It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor of the adoption of the amendment? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Bill No. 120917-A is amended. It will be placed on next week's Final Passage Calendar. Mr. Decker, do you have any additional resolutions. 3/7/13 - STATED - 2ND READING
A resolution urging Governor Corbett and the Pennsylvania General Assembly to re-start the adultBasic program for uninsured Pennsylvanians, introduced by Councilwoman Tasco.
Councilman Jones, did you want to be recognized now?
Thank you, sir. Councilwoman Tasco. I'm sorry. A little levity is always good. Councilwoman Tasco, we need a motion.
I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It 3/7/13 - STATED - 2ND READING has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
And a resolution calling on the School District of Philadelphia to rename Parent University after the late Arlene C. Ackerman, introduced by Councilwoman Reynolds Brown.
I move for the adoption, Mr. President. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.) 3/7/13 - STATED - 2ND READING
And a resolution honoring and celebrating the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority for its leadership and advancement of public transportation and recognizing its numerous initiatives to improve public safety for SEPTA passengers and all Philadelphians, introduced by Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for its adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
There are no other resolutions on the Final Passage Calendar, Mr. President.
Thank you so much. That concludes our Calendar for today. Are there any speeches on the part of the minority? The Chair recognizes Councilman Oh.
Thank you very much, Mr. President. I distributed on everybody's desk here in Council and let everybody know that this year on March the 22nd, Friday, we have our Fourth Annual 82nd Airborne Philadelphia Chapter All-American Dinner and Awards Ceremony, and of particular interest to this body our two All-American Award recipients for service to veterans is President of City Council, Darrell Clarke. And it's a prestigious award. Your modesty speaks volumes, but the veterans community has really been very excited by all the activities that you have sponsored in the veterans community. So we certainly welcome everyone to come out to that event. Thank you very much.
Thank you, sir. And we must give kudos to our two staff people, Wanda and Joyce. They've done a yeoman's job and they've really been doing good work. And, Councilman, thank you again for your continued good work for the veterans and all members of Council. Thank you. The Chair now recognizes Councilman Jones.
I'd like to yield to Councilwoman Tasco and then be recognized afterwards.
Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Jones. You're so quick. After reading the Sunday Inquirer, I proceeded with my morning household chores when it struck me that this cannot be business as usual. Two front page articles scream for attention from all people of color in Philadelphia and African Americans in particular. The story about OARC and Daniel Devers' excellent rebuttal to Philadelphia Magazine's latest and continued assault on black Philadelphia calls for, to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, the fierce urgency of now. I have had the occasion over the past year to speak to two business people who have come to do work in Philadelphia. One hailed from the South and the other from the Big Apple. Both are unknown to each other, but what they an observation that there is very little wealth in black Philadelphia. I'm going to make a quote. "Them that's got shall get. Them that's not shall lose. So the Bible said and it still is news. Momma may have, Papa may have, but God bless the child that's got his own. That's got his own," end of quote. Which brings me back to Sunday's article on Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation, or OARC, in which the Inquirer wrote a story about alleged misuse of state funds. If you look beyond the deliberately misleading headlines and the numerous inferences and innuendos, there is not much there in their story. They reduced 30 years of Dwight Evans' hard work to revitalize this formerly blighted community to a headline of indictments. Quote, "The Northwest Philadelphia non-profit founded by State or mismanaged portions of state grants worth $12 million since 2006, violating fed rules and made questionable real estate purchases with taxpayer funds, according to a state investigation," end of quote. For the record, State Representative Evans founded OARC 30 years ago with a mission to revitalize an impoverished, blighted neighborhood. Beginning as a young legislator, he worked tirelessly over the past 30 years to turn around this formerly economically distressed, crime-infested, and blighted neighborhood into a vibrant community with bustling commercial corridors, improved housing stock, educational options, training programs, and business and neighborhood attraction programs. If he were a white legislator and this was a white neighborhood, the Inquirer's headline would read, Committed State Legislator Turns Neighborhood Around After 30 Years of Hard Work. way up to the Chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives through hard work and perseverance. In the 20 years he held this position, he was arguably one of the most powerful state legislators in the Commonwealth, respected by both sides of the aisle for deliberative leadership and bringing home the bacon to his members and their constituents, all members. Philadelphia as a whole did well under Representative Evans, who held the top appropriations leadership position through both democratic and republican administrations in Harrisburg. Moreover, Philadelphians, black, white, Latino, Asian, and others residing in neighborhoods across this city, are still today benefiting from the appropriation decisions made by Representative Evans. There would be no Convention Center or its expansion without Dwight. There would be no urban in various urban areas across this country without Dwight. There would be no Barnes, Jewish Museum or Please Touch Museum without Dwight. There would be no Avenue of the Arts North without Dwight. And we would not have had many of the new recreation centers, playgrounds, health center expansions, and arts and cultural facilities without Dwight Evans.
