Stated Meeting, October 20, 2022

STATED MEETING 1 10/20/2022 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA STATED MEETING City Hall, Room 400 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, October 20, 2022 10:27 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS COUNCILWOMAN KENDRA BROOKS COUNCILMAN MICHAEL DRISCOLL COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE RICHARDSON COUNCILWOMAN HELEN GYM COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN DAVID OH COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA COUNCILMAN ISAIAH THOMAS MICHAEL A. DECKER, CHIEF CLERK STATED MEETING 2 10/20/2022

Good morning. We're going to get started. The hour has come. Council will come to order. So to give our invocation this morning, the Chair recognizes Father Joseph Zaleski of St. Katherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church. He is here today as the guest of Councilman Mike Driscoll. Father. Will all guests and members please rise. (Councilmembers and guests rise.)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen. Direct, oh Lord, all of our actions and carry them through by your gracious assistance so that our every prayer, word, and work may begin with you and by you be happily completed. STATED MEETING 3 10/20/2022 ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Council will be at ease. (Council at ease.)

Thank you so much, Father, for your invocation this morning. We really appreciate you being here. Thank you. And our next order of business is the approval of the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, October 13, 2022, and the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Bass.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, October 13, STATED MEETING 4 10/20/2022 2022 be approved. (Duly seconded.)

Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, October 13, 2022 stand approved. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and our Journal is approved. And our next order of business is requests for leave of absence, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.

Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of Council, there has been a request for leave of absence by Councilmember Johnson.

STATED MEETING 5 10/20/2022 you, Councilman. Leave shall be granted for Councilman Johnson. And the Chair recognizes Councilman Jones -- Councilwoman Bass for a matter concerning certain legislative matters that may arise during the course of today's session of Council and that were not listed on the Calendar circulated prior to today's session.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move that any of the following matter, if considered today, may be added to the agenda for this session of Council and, as required by law, subsequently published on an amended agenda after the consideration of those matters: resolutions authorizing hearings, amendments to bills on first reading, the reconsideration of a bill vetoed by or re-called from the Mayor, amendments to bills re-called from the Mayor, resolutions taking substantive action to be voted on in this session, a motion to withdraw a bill or resolution STATED MEETING 6 10/20/2022 not on the Calendar, and a motion placing a bill or resolution on or returning a bill or resolution from the Suspension Calendar that is not listed on today's Calendar. The purpose of this motion is to provide the public with notice concerning possible actions by Council that arose too late to be included on the Calendar that was published prior to today's session. (Duly seconded.)

Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the legislative matters stated by Councilwoman Bass may be added to the agenda for today, should those matters arise during the course of this session of Council. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? STATED MEETING 7 10/20/2022 (No response.)

The ayes have it, and the motion passes. And our next order of business is communications, and the Chair asks the Clerk to please read the messages from the Mayor and any other communications that he may have in his possession.

From the Mayor to the President and members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, I am pleased to advise you that on October 19, 2022, I signed the following bill, which was passed by Council at its session on October 13, 2022: Bill No. 220655. And I am transmitting for the consideration of your honorable body a resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Land Bank deeds conveying title to 2843 through 2861 Janney Street and 2842 through 2860 Weikel Street located in the First Councilmanic District; and STATED MEETING 8 10/20/2022 A resolution authorizing the Redevelopment Authority to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Land Bank deeds conveying title to certain properties located in the Fifth Councilmanic District, all under certain terms and conditions.

Thank you, Mr. Decker. And our next order of business is the introduction of bills and resolutions, and I would ask Mr. Decker to please read the titles of the bills and resolutions being offered today by our members.

Councilman Thomas offers two resolutions. I have a privileged resolution honoring and congratulating Champion of the Week, Philadelphia Military Academy, for receiving a Department of Army Gold Star as an Honor Unit with Distinction from the Department of Army, for their outstanding performance. STATED MEETING 9 10/20/2022

Today's Calendar.

And a privileged resolution authorizing the Committee on Education to hold hearings to discuss youth experience in schools as a follow-up to student-led Enough is Enough Anti-Gun Violence Campaign discussed in May 2022.

Today's Calendar.

Councilman Jones offers five bills and five resolutions. On behalf of Council President Clarke, an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to accept a historically-designated building from 2000 Arch Associates, which will move and reinstall the building in Aviator Park, 200 North 19th Street, to become part of the Fairmount Park system, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation. STATED MEETING 10 10/20/2022

Referred to committee.

And an ordinance amending Title 16 of The Philadelphia Code to require that certain designated real estate conveyed by the City to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority or the Philadelphia Land Bank be insured under the City's self-insurance or other insurance program following conveyance.

Referred to committee.

And an ordinance amending Section 14-529 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "/VDO, Fifth District Overlay District."

Referred to committee.

And on his own behalf, Councilman Jones offers an ordinance establishing a no truck parking regulation on both sides of Haverford Avenue between North 67th Street and North 68th Street. STATED MEETING 11 10/20/2022

Referred to committee.

And an ordinance renaming and designating the area of land bounded by 54th Street, Wynnefield Avenue and Woodbine Avenue as "The Wynnefield Veterans Memorial."

Referred to committee.

And on behalf of Council President Clarke, a non-privileged resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Land Bank to dispose of 1510, 1512, 1514, 1526, 1530, 1532 through 34, 1538, 1540, 1542, 1548, 1552, 1554, 1556, 1558, 1563 North Darien Street, 1526, 1528, 1540 North 8th Street, 1501 through 13, 1529, 1545, 1549 and 1551 North 9th Street located in the 5th Councilmanic District.

Next week's Calendar.

And a non-privileged resolution authorizing the STATED MEETING 12 10/20/2022 Philadelphia Land Bank to dispose of 2317 Ridge Avenue located in the 5th Councilmanic District.

Next week's Calendar.

And on his own behalf, a privileged resolution declaring October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the City of Philadelphia.

I'm sorry, Mr. Decker.

Privileged resolution.

I'm sorry. I'm having -- thank you. Today's Calendar. Sorry, Mr. Decker.

And a privileged resolution authorizing the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless to hold public hearings to examine aging multiunit structures with expiring Department of Housing and Urban Development contracts to strategize ways STATED MEETING 13 10/20/2022 to utilize local, state, and federal resources to prevent the displacement of community residents.

Today's Calendar.

And a non-privileged resolution encouraging the Law Department to file a lawsuit against the State of Pennsylvania seeking injunctive relief for their refusal to take custody of juveniles sentenced to state facilities who are currently housed at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center.

Next week's Calendar.

Councilwoman Brooks offers a non-privileged resolution affirming and praising Philadelphia's City Commissioners and citizen poll workers in implementing free and fair election procedures to determine the will of all eligible Philadelphia voters, and decrying efforts to undermine such STATED MEETING 14 10/20/2022 officials and citizen participants through bullying and legislative interference. Mr. President, Councilwoman Brooks would like to be recognized for a motion on this resolution.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brooks.

Thank you, Council President. I move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit consideration of this resolution on today's Final Passage Calendar. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor of the motion indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The motion passes. That STATED MEETING 15 10/20/2022 will be on today's Final Passage Calendar.

Councilwoman Gauthier offers one privileged resolution, entitled a "Resolution honoring the People's Emergency Center on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary."

Today's Calendar.

Councilman Squilla offers one bill and one resolution, entitled "An ordinance approving the plan" -- and this bill is on behalf of Council President Clarke. "An ordinance approving the plan, estimated costs and proposed method of assessment and charges of the Center City District (the 'Authority') for and concerning business improvements and administrative services to the central business district of the City of Philadelphia for 2023 through 2027; amending an Ordinance (Bill No. 1069, approved November 2, 1990, as amended by STATED MEETING 16 10/20/2022 Bill No. 960631, approved November 25, 1996, as further amended by Bill No. 120800, approved December 21, 2012)."

Referred to committee.

And on his own behalf, a non-privileged resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Land Bank deeds conveying title to 2843 through 2861 Janney Street and 2842 through 2860 Weikel Street located in the First Councilmanic District.

Next week's Calendar.

