BILL NO. 980121 John P. Campbell, Manager. . . . . . . . . Legislative Regulatory Affairs 10 Department of Licenses and Inspections 11 12 BILL NO. 980174 John P. Campbell, Manager. . . . . . . . . 13 Legislative Regulatory Affairs Department of Licenses and Inspections Linda DeSouza, Manager . . . . . . . . . . 14 Special Services District- Frankford BILL NO. 980175 John P. Campbell, Manager. . . . . . . . . 16 Legislative Regulatory Affairs Department of Licenses and Inspections Linda DeSouza, Manager . . . . . . . . . . 18 Special Services District- Frankford 3 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 970693 P R O C E E D I N G S.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The Committee on Licenses and Inspections is now in session. We have a quorum present, and we're here to take testimony on four bills dealing with-- you guessed it -- vending. Bill No. 970693, which is an ordinance 10 amending an ordinance approved January 3, 1992, establishing vendor locations in Center City, pursuant to Subsection 9-204(8)(a) by deleting one location on South Fifth Street and by creating a new location on South Fifth Street. (John Campbell at witness table.)
Please identify yourself for the record, and proceed with your testimony.
Hello. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, I'm John P. Campbell. I'm the Legislative Regulatory Affairs Manager for the Department of Licenses and Inspections. I'm here today to testify on the provisions of Bill 970693, which will relocate a vendor in the Center City Vending District. 4 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 970693 We have reviewed the legislation. We have no objection to its enactment. And if Council so deems to enact the legislation, we will enforce its provisions. That's my testimony. I'll answer any questions.
I'm not going to disturb this bill, but a good thought came to mind. In the future, we ought to look at those parking spaces. I mean, this was an opportunity. We may have been able to put this vendor on the street with his cart -- although, it's not a truck, I understand, but we could have gotten some revenue out of this.
Councilman, when we established the Center City Vending District, we did look at street vendors also. And after -- oh, God -- years and years of agonizing, we decided -- in a discussion, we decided that the best thing to do was to permit no 5 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 970693 vending in the street, to keep it on the sidewalk, because not only do you have the circulation problems with pedestrian traffic, but, of course, vehicular traffic. And that could be problematic. The streets in Center City are narrow, for the most part.
Are there any other questions of Mr. Campbell? (No further questions at this time.)
Seeing none, is there anyone in the room here to testify on this bill? (Steven Pollack and Bill White come forward.)
Good morning, Councilman Kenney and Members of the Committee. My name is Steven Pollack. I'm the attorney for Bill White, who's the owner and operator of Johnny Rocket's, which is located at 443 South Street, which is on 6 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 970693 the southeast corner. And we are here today because my client's property is deeply affected by the current location of a vendor, who, when first approached -- Johnny Rocket's opened up in May of 1997, has 35 employees who pay City wages, which, according to Mr. White -- Bill can testify that this pays about 400,000 in City wages to the City. They spent over 300,000 -- over 300,000 in building improvements and then another 300,000 for equipment and furnishings in the property, so they've got about a $600,000 investment. Bill has received numerous complaints from people gaining access because of the location of this vending cart. It's right up against his entrance way. And we have some photos that show you the location of the cart. And it's about 4-feet-10-inches away from the property; and with the overhang, it's about 3 feet away from the property. Bill has had complaints from people who have had the inability, who are in wheelchairs, to gain access to his property because of the proximity of this cart. And Bill has had other 7 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 970693 people who have left his property, left his business, who were waiting to stand in line and go and buy hot dogs from this individual. Now, we're not trying to put Gus out of business. Gus had initially agreed at the time to move to another corner. And we are hopeful that since he's been at this location, he's an institution at the Fifth and South Street location; we just don't want him to lose his ability to be in that area. In fact, when the construction was going on for Johnny Rocket's, Gus had to temporarily move to another location and, obviously, you know, he retained his following and was able to stay in business. So it is our hope that City Council can look at this and weigh and balance the interests of somebody who's made a deep investment into the City and is employing 35 people. And if we can get some relief with regard to just the proximity, I think this would move him to the west side of the intersection which is where Gap, if you're familiar with it, it's the old Grendel's Lair and is the now-Gap 8 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 970693 building. And that would be the location he could fit into. And that would be our hope. Bill, you've heard what I've stated. Is there any other thing you want to talk about with --
Please identify yourself for the record, and speak closely to the microphone.