The former Appropriations Chairman has bumped heads with many over the years, and at the core of these battles is his dogged determination to improve the lives of the disadvantaged and the underserved through public policy and fair access to government resources, resources that heretofore had been denied to minority communities through public policy decisions that encourage redlining, gerrymandering, and a denial of adequate funding for local schools. Representative Evans learned the rules of the game over a 30-year the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He learned that holding the purse can affect public policy decisions. Businessmen, labor, community groups, members of civic groups, and a variety of stakeholders lined his Capital office waiting room daily for a chance to speak with him to advance their interest in the state budget. However, a confluence of shortsightedness, petty jealousies and animus led to his tumble from the top perch of Appropriations Chair. Money you got, lots of friends crowding around your door. When you're gone, spending ends. They don't come no more. So when two total strangers to the City ask, Why is there so little black wealth in Philadelphia, the answer lies between apathy and petty jealousness, corporate greed and the political benefactors, liberals who are comfortable with blacks on their backs than in the boardroom, and a press that exploits and the black community on one hand and the demonizing of those who dare to craft solutions. There is a saying in the black community that whenever we learn the rules of the game, the game changes. Representative Evans learned the rules of the game in Harrisburg, and he was a very effective steward of our resources. There is a notion that the African American community is not entitled to participate in decisions of allocating revenue and government resources, we need to somehow be closely monitored and that government in our hands is suddenly more corrupt. The press perpetuates this myth by sensationalizing leaked allegations. We all know that the press gives some political leaders the presumption of innocence and requires a higher bar of evidence before printing allegations of alleged improprieties. If this story was Rendell, the Inquirer may have investigated the motives of a republican administration leaking stories about an audit, which the administration refuses to share with the organization named in the report. They may have questioned the aim of the audit is to correct deficiencies or bring down the legacy of a more popular predecessor or an attempt by Corbett to win reelection in 2015. They may also ask why couldn't the Corbett Administration want to share the audit and work to correct irregularities. If there is a real smoke and gun, where are the charges? Or is it the true aim to kill off these effective organizations by rumors, allegations, and legal fees, death by a thousand cuts. Years from now, long after these organizations are gone, we'll learn that their demise was part of an organized strategy to weaken the political and social safety net in community, much like the national attack on ACORN. This month's Philadelphia Magazine front cover story, Being White in Philadelphia, is just another example of the ongoing attack on black Philadelphia. Considering the recent census, African Americans can hold political power for years to come, but if they remain economically disadvantaged, they will never be full partners or independent. Rich relations give crust of bread and such. You can help yourself, but don't take too much. God bless the child who's got his own. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman
I'm going to defer to Majority Leader. Is that okay? And I'll come after him, because he deferred to the gentle lady from the Northwest.