Councilwoman Bass offers three resolutions, entitled -- a non-privileged resolution -- "Urging Drexel University, as the recipient of the Atwater Kent Collection to ensure adequate stewardship of the collection and protect the interest of donors, art lovers, and the residents of STATED MEETING 17 10/20/2022 Philadelphia."

Next week's Calendar.

And a privileged resolution authorizing the Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings regarding expanding Philadelphia's mobile crisis response capacity to develop strategies and best practices for non-lethal de-escalation, crisis intervention, and restraint of individuals experiencing mental or emotional distress.

Today's Calendar.

And a privileged resolution authorizing the Committee on Parks and Recreation to hold public hearings on the status of the City of Philadelphia's Rebuild Initiative.

Today's Calendar.

Councilman Oh offers a privileged resolution STATED MEETING 18 10/20/2022 10th Anniversary of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia.

Thank you very much. That concludes our introduction of bills and resolutions. Before we proceed, I would like to recognize State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams. Thank you, sir, for being here today. (Applause.)

Thank you, and thank you for coming down to testify. Appreciate that. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Bass.

Thank you, Mr. President. I just wanted to take a moment and recognize that we have ten students here today and the teacher from STATED MEETING 19 10/20/2022 the Eighth District in Philadelphia. If they would please rise, please stand so we can acknowledge you. (Applause.)

And I'm pleased to have them here. They've been collecting autographs. So they've been welcomed here, and we welcome you and we hope that you get a good introduction to the legislative process today. These are our future leaders and lawmakers and certainly citizens and voters. So we're honored to have them down here with us today. Thank you so much for being here.

Awesome. (Applause.) STATED MEETING 20 10/20/2022

Welcome. Thank you all for being here this day. We appreciate it. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gym.

Yes. Thank you very much, Council President. I too want to welcome Mr. Marsden's eight students from his Civic Actions class. They are juniors and seniors in the Civic Action class at Vaux Big Picture High School. We also welcome them. They couldn't all be in this particular room. Many of them are in the overflow room, so we are giving them a good wave, and recognizing Mr. Marsden and his young student, who will be testifying today. So thank you also for being here, and we're so proud of all of you.

Awesome. (Applause.) STATED MEETING 21 10/20/2022

An awesome school in the Fifth Councilmanic District. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.

Thank you, Mr. President. While we are welcoming people, I'd like to acknowledge professor, attorney, activist, and Black man, Michael Coard, who is here to give comment today on our resolution of apology. (Applause.)

Good morning. Thank you for being here.

With him is Allen Hornblum, author of the Acres of Skin book that precipitated -(Applause.) STATED MEETING 22 10/20/2022

Good morning. Good seeing you again.

And we have Pam Lawson, Yousef Anthony, Lavon Miller, Priscilla Morris, and Adrianne Jones also. (Applause.)

Good morning, and thank you for being here. Appreciate it. Okay. That concludes our introductions of our individuals, and, again, we thank you all for being here today. And our next order of business is reports from committee, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla for a report from the Committee on Finance.

Thank you, Mr. President. The Committee on Finance reports out three bills with a favorable recommendation. STATED MEETING 23 10/20/2022

Thank you. Mr. Decker, please read that report.

To the President and members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, the Committee on Finance, to which was referred Bill No. 220659, entitled "An ordinance amending Bill No. 220401, entitled 'An ordinance amending Chapter 19-1500 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Wage and Net Profits Tax,' by revising certain tax rates, under certain terms and conditions,' to correct a typographical error in stating the period in which a reduction in the resident Net Profits Tax is applicable"; and Bill No. 220660, entitled "An ordinance amending Bill No. 210284, entitled 'An ordinance amending Chapter 19-2600 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Business Income and Receipts Taxes,' by revising certain tax rates, under certain terms and conditions,' to STATED MEETING 24 10/20/2022 identifying the tax year to which a tax reduction applies, so that the tax reduction applies in Fiscal Year 2023"; and Bill No. 220742, entitled "An ordinance authorizing an increase in the non-electoral indebtedness of the City within the Pennsylvania constitutional limit; authorizing the Bond Committee to sell bonds at public or private negotiated sale, to provide funds toward various capital municipal purposes; providing for appropriations to the Sinking Fund Commission for the payment of such bonds; and authorizing agreements to provide credit or payment or liquidity sources for the bonds," respectfully reports it has considered the same and returns the attached bills to Council with a favorable recommendation.

Thank you, Mr. Decker. The Chair again recognizes Councilman Squilla. STATED MEETING 25 10/20/2022

Thank you, Mr. President. I move the rules of Council be suspended as to permit the first reading this day of Bill Nos. 220659, 220660, and 220742. (Duly seconded.)

Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit the first reading this day of Bills No. 220659, 220660, and 220742. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and these bills will be placed on our First Reading Calendar at today's session. The next order of business is the consideration of the Calendar. STATED MEETING 26 10/20/2022 2ND READING I note that the bills just reported from committee with suspension of the rules have been deemed to have had a first reading. These bills will be placed on our Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar at our next session of Council. There are no additional bills on our First Reading Calendar today, so the Chair recognizes Councilman Jones for the purpose of calling up bills and resolutions on our Final Passage Calendar today.

Thank you again, Mr. President. The following resolutions and bills are being called up from the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendars today: Nos. 220834, 220836, and 220837. All other bills and resolutions are being held.

Thank you, Councilman. Before we hear the bills and resolutions on our Final Passage Calendar STATED MEETING 27 10/20/2022 today, we will have our public comment session. Our public comment will go as follows: Your matters must concern matters on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar for possible action at today's Council session. And I see, Councilman Squilla, would you need to be recognized?

Yes.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.

Thank you, Mr. President. I'm going to request to be excused for business today. I'd like to be recorded as aye on all bills and resolutions.

Thank you. Thank you, Councilman. Leave shall be granted. Thank you, Councilman Squilla. Once you sign up, you will be called in the order in which your name appears on the sign-up sheet, and under STATED MEETING 28 10/20/2022 ideal circumstances, you will have three minutes. We have a relatively significant volume of individuals today, so I want to ask individuals to please adjust your testimony to have two minutes. Hope for your accommodation for that. From time to time we must adjust. We want to make sure that everybody has an opportunity to speak. In order to be fair to those wishing to speak, though, we intend to hold faithfully to the established time limit. So when you begin speaking, you will see a green light at the podium. When there are 30 seconds remaining to your time, the light will turn yellow, which is your signal that the remainder of your time is coming. You will see a light and we ask you to please conclude your remarks. At this point, we ask you to please yield the podium to the next speaker, if you have not already done so. I also reserve the right pursuant to Council rules if there is STATED MEETING 29 10/20/2022 repetitious comments on the same subject matter, we allow the right to adjust the list of speakers to not include everyone. Please come to the microphone and give your comments. Mr. Decker, I want to ask you to read the first name on the list. I want to thank you all for your willingness to come down and testify at today's Council session. We appreciate it.

The first speaker we have today is Senator Anthony Williams, commenting on 220837. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning. SENATOR WILLIAMS: Good morning. Good morning, Mr. President and my colleagues in City Council and to my Councilwoman, Jamie Gauthier. Today is an extraordinary day for many of us who have watched this city for generations. The City is changing, STATED MEETING 30 10/20/2022 and sometimes it makes us uncomfortable. This day recognizing Julia Chinn and naming a street after her is not only supportive and important because of renaming a street but because of the history that Julia Chinn represents to many of us in this room. She was part of a movement that brought women, people of color to power in politics and put many of us in these seats in City Council, state government, and Congress. She was an activist that maintained the integrity of the community that sometimes many of us harken to would like to continue today. I also want to acknowledge, though, that Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier, who is a new Councilmember, it's challenging for many of you who are new to have relationships with those of us who have been around for a while. I want to tell her that she's listening and she's acknowledging the foundation upon which we all stand. STATED MEETING 31 10/20/2022 I want to thank you all for considering her today, considering this legislation, Julia's family and Julia looking above from heaven. God bless her and God bless you. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

Thank you, Senator. Thank you for your testimony today.

The next speaker is Michael Coard, Esquire, commenting on 220836. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning.