Yes, Councilmen and Councilwomen. I'm Bill White, the owner of Johnny Rocket's. Everything that Steve has said is about accurate. Basically, we just would like to look out our front door and not see a cart, you know, blocking people from coming in and coming out. And it's, you know, every day, day in and day out. And our customers are complaining. You know, they're more upset about it than anyone else. You know, how can you let this happen? I said, you know, we have to do, you know, what we have to do. So they've been very patient and, you know, hopefully, we can rectify this situation. 9 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 970693
So you've invested more than a half a million dollars into a property. And do you sell hot dogs?
I mean, well, why wouldn't you want a guy outside selling hot dogs?
Maybe if he goes across the street, outside of Gap, he'll start selling jeans.
You know, I mean, in the old days, it was Green's Pharmacy. So, I guess, you know, Ray Kauffman, who owned Green's Pharmacy, didn't care about hot dogs across the street.
Right. And just for my own sick interest, does anyone know where Gus lives?
No. We wish we knew. 10 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 970693 But we can tell you --
Well, 34 out of the 35 employees for Johnny Rocket's live in Philadelphia.
Okay. All right, fine. Are there any questions for these two witnesses? (No questions.)
Is there anyone 11 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 980121 else here to testify on this bill? (No response.) - - -
Next is Bill No. 6 980121. It's an ordinance amending Section 9-205 of The Philadelphia Code, relating to sidewalk sales, by adding a new provision prohibiting sidewalk sales on certain blocks in the 7th Councilmanic District. (John Campbell at witness table.)
Mr. Campbell, please identify yourself for the record. Let me read for the record the streets that are involved in the 7th District. Both sides of 900 through 1600 blocks of East Cayuga Street; both sides of 900 through 1700 blocks of East Hunting Park Avenue; both sides of the 900 through 1600 block of East Bristol Street; both sides of the 900 through 1600 blocks of East Luzerne Street; both sides of the 900 through 1600 blocks of East Lycoming Street; both sides of the 900 through 1600 blocks of East Erie; and both sides of the 3700 through 4300 blocks of Castor Avenue. Mr. Campbell, please. 12 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 980121
Again, John P. Campbell, Legislative Regulatory Affairs Manager, at the Department of Licenses and Inspections. I'm here to testify on the provisions of Bill 980121. We have reviewed the provisions of this bill, and the Department has no objections to its enactment. We will enforce the provisions of the bill if Council so deems. Normally, I have a report back on how many vendors are in the area; I'm sorry I do not have that today. However, from personal experience riding through that area frequently, I really don't see that many vendors. I don't see it as a significant issue.
Thank you. Are there any questions for Mr. Campbell? (No questions.) 13 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 980174
Is there anyone else in the room to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Bill No. 980174, which is an ordinance amending Section 9-205 of The Philadelphia Code relating to sidewalk sales, by adding a new provision prohibiting sidewalk sales on certain blocks in the 7th Councilmanic District. And in this particular bill, it's both sides of the 1500 block of Bridge Street. (John Campbell at witness table.)
Okay. Also, Councilman Kenney, Bill 980175 deals with the next block, which is the 1500 block of Pratt.
Okay. I'm sorry, Bridge Street, yeah. 14 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 980174 The Department has no objection to the enactment of this bill and will enforce its provisions if Council so deems.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions for Mr. Campbell?. (No questions at this time.)
Ma'am, do you want to testify on this bill? Please come forward. You can stay John. Please identify yourself for the record.
Good morning. I'm Linda DeSouza I manage the Special Services District in Frankford.
Could you spell your last name for the stenographer, please.