That's what I'm talking about. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Mr. President. With the exception of maybe gambling in the other Administration, with the exception of maybe AVI in today's sessions, the consolidation of schools probably is the most polarizing and galvanizing issue we are going to sense that there's a compelling interest that says 300 million deficit requires some action, polarizing in the sense that that action should not be on the backs of young people, but galvanizing in the sense that parents and advocates for education have come out like never before in recent history. I appreciate the outreach of over 40 community meetings and thousands of parents and community leaders to deal with the issue of 37 closings, now down to 27 considered closings or mergers. As Chair of Public Safety Committee for this body, I still remain concerned, however, about children and their transition from closed schools to merged schools to their new location of education. I have written the SRC and Dr. Hite about my specific concerns, and they range from the distance, the great distance, some young people will have to travel from their closed school to their that path we've done overlays of crime statistics in those areas, and we are fearful about the fact that some mothers have to choose between safely delivering their children to school versus being on time to work. We are concerned about mixing of ages and younger kids being bullied or victimized by older kids and the creation of fire walls to maintain their safety so that there are different exit and arrival times, that there are different floors used for different grades to give them a safe passage through school. We're also concerned about how transportation will be used to get young people to and from their homes and schools. We are looking at these closures and the rapid reuse of these facilities, that we don't want them to be idle, vacant for decades within the communities that they are housed. We are looking to make sure full decisions on half information. We want to know these safety concerns before we are comfortable with sending our babies, our babies into these institutions. I also challenge the parents and advocates in this regard: We said it was galvanizing and that they've come out in force and have changed the direction of some of the consolidations, but we need to see this effort continue beyond the crisis, beyond the decisions made this evening, that they come out whether their schools remain open or whether they're diverted to other areas, to stay involved in the education process, to become and remain critical stakeholders in their children's future so that we are just as excited about the end product as we are about the process. And the end product is creating viable citizens that can take advantage of work and professional opportunities upon their graduation. tonight. We'll be testifying, along with other members of this body and elected officials, to see what the final decision of the SRC will be. But, again, this is not the end of the process. This should be a continuation and a new beginning for us all. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Mr. President. We will be there this afternoon after Council when the vote takes place, many of us who have been fighting with regard to the moratorium and with regard to the school closings. I also want to remind my colleagues that immediately following Council, we will have our University of Pennsylvania public safety presentation. recall that Maureen Rush gave such an excellent presentation when we talked about this issue, that we asked her to come back and give a presentation to us. So we hope you can just spend a little time with us in the Caucus Room. Lunch will be served by Penn, and hopefully we'll -- I'm sure that we'll gain a lot more information. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. Just a couple things. I wanted to start by thanking Councilwoman Tasco for her comments. And as someone who represents a large portion of Northwest Philadelphia, along with her, you know, the proof is in the pudding, as they say. The work speaks for itself that's been And so I just really wanted to take a moment and thank her for her comments and also to think about the connotation that there may be some level of consideration of race when this article was written is deeply troubling to me, but that's not the only thing that's happened lately with a major publication here in the City regarding race. And there's a publication that I won't even mention by name that has a title across the headlines that says something to the effect of, A Conversation About Race, when there is no one on your editorial board who is African American. So it doesn't make a difference if you're talking about race if you're not talking to different people. You need to be able to dialogue and have conversation with different people to be able to have an effective conversation about race and what separates us and what can bring us one thing I wanted to mention, but it wasn't actually what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to take a moment to talk about and draw your attention to community input and talk about investment in two different areas. On December 13th, 2012, the School District announced its reorganization plan that called for the closing of 37 schools. The decision regarding each of those schools was made without community input. It was shocking to many of us that these decisions were made without having any, let alone many, meetings with community members. Therefore, on January 24th, 2013, this body adopted a resolution, introduced by Councilwoman Blackwell, calling for a moratorium on the School District's closings. Then on February 19th, 2013, less than ten weeks after releasing its reorganization plan, the School District issued an amended Facilities Master Plan, of school closings from 37 to 29. The School District's press release announcing the revised closing list was titled, and I quote, "School District of Philadelphia Amends Facilities Master Plan Recommendations as a Result of Community Feedback." In just nine weeks, the School District held 21 meetings, met with over 5,000 citizens, and revised its plan. If the first plan had thoughtfully included any community input whatsoever, there might not have been need for a rushed amended plan. The School District's failure to seek community input in the first instance and its subsequent rushed process, which finally allowed for community participation, only adds to this body's January 24th action calling for a moratorium. And so I will be there this evening. I want to invite all of my as well, because this is something that, as Councilman Jones just mentioned, that I don't think we can just allow to sit back and allow to happen and not raise our voices. So thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Sanchez.