Thank you, Mr. President, and I will be brief for a couple reasons. One, that's the protocol and, two, I'm in the middle of a jury trial. My name is Michael Coard. I'm STATED MEETING 32 10/20/2022 here to speak in support of Resolution No. 220836, and I'll make this quick. I would hope that everybody could just pause for about ten seconds and imagine being in a cage for nearly a quarter century, presumed innocent, but at the same time enduring what can best be described as excruciating skin patch tests, cruel radioactive isotope studies, pernicious diet studies, as well as sadistic chemical warfare experiments and heinous mind control experiments. Poor Black men, poor brown men, poor white men, poor Black women, poor white women, poor Latino women endured this for nearly a quarter century right here in Philadelphia, from 1951 to 1974, thanks to the sadistic imagination of the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Albert Kligman in collaboration, sadly, with the City of Philadelphia. Those men and women became human guinea pigs for the most egregious type of studies you can imagine. STATED MEETING 33 10/20/2022 We all know about the Tuskegee experiment for 40 years, 1932 to 1972. As bad as that was, arguably, this could be worse. Tuskegee was about no treatment for victims. Philadelphia was about mistreatment of victims. I'm going to wrap this up by saying that there are folks who know much more about this issue than I do. Allen Hornblum will be speaking later, along with Lavon Miller, a survivor who experienced this horror, Pam Lawson, a descendent of one of those and, finally, Adrianne Jones-Alston. Again, I thank you all, Mr. President. I thank Councilman Jones for initiating this, and I'm in full support of Resolution 220836. Thank you very much.

Thank you. (Applause.) STATED MEETING 34 10/20/2022

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate it.

The next speaker is Reverend Dr. Lorina Marshall-Blake, commenting on 220834. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning.

My name is Reverend Dr. Lorina Marshall-Blake. Thank you, Mr. President, and I'm here speaking on behalf of Resolution No. 220834, the renaming of the street for Reverend Leonard George Carr. Leonard Carr was born in Virginia in October 25th, 1902. He was a third-generation minister, and while he was there attending Lincoln University, he was invited by a group of Christians to be their spiritual leader. They started a missionary baptist church in West Philly. They initially met in a home, and then they STATED MEETING 35 10/20/2022 moved on and had a property at 57th and Vine Streets. Thus in the height of the Great Depression, the Vine Street Baptist Church was established with the Reverend Leonard George Carr. By 1935, the congregation outgrew the space. They worshiped there until 1945, where they then secured a down payment for the Powelton Reformed Church at 5600 West Girard Avenue. In April 1945, with great fanfare, the congregation marched from 56th and Vine to where we are now at 56th and Girard Avenue. Reverend Carr was the builder. He led the congregation in finishing the basement, again, doing other things. At the height of his ministry, he sat in the sanctuary for a service starting at 10:45. One would have to arrive by 10:20. Again, he was a community activist. He organized the baby well clinic in the church. Under his STATED MEETING 36 10/20/2022 leadership, a scouting program was offered for girls and boys. The church had a large Sunday school in the 1950's and '60s. The youth received further training in the Baptist Training Union, now known as the Youth Fellowship and Youth Adult Fellowship. So, again, Mr. President, we thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the renaming of the Vine Street Baptist Church. Amen. (Applause.)

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate it.

The next speaker is Pastor Ralph E. Blanks, commenting on 220834. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning. Good to see you again. STATED MEETING 37 10/20/2022

Good morning, Council President Clarke, members of City Council, and our Councilman, Councilman Jones. Thank you for the opportunity to speak in support further of Resolution No. 220834, the renaming of the street in memory and honor of Reverend Dr. Leonard George Carr, who also was a denominational leader. He was a member of the National Baptist Convention USA Incorporated, where he served as the treasurer for over 30 years. During this time, he partnered with the Foreign Mission Board to start the Vine Memorial Baptist Church Mission and School for Girls in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He was President of the Pennsylvania State Baptist Convention and officer of the Philadelphia Baptist Pastors and Ministers Conference, a member of the Pyramid Club, and he served on the board of the Berean Institute. Reverend Carr was also a civil STATED MEETING 38 10/20/2022 rights activist. In 1957, he invited the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to preach at Vine Memorial and also featured his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, in an afternoon concert. During the late '50s and late '60s, Reverend Dr. Carr joined with the Reverend Dr. Leon Sullivan and others seeking better-paying jobs and positions with local companies that were patronized in Philadelphia. Reverend Carr was also a man of vision. At Vine Memorial's 40th anniversary celebration in 1972, he wrote in his letter to the congregation, "A peep into the future has me visualizing the day which is fast approaching when we shall own the entire block from 56th Street to Frazier Street, and we are planning in the near future an educational building with classrooms as well as recreational facilities." Because Reverend Dr. Leonard George Carr laid a firm foundation for STATED MEETING 39 10/20/2022 the Vine Memorial Baptist Church in West Philadelphia and the City of Philadelphia as we continue to celebrate the church's 90th anniversary, we would respectfully with deep appreciation recognize his contributions and request honoring him by renaming the 600 block of North 56th Street the "Reverend Dr. Leonard George Carr Way." Thank you very much.

Thank you, Reverend. (Applause.)

I'm Ralph Blanks, Pastor of the Vine Memorial Baptist Church.

Thank you. Thank you, Reverend.

The next speaker is Tim Brown. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning. STATED MEETING 40 10/20/2022

Good morning, Council President Clarke, distinguished Councilmembers. My name is Tim Brown. I'm the organizing director for Philly Neighborhood Networks. I'm here to speak on the Brooks democracy resolution, which will be offered today as a privileged resolution. It speaks to an ongoing threat to our nation, so I won't mince words. What happened on January 6, 2021 and the month that led up to it are nothing less than an act of treason against the United States. If this were our past, it would still warrant a reminder of the treachery that took place on that day when a sore loser unleashed an armed mob to our most sacred space, the people's house, in an attempt to stop our most sacred act as a nation, the peaceful transition of power, the hallmark of our democracy. Alarmingly, what happened on January 6th is not an outlier. In fact, STATED MEETING 41 10/20/2022 it continues today with attempts by hyper-partisan election deniers to infiltrate election boards and poll watching, to rewrite the laws to make it more difficult to vote, and ultimately to destroy our democracy. I'm sure there's not a person in this room who thinks that this kind of behavior is normal political action. So I ask that Councilmembers vote today in support of the Brooks democracy resolution to reaffirm our belief in the democratic process. This resolution, coupled with the recent successful prosecution of two Virginia men who brought high-powered weapons to our city to interfere with our vote counting, sends a clear message to those who think they can come into Philadelphia and cause trouble. Not in our town. And I ask for your support of the Brooks democracy resolution, and I invite you to join us across the street STATED MEETING 42 10/20/2022 at Paine Plaza later on today for the January 6th Justice Rally in defense of our democracy. Thank you for your time. (Applause.)

So we're going to -- we have three individuals who were scheduled to testify on a non-privileged resolution that was introduced today. It is actually not on the Calendar today, which is inconsistent with the rules, but I'm assuming that they came down here, so we're going to allow that to happen, if it's okay with the members today, but in the future, make sure that people know that the testimony must be on the Final Passage, which this particular resolution is not on today. So with that, Mr. Decker, please call the name.

The next speaker STATED MEETING 43 10/20/2022 is David Robinson. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning.

Good morning. I'm David -- well, good morning, Council President and Councilmembers. I'm David Robinson, President of District Council 33, Local 159. I represent the youth detention counselors at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Service Center, and I would like to thank you for allowing us to speak for this short period of time. Earlier today you said we had an overflow and we couldn't allow young people into this room to witness something great. Imagine these kids laying on the floor, being in the room where the capacity is 180 but you're holding 240. Imagine these kids. Yes, they're the City's responsibility, but ultimately they're the state's responsibility. There's 80-plus kids in STATED MEETING 44 10/20/2022 the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Service Center who should not be there. On October 4th, 20 staff members were injured trying to break up a fight between multiple units inside the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Service Center, 20 staff members. On certain days there's only four staff members that can report to work to watch over 240 individuals. Those individuals are incarcerated for the crimes that's going on in this city today. The murders that are going on in the City today are mostly by the young folks, the ages from 15 to 19, and that's what's in there today. They bring their gangs in there. They bring their drills in there. And young people know exactly what "drill" is. It's dangerous. It's time that the state step up, take responsibility for their children, because I have members that depend on me to do my job and to keep STATED MEETING 45 10/20/2022 them safe, and I cannot do that as long as the state has 80-plus kids in that building that should not be there. I don't want to take everybody's time, but I have members that actually can speak firsthand on it, but thank you, City Council, for allowing me to testify today. Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate it.