And I'm here on behalf of the Special Services District and the Bridge-Pratt Business and Professional Association whose president today, because of his advanced age and declining health, has asked me to represent him here also today. It was by his request that we made the request for this ordinance. 15 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 980174 The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is planning a large project where they will be running the Bridge & Pratt Terminal. This affects these blocks that are mentioned in this request today, and that one side of the street will be unavailable to pedestrian traffic and fenced off the traffic and so forth. The other side, being an extremely narrow sidewalk, causes a public safety hazard for people trying to go around carts. The carts are not a large problem at this time, but they have begun to pop up do the due to the availability of the construction workers that they're aiming to sell food and beverages to and so forth. There are several low-end retail and medical service providers on both of those blocks who have businesses facing the side of the sidewalk businesses that will still be available for pedestrian egress into their businesses. And as such, they have requested that this ordinance be provided to make sure that the situation doesn't get out of hand as far as the numerous carts popping up in those locations and 16 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 980175 causing any inconvenience to the customers and is a public safety hazard.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Is there anyone else anyone else to testify on this bill? (No response.)
None? No one else to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Bill No. 980175, an ordinance amending Section 9-205 of The Philadelphia Code, relating to sidewalk sales, by adding a new provision prohibiting sidewalk sales on certain blocks in the 7th Councilmanic District. In this particular instance, it's both sides of the 1500 block of Pratt Street. (John Campbell at witness table.)
Again, John P. Campbell, Licenses and Inspections. 17 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 980175 We've reviewed the provisions of this bill, and the Department has no objections to it's enactment and will enforce its provisions if Council so deems. I'm somewhat familiar with that area from getting on the el for four years when I was in high school every day.
Your memory can't go back that far, can it, John? (Laughter.)
The Pratt Street side of the Bridge & Pratt Terminal, both sidewalks there are very narrow. In fact, I think they demolished the remaining businesses where Hanscom's (ph.) used to be and a few other places. And that would be extremely difficult to permit any kind of vending in that block, even in a normal situation, so. . . That's my testimony.
Thank you very much for your testimony. 18 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - BILL NO. 980175 Are there any questions for Mr. Campbell? (No questions.)
Please identify yourself again for this bill, and proceed with your testimony.
My name is Linda DeSouza, managing the Special Services District of Frankford. And my testimony in this matter would be pretty much identical to my reasons involving the Bridge Street situation.
They are very similar, except that on Pratt Street, there won't be another sidewalk to vend on.
Okay, thank you very much. Is there anyone else in the room t o testify on these bills? (No response.)
Seeing none, that will conclude our public hearing. 19 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - PUBLIC MEETING
The Chair recognizes Councilman Krajewski for a motion to approve Bill No. 970693, with a rules suspension.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill 970693 be voted out of this committee with a favorable recommendation, with a suspension of rules. (Duly seconded.)
Moved and seconded. All in favor, say aye? Those opposed? There are none opposed. Bill No. 14 970693 will be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and a request will be made for a suspension of t he rules to allow for first reading at our next Council session. - - -
The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz for a motion on Bill 21 No. 980121, with the rules suspension.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill 980121 be moved out of committee with a favorable recommendation and a request for suspension of the rules so as to be considered in 20 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - PUBLIC MEETING the next session of City Council. (Duly seconded.)
Moved and seconded. All in favor, say aye? Those opposed? There are none opposed. Bill No. 8 980121 will be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and a request will be made for a suspension of t he rules to allow for first reading at our next Council session. - - -
The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz for a motion on Bill 15 No. 980174, with a similar request for a suspension of the rules.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill 980174 be moved out of committee with a favorable recommendation and a request that the rules of Council be suspended so as to have consideration at the next session of City Council. (Duly seconded.)
Moved and seconded. All in favor, say aye? Those opposed? 21 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - PUBLIC MEETING There are none opposed. Bill No. 3 980174 will be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and a request will be made for a suspension of t he rules to allow for first reading at our next Council session. - - -
The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo for a motion on Bill 10 No. 980175, with a suspension of the rules.
Mr. Chairman, I recommend that Bill No. 980175 be moved from this committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so that it will be heard at the next Council session. (Duly seconded.)
Moved and seconded. All in favor, say aye? Those opposed? There are none opposed. Bill No. 21 980175 will be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and a request will be made for a suspension of t he rules to allow for first reading at our next Council session. - - - 22 COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON L&I - PUBLIC MEETING
That concludes the business of the Licenses and Inspections Committee. Thank you for your attendance. (Adjourned at 10:00 a.m.) - - - 23 C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Wednesday, April 15, 1998, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON LICENSES AND INSPECTIONS BILL NO.'S 970693, 980121M 980174, 980175 __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, Registered Professional Reporter