Thank you, Mr. President. There's so much to talk about. I do want to add to Councilwoman Tasco's words. As someone who built a charter school with the support of Representative Dwight Evans and having known him for 20 years, there is few, few major developments in my community, in particular in the Latino sections of my district, where his handprint has not been on there. You and I both are investing in Hunting Park. It is through Dwight's support that over a million that plan. He has supported the Latino community, not because we could vote for him, not because he could gain from it politically, but it was the right thing to do around supporting impoverished communities. So I want to thank him for his service. And I think his legacy will be felt throughout my community. There are people in my community who had no idea his involvement and the level of involvement in the projects in my community. So I thank him. I consider him a friend, and I thank him on behalf of all of the constituents in my district who reap the benefits of his allocation and of his leadership. I do want to add to my Council colleague Councilman Jones around the beginning of the conversation. I too will join as -- we might have a quorum over at the SRC this evening. I too am going to be attending today's session at SRC, and I think it is important that we continue to infuse ourselves in this conversation with the SRC and the community. I still believe the School District has to do a better job at articulating how these closures contribute to high-performing slots for children throughout the City. I still think there's a lot of questions that need to be answered. So we'll continue to ask those questions, and when they don't have the answer, we will provide the answer, and I think we need to continue to do that. I strongly urge the SRC that after today, that the panel that reviews any future closures be done with members of the community. If we've learned anything from this, a school closure decision should be a no-brainer. They should be able to put that through a panel that says, Absolutely, that school needs to be closed, and this is the to take into consideration when we close it. And I strongly encourage the SRC to do that. They cannot make those decisions in isolation. They have to make decisions. They cannot make them in isolation. And even if the communities will always disagree, there has to be some consideration of their roles as stakeholders in this process. But which leads me to my final comment and some of the discussions we're having today in your introduction of some bills. We have to get to the revenue side of what we're talking about. And so we as a Council have to continue to look at ways that the Administration could create and streamline our processes so that we can bring new revenue, so that we further expand our tax base. And so I want to end with that, that we are -- we have to -- and we have in the past, but this year more than ever with AVI and everything else, we have to that the discussion is not about what we disagree, but what we agree that we wholeheartedly have to support. So I want to thank you for your leadership in that and look forward to working towards that end.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Johnson.
Mr. President and colleagues, over the last year, we have worked on the initiative known as AVI, and I want to thank my colleague from South Philadelphia, Mark Squilla, for stepping up to the plate and taking the lead in making sure that we approach this process thoroughly and cautiously. And I of the new property tax assessments, that many of my constituents are feeling the shock of their property taxes possibly going up. I have seen firsthand a large number of seemingly inaccurate assessments, and I expect a very large number of residents will need to file for the first-level review to correct their assessments. Many of these homeowners are just beginning to realize that their assessments are inaccurate. The March 31st deadline to file a first-level review does not give homeowners a sufficient amount of time to evaluate the assessment and submit that information to the City. We need to extend this deadline. Accordingly, I am respectfully requesting that the Administration extend the deadline for the filing of the first-level review for at least 45 days to allow all residents to take advantage of this protective measure. a letter to the Mayor's Office asking that he allow for a 45-day extension of the deadline. I hope that the Administration will understand that; therefore, allow residents more time to vet this process as we look at and move forward the Actual Value Initiative. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you so much, Councilman. That concludes our speeches for the minority and majority. At this time, I would like to recognize Councilwoman Brown for a motion to adjourn.
Yes, Mr. President. Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez said it right. There's so many issues. I will briefly speak on two. I join the chorus of Councilmembers regarding our concerns around the School District and the closures. I too will be there this listen to the final decisions rendered by the School Reform Commission. And, secondly, the remarks offered by Councilwoman Tasco need to be underscored in bold letters. I was struck early on about the transformative appearance of Ogontz Avenue and took a visit up there with Representative Evans about eight years ago, and I would say but for his transformative leadership, Ogontz Avenue would not be what it is today, and that that is one of the few places you can go in the City and see small business owners, minority and female, thriving in a way that we would like to see universally across this city. With that said, Mr. President, I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, March 14th, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you, Councilwoman. It has been moved and properly seconded that Council in favor? (Aye.)
Council will stand adjourned until Thursday, March 14th, 2013. Thank you all very much. ) CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. MICHELE L. ) A ADJOURNME...