The next speaker is Ebony Richards. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning.

Good morning. Good morning, Council President. Good morning, members. My name is Ebony Richards. I'm the 62 union delegate at STATED MEETING 46 10/20/2022 the PJJSC. I work in the morning. I wanted to testify and speak about the experience that we had with the four staff. I was one of the staff that got the e-mail, the schedule, and I got out of my bed at 1 o'clock in the morning and reported, because I did not want my peers to be alone and work in dangerous conditions. Again, we had the responsibility to make sure the youth are safe and we are safe as well, but we are working in violent conditions, and it's unacceptable and it's outrageous at this point. And right now we're just seeking help, as much help as we could get, however you can help us. We need help. We need it immediately. Someone is going to end up dying in that facility. We need help. Thank you. (Applause.) STATED MEETING 47 10/20/2022

Thank you for your testimony.

The next speaker is Corrin Stokes. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning.

Good morning, Council President and members. My name is Corrin Stokes. I'm a YDC counselor at the Detention Center as well as the shop steward for the Local 159B members that work in that building. I am actually the one that reached out to Council initially to inform them of what was going on in the building, and I did that because it is a very dangerous situation. We cannot continue to work in this situation and keep ourselves safe or the residents. As of today, there were 223 residents in the building. We are only supposed to hold 180. There are 17 staff working in the building right now. There STATED MEETING 48 10/20/2022 should be at least 53. That's how understaffed we are and overcrowded we are. The children are sleeping on mattresses on concrete floors in the building. The admissions area, which is not a housing area, has 20 children there. It's overcrowded. It's not built for them to be living in that area. This was initially supposed to be a ten support team day holding facility. Some of these residents have been there for over a year. The last meeting that I was on pertaining to the state, we had three meetings within one day, and the state didn't even bother to get back on the last call. That was not only disrespectful, but it was disheartening to those that work in this building. We signed up to do this job. We want to do this job, and we want to be able to do it properly. On the incident that occurred STATED MEETING 49 10/20/2022 on October 4th, 20 staff were injured, injured trying to break up fights, but at the same time, they were being assaulted as well, because these kids wanted to continue to fight. And on the following days, an additional five staff got hurt. Someone tried to take an actual staff keys and badge so they would be able to try to escape the facility, which is not really possible, but they attempted to do it. We need help, and we need help now.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. (Applause.)

The next speaker is Peter Winslow, commenting on 210913. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning.

Good morning. My STATED MEETING 50 10/20/2022 name is Peter Winslow. I'm a Philadelphia resident. I speak to you today as President of A Smart Collaboration. Thank you, President Clarke and members of Council, for this opportunity to speak in support of Resolution No. 210913. Thank you, Councilmember Bass. This past Tuesday I was at Maplewood Mall in Germantown at a rally to send off the Power Freedom Express. This is a bus of clergy that will be traveling across Philadelphia and across the State of Pennsylvania with the mission of restoring faith in democracy. That's my mission too. So I offered this resolution authorizing City Council to compel the attendance of Mayor Kenney to explain his refusal to implement and enforce Ordinances No. 210956 and 200425 duly enacted into law by the City Council of Philadelphia. Whereas, the duties of the STATED MEETING 51 10/20/2022 Mayor of Philadelphia are to execute and enforce the ordinances of the City and all general laws applicable to the ordinances; and Whereas, Mayor Kenney took the oath of office and swore to discharge the duties of the Office of Mayor with fidelity; and Whereas, Bill No. 210956 to establish the Philadelphia Public Financial Authority was passed by City Council on March 17th, 2022; and Whereas, Bill No. 200425 to promote healthy outdoor public spaces was passed by City Council on December 3rd, 2020; and Whereas, Mayor Kenney returned Bills No. 210956 and 200415 without his signature and without exercising his veto power, which pursuant to the provisions of Section 2-202 of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter made it as legal and binding as if he had signed it; and Whereas, by not exercising his STATED MEETING 52 10/20/2022 veto and explaining his reasons for opposing Bills No. 210956 and 210415, Mayor Kenney deprived Council and the people of Philadelphia the opportunity to consider whatever reasonable objections he may articulate and to modify the legislation, if appropriate. And I apologize because I'm only halfway through the resolution, but I realize I can't enter a resolution, but your Councilpeople can. So I'll just leave this resolution on the podium for Mr. Decker. Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you for your testimony.

The next speaker is Malayah Smith. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning. STATED MEETING 53 10/20/2022

Good morning. My name is Malayah Smith. I'm currently an 11th grader at Vaux Big Picture High School. I am here today to talk about some concerns that happen in our city schools and have an effect on our daily lives. I want to speak up for Philadelphia's youth who face certain challenges in our city's school environment. I plan on making a change for us by speaking out. I feel like our voices aren't being heard enough. I have a couple issues I wanted to talk about today. Number one, staffing levels. Staffing levels is a problem that has a big impact on our students today, because students build relationships with staff members that are suddenly forced to leave. We are regularly forced to take standardized tests that many of our students do not have the ability to or STATED MEETING 54 10/20/2022 even complete, let alone succeed. We don't have time to learn and master the material, especially when we consider the learning gaps that many of us have faced. Curriculum is another problem in relation to how we aren't getting taught about things that could help us in the real world and how we can apply the skills in the future. At Vaux Big Picture High School, they help us with our future careers. We are given many opportunities that fit our future careers or passions. We are provided with certification programs and internships that fit most students' careers. Most programs are outside of school for us to get a feel for the real-world experiences and being on our own as high school students on our way to post-secondary success, while more schools focus on real-world learning. We are also limited on trips we STATED MEETING 55 10/20/2022 can go on because of strict unnecessary travel rules. Suburban white kids get better opportunities to experience learning out of the classroom than me and my classmates. Certain schools lack access to transportation. You have to live a certain distance from school in order to get a bus pass to ride SEPTA for free. If you live more than 1.5 miles away, you don't get a free pass. There are no school buses. We should have the opportunity to have door-to-door or school-to-neighborhood transportation, just like what is done for white suburban kids. Mental health is an issue that is becoming bigger and bigger in the City. It should become a bigger priority in schools across our city, and free resources should be provided to students and families. At Vaux Big Picture, we have licensed clinicians to support the mental STATED MEETING 56 10/20/2022 health of the school community, and it's still not enough. On most holidays our schools have off on the day of Ramadan -- I mean, on most holidays, our schools have off on the day of. When Ramadan comes around on the school calendar, we are off on the day before. I would like for us to have the day off. My classmates and I at Vaux Big Picture are willing to make a change. Whatever we can do to help make this community better, we are open to it. What I would like to get out of this meeting today is more awareness for issues that could be easily fixed as well as the ones that require more time and effort. More funding for trips, more thoughtful transportation solutions, and more free mental health research that should be provided to all students and families are the priorities. Hopefully we -- STATED MEETING 57 10/20/2022

Ms. Smith, summarize. Can you kind of wrap it up, please. Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. We really appreciate it.

The next speaker is Ogbonna Hagins, commenting on 220654. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning.

Great morning, everyone. For the record, my name is Ogbonna Hagins and I'm speaking on the curfew bill. I know we all want to reduce crime and violence in the City, especially with our youth. And as of this date, our youth crime rate is higher than it's been in decades, but I don't STATED MEETING 58 10/20/2022 think the answer is the curfew, is to have a curfew for our children. The data clearly states that youth curfew does not have an effect on crime and violence. And I'd like to draw your attention to a few incidents that happened a few weeks -- over the past few weeks. The Roxborough shooting, which happened, what, around 4:30 in the afternoon, and when the children are going into the Wawa's, that's happening right after school. So how will that youth curfew help when our youth who are committing crimes -- and let me just, you know, state for the record that it's not the majority of our youth that are involved in this, you know. So there are programs that are needed. I hear the young sister speaking about the problems in her school, and we need to have more programs, and I know that Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson has the career center -- I forget exactly STATED MEETING 59 10/20/2022 what they're called -- for the youth to go to if they are caught with this curfew that was in effect, but I don't think that's the answer. And one other thing we need to think about is that this body passed a bill to decrease the interaction of police with the driving equality bill. So what we're doing now is like replacing that interaction that we wanted to stop or that you guys wanted to stop with interactions with the young people, and that's not going to be the answer. All it will take is for one student or one young person to get shot or to say something and not be able to interact properly, you know, and then it builds up, and our youth don't deserve that. Our youth deserve love and attention and programming to be able to further their life.

Thank you, Mr. Hagins.

Thank you. STATED MEETING 60 10/20/2022

Thank you for your testimony. (Applause.)

The next speaker is Allen Hornblum, commenting on 220836. (Speaker approached podium.)

Allen Hornblum speaking on the resolution today. I want to thank President Clarke, Councilman Jones, members of Council. You may not know it, but today and October is the 90th anniversary of the start of the Tuskegee syphilis study. That piece of research, which is well known as the most unethical in American history, went on for 40 years, as Michael Coard said. Regrettably, the only thing that rivals it takes place right in the City of Philadelphia. In Tuskegee, you had several hundred men who were sick and went without treatment, prevented from STATED MEETING 61 10/20/2022 treatment. In Philadelphia, you had thousands of men who were healthy but then made ill. The Philadelphia experiments ran from 1951 to 1974, and it may not have been known to the row house people of Philadelphia or maybe members of this body. In fact, I could probably give you a quiz right now. Who was the President of City Council when those experiments started? Who was the Mayor of the City in 1951? But they go on through year after year, decade after decade for a quarter century, and it's nothing that we should be proud of. But if we did not know it or knew it and decided not to act, there were other people around the country who well knew that Philadelphia was the place to go if you wanted to test dangerous chemicals on individuals. J&J in New Jersey, Dow Chemical in Michigan, the U.S. Army in Maryland, tobacco companies in North Carolina all STATED MEETING 62 10/20/2022 came to Philadelphia because experiments could be done there, and that is something that we should be very regretful of and try to figure out why those experiments went as long as they did. And I think it's a tremendous sin of omission that no one of substance with all the academic institutions, with all of the medical schools and law schools, nobody spoke out about what was occurring in Northeast Philadelphia. He says time is up, but it wasn't up on the experiments. They went on year after year, and nobody raised the problem and shut them down.

Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.)

The next speaker is Pamela Goodwin, commenting on 220836. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good STATED MEETING 63 10/20/2022 morning.

Good morning. My name is Pamela Goodwin-Lawson and I want to speak today on my father's behalf, Alan Lawson, who also was a member of the experimental episode that was just explained by Dr. Allen. I'm a caregiver of my father. My father has passed since then. I witnessed from a teenager on what the effects are of these experiments on the individual men and women. It is very detrimental to the family. There are psychological effects on this, even when they tried to help others and my dad tried to help other prisoners after he got out. He was doing a lot of research on this when he got out, and he was really asked to leave the prison because he was getting in-depth and finding out a lot of information. He witnessed a lot. He went to the Senate in Washington, DC and spoke to STATED MEETING 64 10/20/2022 the Senate about the experiments to Senator Edward Kennedy. I was a young child then, a young teenager. I didn't know the impact of it until I became his caregiver and saw all the psychological effects of his health problems and how he refused to have certain medications and things. He was really hesitant about taking things to cure his illnesses because of what was done to him in the prison. So for the caregivers of families, we've had to really convince our family members to take modern-day treatment, and they were so antagonized by the whole episode that it was a real chore to do and deal with. And I'm happy to hear that you guys want to hear about what's going on and what went on back then. It's a long time coming. I think all of the abuse done and a lot of these -- human trafficking, prisoners being tested, you know, all these things are really because STATED MEETING 65 10/20/2022 we're not seen as human beings. Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony.

The next speaker is Yousef Anthony, commenting on 220836. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning, Chairman.

Good morning, sir.

My name is Edward Yousef Anthony. In 1964, I was involved in the tests in Holmesburg, and I'm still suffering from that in this day and time, with weaknesses, breaking out from the chemicals they put in me and, you know, it's a shame that they allowed that to happen, to be victimized as a guinea pig. The tests messed me up real STATED MEETING 66 10/20/2022 good. As you see, I'm walking on a cane now. I have weaknesses. I can't hardly see, you know, from the different chemicals and substance that they was using on the inmates in the prison. And I hope that it never happens again, you know. It was a heck of a catastrophe. And I'm sorry that I involved myself, and I wouldn't like to see anyone else get involved. Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony.

The next speaker is Adrianne Alston, commenting on 220836. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning.

Good morning.

My name is STATED MEETING 67 10/20/2022 Adrianne Jones-Alston, and I'm here to support the Holmesburg Prison experiment subjects and families. Thank you all for having me and being here willing to listen to us finally. My father was Leodus Jones, and he was a participant in the experiments, but I don't know if everyone knows the extent of this, but the big issue with this is that they were not fully disclosed about what they signed up for. That's the issue. I think it's important that, as Mr. Yousef said, it doesn't happen again. I'm no longer a Philadelphia resident. I'm from Virginia now, but I was born and raised here. My father passed away a few years ago. He was the whistleblower on these experiments when he saw that something was wrong. And then after that, he was called to testify in Washington to testify why he thought these experiments were unethical. As a result of that, eventually they were STATED MEETING 68 10/20/2022 stopped. My father protested for decades to hear the apology that I heard, and I'm blessed to hear that. When he passed away, I was contacted by several people wanting to do stories, and I was listening and I said, hey, this is a bigger issue than what I thought, because I was a little girl when this happened. I was younger than these kids here. When my father came home from prison for serving time for receiving stolen goods charge, he wasn't the same. He wasn't the father that took me to baseball games in the park and I could ride on his shoulder. I said I wasn't going to do this. When he came home from work, he was the breadwinner. Then he got sick. You know, he changed. His mental changed. He became hostile and sometimes violent. I'm not going to dress it up. STATED MEETING 69 10/20/2022 As a result of that, the family broke up. I'm the oldest girl, and I witnessed a lot of that behavior that changed in my father, the poison that was in his system. I thought he had became a madman. I was scarred for the rest of my life. I was emotionally damaged. I ran away from home. I was placed in foster care, because I was confused. Not only was he sick, but the separation of the family. My family was destroyed. So I graduated to street-level crimes. Just confused. I was diagnosed being emotionally disturbed in my pre-teens. I couldn't get it together. This is how deeply scarred I was and still suffer to this day with some things, but I manage my mental health now. Okay? I became -- I became a lawbreaker. I'm a recidivist. I can say that now. I'm a recidivist. But what I've done with my life is, I became an activist for people coming out of the STATED MEETING 70 10/20/2022 system. Now I'm here carrying the torch that my father carried, because I felt compelled to do so. And I have no understanding why it was so much silence as it pertained to the experiments. A lot of people were harmed in the system. The families were damaged. The community of Philadelphia was poisoned, and no one opened their mouth, and these officers knew what was going on. These people were poisoned inside and let out into the streets to poison the rest of the community. And it's a lot of us walking around here seeking damage from those experiments. They just too ashamed to talk about it. I'm not the only one. I'm just one that's brave enough and not going to hold that lie for the rest of my life. I had to relieve myself and come out here and say to y'all, this don't need to happen again. And I appreciate the apology from the Mayor, STATED MEETING 71 10/20/2022 and I hope others -- and they know who they are -- step up to the podium and say we apologize, because it's needed.

Now we have to -- some kind of way I would like to see these medical professionals come forth and begin to help us heal, because there has to be some peace between the medical professionals and the Black and brown community.

Thank you. Thank you so much. (Applause.)

The next speaker is Lynn Landes, commenting on 200425. (Speaker approached podium.)

Good morning.

Good morning. I'm Lynn Landes, founder of WildFoodies.org. I would like to add to my comments of last week in support of Councilmember STATED MEETING 72 10/20/2022 Bass's resolution to enforce Bill 200425, the Healthy Outdoor Spaces bill. First and foremost, if Fairmount Park had a good tractor hedge cutter, they would not need to spray toxic chemicals or hire more employees in order to trim the vegetation along the parks, roadways, and walkways. These hedge cutters are made in Great Britain, the land of many hedges, as well as in other countries. If the City cannot afford to buy a hedge cutter, myself and others would be more than happy to donate significant sums to make such a purchase possible. Secondly, I would like to suggest to City Council that they create a committee to promote local self-reliance in Philadelphia, particularly for wild food, fiber, and medicine. Currently we are not prepared for any long-term disasters, neither natural nor manmade. Instead we are STATED MEETING 73 10/20/2022 completely dependent on imports from far away. Most people have no idea how important wild plants are and what wild plants can do for them. We need to change that. We need to look at our parks, cemeteries, and other open spaces and consider the role they can play in feeding, medicating, and clothing our population, plus much more. I'm not suggesting that these spaces be converted into farms, but instead use the park settings to encourage the growth of wild plants, bushes, trees, and vines that can provide us with vital resources. In particular, we have waged war on invasive plants instead of looking at them as gifts from nature which should be harvested for the benefit of all. But none of this can happen if the City continues to spray toxic pesticides on public lands. Please support Councilmember Bass's resolution STATED MEETING 74 10/20/2022 to implement and enforce Bill 200425, the Healthy Outdoor Spaces bill. And also please support Fairmount Park's purchase of a tractor hedge cutter. And in the future, I hope we can ban the use of all toxic pesticides on our precious soil in Philadelphia and around the world. You can learn more at WildFoodies.org. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. (Applause.)

There are no other speakers today, Mr. President.

Thank you very much, Mr. Decker. That concludes our public comment session for today. We will now consider the bills and resolutions on the Second Reading and Final Passage STATED MEETING 75 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Calendar. Mr. Decker, I would ask you to please read the title of Resolution No. 220834.

A resolution also naming the 600 Block of North 56th Street as "Reverend Leonard George Carr Way," in honor of Reverend Leonard George Carr, the founder of Vine Memorial Baptist Church.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The STATED MEETING 76 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted. Mr. Decker, I'm sorry. I was counting, making sure we have nine members here. Mr. Decker, please read the title of 220836.

A resolution formally apologizing for the heinous acts of abuse and torture perpetuated against inmates at Holmesburg Prison during the 1950's and 1970's.

The Chair again recognizes Councilman Jones.

Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of members of Council, I move for this official apology to be recognized in a standing vote. (Duly seconded.)

Please stand. (All Councilmembers standing.)

Thank you. The motion is approved. STATED MEETING 77 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Mr. Decker, 220837.

A resolution renaming the 6000 Block of Spruce Street "Julia Chinn Way," in honor of the life and work of civic leader Julia Chinn.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones. Councilwoman Gauthier is not here. Councilman Jones, just make a motion, please.

I move on behalf of Member Gauthier to approve this resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and that resolution is STATED MEETING 78 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING approved. Mr. Decker, do you have any additional resolutions today?

A resolution honoring and congratulating Champion of the Week, Philadelphia Military Academy, for receiving a Department of Army Gold Star as an Honor Unit with Distinction from the Department of Army, for their outstanding performance, introduced today by Councilmember Thomas and Councilmember Gym.

The Chair recognizes Councilmember Thomas.

Thank you, Council President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

STATED MEETING 79 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and the motion carries. The resolution is adopted.

And a resolution authorizing the Committee on Education to hold hearings to discuss youth experience in schools as a follow-up to the student-led Enough is Enough Anti-Gun Violence Campaign discussed in May 2022, introduced today by Councilman Thomas.

The Chair again recognizes Councilman Thomas.

Thank you, Council President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

STATED MEETING 80 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and the motion carries. The resolution is adopted.

And a resolution authorizing the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless to hold public hearings to examine aging multiunit structures with expiring Department of Housing and Urban Development contracts to strategize ways to utilize local, state, and federal resources to prevent the displacement of community residents, introduced today by Councilman Jones.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.

Thank you again, Mr. President. I move for its adoption. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. STATED MEETING 81 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The motion carries. Councilwoman Gym, did you need to be recognized?

No. Just at the end.

Okay. Thank you.

And a resolution affirming and praising Philadelphia's City Commissioners and citizen poll workers in implementing free and fair election procedures to determine the will of all eligible Philadelphia voters, and decrying efforts to undermine such officials and citizen participants through bullying and legislative interference, introduced today by STATED MEETING 82 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Councilwoman Brooks.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brooks.

Council President, I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. Councilman Thomas, did you need to be recognized?

I'm sorry. No, Council President. I'm teed up.

No problem. We're still dealing with the new technology. STATED MEETING 83 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Mr. Decker.

And a resolution honoring the People's Emergency Center on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary, introduced today by Councilwoman Gauthier.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gauthier.

Thank you, Council President. I want to thank my colleague, Majority Leader Jones, for moving the earlier resolution, and if it's okay, I'd like to speak on that one and this one as well.

Okay.

Today we voted on a resolution to rename the 6000 block of Chestnut Street "Julia Chinn Way" to honor the life and work of a woman who spent her entire life working for the betterment of the people around her. Mrs. Chinn served her community STATED MEETING 84 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING through direct action for more than 60 years, serving as a democratic committee person, president of the 18th District Neighborhood Advisory Council, and founding the Cobbs Creek Town Watch community organization. She was known to those around her as a loving woman who was particularly invested in children, orchestrating trips to amusement parks, and hosting annual toy drives. Mrs. Chinn passed away last September, and the void left by her absence continues to be felt by all who loved her, but her legacy of civic engagement and community action will live on through the host of family and friends who still cherish her legacy. I'd also like to acknowledge Senator Williams and thank him for coming today to speak about Mrs. Chinn and what she meant to her West Philadelphia community. And I just want to thank my colleagues for voting in favor of this STATED MEETING 85 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING resolution. It means more to my community than you know. So thanks so much.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

And moving on to the PEC resolution, before I move for the adoption of this resolution, I'd like to acknowledge the People's Emergency Center for the decades of work that they have done to ensure that children and families experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia have access to resources and safe spaces. This year PEC is celebrating its 50th anniversary and during that time has provided more than 200 affordable housing units and millions of healthy meals and safe nights for thousands of people in our communities. This is no small feat. These accomplishments have been achieved over many years and at their core have been driven by the guiding principle that no STATED MEETING 86 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING family should have to wonder if their child will have a safe place to sleep and food to eat every day. I'd like thank everyone at the People's Emergency Center for the work that they are doing to ensure that our children and families have roofs over their heads, food in their stomachs, and access to opportunities and services that will allow them to be the best versions of themselves and live with dignity. And with that, I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and that resolution is STATED MEETING 87 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING adopted.

And a resolution authorizing the Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings regarding expanding Philadelphia's mobile crisis response capacity to develop strategies and best practices for non-lethal de-escalation, crisis intervention, and restraint of individuals experiencing mental or emotional distress, introduced today by Councilwoman Bass.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Bass.

Thank you, Mr. President. I just really wanted to take a brief second and say a big thank you to former Councilmember and many other things, John White, Jr., who is with The Consortium and who has worked very closely with us on this resolution and mobile health crisis here in the City of Philadelphia. And with that, I call for the STATED MEETING 88 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The motion carries. The resolution is adopted.

And a resolution authorizing the Committee on Parks and Recreation to hold public hearings on the status of the City of Philadelphia's Rebuild Initiative, introduced today by Councilwoman Bass.

The Chair again recognizes Councilwoman Bass.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. STATED MEETING 89 10/20/2022 10/20/22 - STATED - 2ND READING (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.

And a resolution recognizing and commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia, introduced today by Councilman Oh.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Oh.

Thank you. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. STATED MEETING 90 10/20/2022 by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The motion carries. The resolution is adopted.

There are no other resolutions on the Final Passage Calendar, Mr. President.

Thank you very much. That concludes our Calendar for today. And are there any speeches on behalf of the minority? (No response.)

Speeches on behalf of the majority? The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gym.

Thank you STATED MEETING 91 10/20/2022 much, Council President.

You're welcome.

I want to acknowledge Councilmember and Public Safety Chair Jones for his earlier resolution calling for the support of our City Council body on a very serious matter involving the state. I want to especially acknowledge the members of Local 159, President David Robinson and all the members who are at the Juvenile Justice Services Center and, in fact, across our City prisons. The conditions that were described in public today are ones that have been well known to the state for weeks on end. It's one that we had hoped as colleagues, all of us on those calls late at night, in the morning, at the Juvenile Justice Services Center, to ask the state to take action on not only the inhumane conditions that our staff and young people are enduring but on those STATED MEETING 92 10/20/2022 rights. It is unconscionable that a center that was designed to originally be a place of a model for how young people could be cared for was supposed to be a temporary holding facility only between 10 to 30 days where they could get schooling, recreation, mental health supports, find mentors, and have programming has now been turned into one of the worst examples of what happened under state neglect in our juvenile justice system. And to be clear, as somebody who has worked on this area since I've come onto Council and before I came onto Council, I am appalled at the length and the effort to which this state has denied young people justice, decency, and humanity in all sectors, even before we got to this particular crisis over here. I have sat for 18 months on a task force recommending commonsense transformations to basic rules and STATED MEETING 93 10/20/2022 the governance accountability and management of juvenile centers easier, more humane, and we have watched as none of those recommendations from that task force got implemented, even though they were enacted by the Governor himself. So we have lost -- we have no rose-colored glasses on today. We are crystal clear about what needs to be done and the rights that must be granted. We are also crystal clear about the safety of individuals who are in our care, whether they are City workers who are parents, who are leaders and civic leaders themselves who need to go back healthy and happy to a home and family for whom they care for or whether they are children of young people and families all across the City who expect their children to be treated with decency, humanity, and love at a time when they need it the most. I think what we've heard STATED MEETING 94 10/20/2022 prison experiments in history to the cries at the conditions of the Juvenile Justice Services Center, to the calls of our own youth here in this hall, that they need basic support for their mental health, to get back and forth from school, to have a city show them some love and decency; that this conversation about public safety doesn't start until we stand up for our young people, unless we draw the line on what public safety needs to look like in our city; and that we have a responsibility to do it in all parts of our city, that actually public safety is defined not just on interactions between our police and individuals but actually in the ways in which we care for people in our public schools, in our Juvenile Justice Services Center, in the places and homes and parks and recreation centers and libraries, which should be open, programs which should be running. " And I think that that is what this complaint to the Governor, and it is an unusual and bold step and it could not be more important or more urgent or more overdue than it has long been for so many communities and families. But I want to thank Chairman Jones for allowing us an opportunity.

I want to thank the Administration for drawing a line in the sand, but I most especially want to thank the members of Local 159 and the families of the young people who are at the Juvenile Justice Services Center or in any of our City institutions to tell them that we will not go back to that dark past that we had STATED MEETING 96 10/20/2022 blind eye to what would happen. We are going to take this on. We want to thank people for bringing their stories to light. That is in fact the only way anything changes in this world and the only way in which hard actions need to happen. Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Thomas.

Thank you, Council President. I have a lot to say. First of all, it's good to see so many people here in Council today and so many people testifying today, from the young people who came to see their government in action, to the number of people who came to communicate their concerns as it relates to the state of our city and the City of Philadelphia. Council President, since you STATED MEETING 97 10/20/2022 of the Education Committee a couple weeks ago, I visited six different schools across the City of Philadelphia, and when I say that the condition our young people or the condition of our city and how we treat our young people as it relates to everything, from our schools, to what happens out of school time, to what we're going to talk about continued on this floor today as it relates to the Juvenile Center, it's really an embarrassment. The members of Local 159 who came here today talked about the fact that this incident took place weeks ago, in early October, and we thank them for reaching out and letting us know what was going on, because without them reaching out, we would have never known what was taking place. I appreciate Councilmember Jones for his leadership and introducing the resolution today, because we tried to solve this issue. We made phone calls. STATED MEETING 98 10/20/2022 We did as much as we can. Councilmember Gym just spoke about it before me. And at the end of the day, when the incident took place, there were 213 young people that was in the Center. As of today there are over 220, which means since all of us have visited, since we've been on these calls, since we've basically put a cry for help, things didn't get any better. Things have actually gotten worse. So if I'm an employee, if I'm a member of Local 159 and I've seen all these elected officials come by my workplace, if I'm one of those young people that's in that center and I've seen all these elected officials come by and only see the conditions getting worse, it's similar to what the young sister who testified earlier today said, nobody cares about our children. That's the state of Philadelphia that we're in right now. I listened to the other sister STATED MEETING 99 10/20/2022 that her father had to deal with in the prison and the impact that it had on her and the fact that nobody spoke up, nobody said nothing. You know, myself and some of the freshmen colleagues, we've only been on Council for a couple years, but I know for me, a lot of the work that I do and my perspective on leadership comes out of my time being mentored and working under the Children's Defense Fund and Marian Wright Edelman, and one of the things that we studied in depth was the cradle-to-prison pipeline. I never thought that they would come where I would be a part of a system that pushes the cradle-to-prison pipeline. When I went and visited those young people at the Center and I watched them basically in solitary confinement for almost 23 hours a day, it's not just about why they are in there right now, but who are they going to be when they STATED MEETING 100 10/20/2022 that when you put young people in the position where they can't socialize, they can't exercise, they can't interact, they can't get a quality education, how can we then expect them to return to the collective and be a restorative part of society? That's not realistic. We're literally perpetuating the same negative interactions that they were involved in before they got into the Center while they're in there. And one could even argue that we're making them worse. It is extremely disappointing, not just what's going on in the Center but the quality of life issues that children are facing all across the City of Philadelphia. So I join my colleagues today to beg and plead for help.

I join the members of Local 159 to beg and plead for help. At the end of the day, I can't STATED MEETING 101 10/20/2022 You know, I have to believe that if the majority of those children in that center, they look like me and some of my colleagues to my left and my right, the response would be different. I believe that in my heart. And so I refuse to be quiet. I refuse to not say nothing, because I would hate for City Council 25 years from now to introduce a resolution to apologize about how we treated the young people in the Juvenile Center. No, we're not going to do that. We're going to speak up now. We're going to scream at the top of our lungs, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure that those young people are put in a position where they're not being oppressed. That is the closest thing to indentured servitude that I've ever seen in my life, and it's heartbreaking, it's disappointing, and I know for a fact that this legislative body will not stand for some of the things that we've seen when STATED MEETING 102 10/20/2022 to visit. If you think we're exaggerating, if you think we're taking it a little bit too far, go visit. Listen to them young people screaming out of their rooms, calling our names, calling for help. It is literally the saddest thing I've ever seen since I've been on City Council. It's heartbreaking. And we're demanding that the state step up and do their part to be able to support this crisis and this emergency that we're dealing with. Thank you, Council President. I appreciate the time.

Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you so much, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson. STATED MEETING 103 10/20/2022

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, colleagues. I'll first start by thanking Councilmember Jones, Chair of Council's Committee on Public Safety, and all of the colleagues on the Committee on Public Safety and all of my colleagues who have spoken about this issue relative to JJSC, and I just wanted to rise and stand in support of those efforts. Although I'm not a member of the Committee, I've worked very closely with all of the members on the Committee on this issue. I also have family who work in that center and are appreciative of the staff members who have called us and e-mailed us and spoke out about what was going on, because if it were not for their efforts, we would not have known what was happening in that facility. So I also rise to call on Governor Wolf, Acting Secretary Meg Snead, and all the officials in the STATED MEETING 104 10/20/2022 help us alleviate the challenges that we are faced with at JJSC in Philadelphia so that we can get the population and the census down there, not only for the young people but for the staff who are dedicated and still go and show up day in and day out, so many of them who were injured as a result of the riot that took place a couple weeks ago. So we are also calling on the Governor and Acting Secretary Snead to help us bring that population and census down at JJSC. And, lastly, I just wanted to remind all of our colleagues that we are hosting a luncheon and a briefing for Visit Philadelphia in the Caucus Room after Council today. So we're asking all colleagues to come over to learn more about our commercial corridors and economic revitalization in the City. It will happen right after Council today. Thank you, Council President.

STATED MEETING 105 10/20/2022 you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gauthier.

Thank you, Council President. I also want to speak on Majority Leader Jones's resolution. I want to stand in solidarity with my colleagues that have talked about what's going on at the Juvenile Justice Center, and I also want to thank the staff who came here to speak up today but who have been raising their voices probably for a long time but who reached out to us a few weeks ago to make us aware of what's been going on. I want to be very clear. There is no situation where it is acceptable for a facility built to house no more than 180 young people on a given day to have a regular census of 220 to 280 young people. There is no situation where it is acceptable for staff-to-resident STATED MEETING 106 10/20/2022 skewed that fewer than ten adults are left to operate a facility housing more than 200 young people. We are in a crisis. Workers at the Juvenile Justice Center are not safe. Young people at the Juvenile Justice Center are not safe. And the crisis that these individuals are facing is a direct result of failures at the state level. Upwards of 90 of the young people currently housed at the JJSC are assigned to state care, and as far as we know, counties outside of Philadelphia have dozens of openings to safely house these residents. Failing to place these residents in other facilities has only exacerbated the safety concerns that are now being faced by the staff and the young people at JJSC. I will not and this body will not stand for the state's abdication of its responsibilities to these kids and to the staff, who are risking their safety to operate the facility. STATED MEETING 107 10/20/2022 it's especially insulting that this is happening at the same time that legislators at the state level are participating in theatrics to feign like they care about public safety here in Philadelphia. I am calling on my colleagues in City Council and at the state to come together to create a solution, because this cannot go on any longer. And I want to thank all of my colleagues on the Public Safety Committee as well as Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson and you, Council President, for coming together over these last few weeks to see what we could do to alleviate the situation. I would suggest that both state and local officials come together on a daily basis to enact a plan to improve the conditions at JJSC and that we continue to do that until our young people and our staff are safe there. STATED MEETING 108 10/20/2022

Thank you. Thank you for your comments, Councilwoman. And it is a very, very challenging issue, very sad, and as usual, City Council steps to the plate and has to do what we have to do. So, you know, we'll have the full support of all our resources here in Council in our conversations primarily with the state, making sure that people understand not only for this particular Governor, for the next Governor, because this is an issue that is going to go on for a while unless we do something dramatic and drastic. So thank you all. Any additional speeches? The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.

First and foremost, I want to thank the members of this body for being courageous for a very long time on these issues, from the adult prisons to the Juvenile Justice Center. STATED MEETING 109 10/20/2022 when I first came on board that if 300 wales washed up on the shore of the Delaware, every marine biologist, including Jacques Cousteau himself, would figure out why and how we could save them, but when it comes to our babies, why is there an absence of urgency, an absence of urgency? Well, we didn't want this fight. Mr. President, you've negotiated on behalf, the Mayor. Commissioner Ali has been shuttle diplomacy trying to figure out answers to this, while our babies remain in danger, while our workers remain in danger. Most of the staff at the Justice Center are females, females that ran into a foray of young people, some of them 200 pounds plus, bravely taking a beating on behalf of those babies. We began -- and I want to thank in particular Member Gym for her study over the years and making these recommendations on how to change things STATED MEETING 110 10/20/2022 And so we didn't want this fight. We tried to avoid this fight. We tried to negotiate this fight. But we are up for this fight on behalf of our kids. It got so bad on a Zoom and it was so, you know, "yeah, but it's your problem." No, it isn't. Ninety of those kids are wards of the state literally. And one of the things that is tattooed in my mind is that -- and this came out of Member Gym's study -- that the longer they stay there and they're staying there longer, supposed to be a temporary placement, their time doesn't count until they get to state custody. So they're sitting there with their rights being violated. Our minds adjust to wherever we are. If we wind up on a college campus, we become students. If we wind up in City Council, we become legislators. You wind up in a gladiator school, you become STATED MEETING 111 10/20/2022 to adjust and survive. It got so bad on one of those Zooms, I asked the City Solicitor, how many laws would I violate if we got the Sheriff to get two sheriff buses, fill those in custody of the state, and take them to the Governor's mansion and knocked on the door and say, here are your kids. The only reason we didn't attempt it was because of the benefit of those babies. They don't deserve to be treated like that. So we tried to avoid this fight and this confrontation. I want to thank again the Mayor, Tumar Alexander, Commissioner Ali for doing it quietly, you, behind the scenes, but we are risking a catastrophe. And as my colleague says, we will not be silent. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you so much. STATED MEETING 112 10/20/2022 (Applause.)

To all our colleagues, thank you so much. We will keep doing what we have to do. Okay? So that concludes our speeches for today by the minority and the majority, and with that, the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla for a motion to adjoin. No. Councilman Squilla is not here. Councilwoman Bass.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, October 27th, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)

Thank you. It has been moved and seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, October 27, 2022, 10:00 a.m. STATED MEETING 113 10/20/2022 by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The motion carries. Thank you all very much. Please be safe. ) STATED MEETING 114 10/20/2022 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. or Wynnefield 65:21 66:3 g 71:23 74:11 11:6, 7 weapons 41:18 Williams Week 8:20 18:11 29:15, <Y> 71:25 78:7 19 84:21 y'all 70:23 weeks 58:8 willing 56:12 YDC 47:11 91:19 97:3, 16 67:5 yeah 110:9 104:11 105:16 willingness year 24:2, 4 107:18 29:10 48:14 61:14, week's 11:23 wind 110:22, 15 62:15 12:6 13:17 23, 25 85:16 16:17 17:4 Winslow years 33:3 Weikel 7:24 49:21, 25 50:2 37:14 60:19 16:14 wishing 28:12 67:19 84:3 welcome withdraw 5:25 85:24 99:9 19:12 20:3, 9, witness 43:17 101:10 109:24 91:4 witnessed yellow 28:17 welcomed 63:12, 24 69:3 yield 28:22 19:12 Wolf 103:24 young 20:18 welcoming woman 83:22 43:16 44:16, 21:9 84:9 20 58:21 well 32:11 women 30:9 59:13, 16 64:4, 35:24 38:23 32:15, 16, 23 5 91:25 92:2, 43:7 46:13 63:14 5, 20 93:20 47:12 49:5 wonder 86:2 94:12 95:21 56:17 60:17 Woodbine 11:7 96:19 97:6, 8 61:20 72:11 word 2:24 98:6, 16, 20 83:15 91:18 words 40:11 99:21 100:4 107:14 109:10 work 2:24 101:12, 18 went 60:19, 24 44:10 46:2, 9 102:6 104:6 62:6, 14 63:24 47:14, 20 105:21, 22 64:21 99:20 48:21 68:21 106:4, 7, 11, 20 102:2 77:6 83:21 107:24 109:19 We're 2:3 85:11 86:6 younger 68:11 19:17 20:21 99:10 103:16 Yousef 22:5 42:10, 16 worked 87:21 65:10, 17 46:16 59:10 92:16 103:14 67:14 65:2 82:24 workers 13:22 youth 9:7 97:10 98:23 81:19 93:15 36:5, 7, 8 100:11, 15 106:5 109:16 43:10 46:12 101:13, 14, 15, working 46:14 53:10 57:23, 102:3, 4, 11, 47:25 83:22 24 58:4, 14, 15, 104:19 99:12 18 59:2, 19, 20 West 34:24 workplace 79:9 94:6 35:11 39:2 98:16 84:23 world 54:10 <Z> we've 64:14 74:9 96:7 Zaleski 2:8, 18 93:25 98:9 worse 33:5 Zoom 110:8 99:8 101:25 98:12, 20 Zooms 98:2 whistleblower 100:16 111:5 67:20 worshiped 35:8 worst 92:12