Good morning, members of Council. My name is Claire Laver and I'm the Executive Director of Franklin's Paine Skatepark Fund, a local non-profit working to advance skateboarding in Philadelphia through advocacy, youth education, and the building of free public skate parks. I've worked with many of you on projects in your districts and would like to thank you for your support for our city's young people. The vast majority of the skateboarding population is under 18, so we're really talking about a youth issue here. I would like to acknowledge Councilman Oh and his staff for including us and members of the skateboarding community in this discussion ever since the bill was put on the suspended list. We're appreciative of his willingness to hear us and are grateful of the many requested changes that have been incorporated into this updated draft to further specify the bill, including signage requirements, exclusion of sidewalk placards, removal of jail time in Section 10-600 and the lowering of the fine. I would also like to mention that we very much share similar goals in the preservation of our city's public art monument and memorial. There aren't two sides of this argument. We share those goals, but we believe that through better signs of communication, we can achieve these goals working together rather than through harsher legislation. And I would also like to reiterate that while a thousand dollars is lower than the $2,000 fine for skateboarding, if passed, it would become the highest fine in the nation for anything related to skateboarding. Of the top 25 largest cities, none exceed a $500 fine, and the vast majority are between 15 and 250. We would hate to see Philadelphia hold this record. It does not send the right message to our young people, their parents, and the visitors of our city. And additionally, while we are pleased to see jail time removed from Section 10-600, we recognize that in reality, skaters may still be charged against institutional vandalism part of the code depending on the decision made by that particular law enforcement officer, and we do not support the inclusion of jail time or the incarceration of youth. Thank you for your time. (Applause.)
The next three speakers, Robert Williams, John Mcallister, Tracy Gorman. Robert Williams, John Mcallister, Tracy Gorman. (Witness approached podium.)
Hello. My name is Robert Williams. I'm a Temple University graduate, Philadelphia resident, skateboarder, and business owner. I spoke last time we were here. And I'd like to thank Councilwoman Blackwell for her support over the years for skateboarding, and I'd like to thank Councilman Oh for his extremely open dialogue with the skate community. I'm not sure that he recognizes that for us, that's a huge step and a big success for skating. So thank you, Councilman David Oh. This bill is less than what it was before as far as punishment. I just -- personally, I still think that the threat of jail time is so over the top, that that's what really concerns me about this bill. There are, to my knowledge -- and I know a lot of skateboarders in the City. None of us support skating at war memorials. So to the veterans in this room, we agree with you on that. There are just some parts of the bill that are very concerning to me. And if the war memorials are the main issue, I feel like the bill should be written that way. As it is still written, it is more encompassing than that, and the punishments are still too high. I would like to see some additional amendments made to this bill today or stricken down. But, again, I do want to make it clear to everyone in the room that we do not support the skating at war memorials. We understand that argument. And I just personally think the bill needs further work. Thank you very much.
Thank you for your testimony. (Applause.) (Witness approached podium.)
I'm John Scott Mcallister. I'm a Marine. I'm a Vietnam veteran. I'm a member of the Board of Directors for the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and I work for the Department of Veterans Affairs for 40 years serving veterans. I ask you to consider three things. I ask you to increase the punishment associated with these acts of vandalism to the levels that were in the original bill. Alternatively, I ask that you certainly do not lower in any way the penalties that are written in the existing amendment. Third, I ask that you direct any of the proceeds from the penalties to be contributed to the memorial. Every dollar that we spend fixing vandalism at the memorial takes a dollar away from us being able to do more progressive things at the memorial, like having an educational kiosk that helps younger generations understand the sacrifice of veterans. I ask you these things in this context: For the Vietnam -- for the veteran community, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is not just a public artifact. It is a sanctuary. It's a place of healing. We honor the sacrifice of 646 Philadelphia kids who were killed in Vietnam. They're guys we went to school with. They're guys we served with. Brothers -- we know their families. That's who we honor at the memorial. Members of the families still come each year several times during the year to honor their memory, to think about them. They still mourn those losses. That's what this memorial is for us. In my work with VA, I've taken veterans when they're ready down there, veterans who suffer from PTSD, and it's a place of reflection for them and it's a place of healing for them. For many of them, it's the first time they come to grips with the experiences that they've had in combat. That's what that memorial is to us. What I ask you was that as a community, we should view any act of vandalism, whether it's skateboarding or some of the other vile things that have occurred at the memorial, we should review it as absolutely reprehensible behavior, and we should view that behavior as reckless disregard for the memory of those 646 who gave their lives for our country. The 646 were accountable for their actions. The 646 stood up and were accountable, and they gave their lives for our country. I ask that you hold a vandal accountable for their actions. Thank you very much.
Good morning, everybody. My name is Tracy Gorman. I am from the City of Chester, Pennsylvania, and I'm a current resident of Philadelphia and have been for the past six years, and I'm also a skateboarder. I'd just like to say I think this bill is absolutely ridiculous. Jail time for skateboarding is out of control. It's just not something that should be. And if you think about it, little kids today are skateboarding, and to penalize a little kid for skateboarding and giving him jail time or juvenile time, or whatever you would like to call it, creates a record. And being as though Philadelphia is one of the most crime-ridden cities in the country, you should realize that creating a record at such a young age creates a downward spiral, because every time that kid does anything and he is looked up for anything, they're going to see he has a criminal record. They're not going to see he has a criminal record for skateboarding. He will be labeled as a criminal at such a young age, and that is absolutely ridiculous. I'd also like to say just me personally, I feel as though the bill treats -- it is though there's just a massive wave of skateboarders flying across the City just destroying anything in their path, and that is not true. I am not a vandal. My friends are not vandals. We are ordinary people just like everyone in this room. I wake up in the morning, I get up, I shower, eat breakfast, I go to work like an ordinary citizen. I pay my bills, I pay my taxes. I should not be considered a vandal because in my free time I like to skateboard. I also think this bill is very vague, extremely vague, by just mentioning public art. I mean, yes, there's lots of art in the City of Philadelphia, but not everything is determined. And as my good friend Robert said, I have also never met a single skateboarder that supported skateboarding on any type of memorial of any kind. So to those who I do not know that have skated on your memorial, on their behalf I'd like to apologize to you, all the veterans, because that is not something I support. My friends over here, we do not support that. I just think jail time is out of control. That's just ridiculous to put a person in jail for 30 or 90 days for riding a skateboard. Just the other day I was threatened by the cops for riding a skateboard, and they yelled at me, threatened to take my board away and even attempted to enforce this law that we haven't even passed yet. And what was I doing? I was going to school. I was going to get an education. I was trying to better myself. But, no, this bill has labeled us all as vandals. So I personally believe, yes, there should be a fine, there should be penalties, and I also think they should be lowered. One thousand dollars is ridiculous, and jail time should be wiped off this bill entirely. Thank you.
The next three speakers, Harry Philbrick, Michael James, Stephen Miller. Harry Philbrick, Michael James, Stephen Miller. (Witness approached podium.)
Hello. How y'all doing? My name is Michael Jones. I think that was a mix-up. I just wanted to say that I was reading over the bill as I was sitting over there, and it seems like that people -- it's a lot of people on the outside looking in to skateboarding, so they don't know exactly what we do. We never leave the house thinking we're going to go mess up property. We don't think that. When we're leaving the house, we're looking for something to skate, something fun to do. So we're not coming out -- we're not coming out of our house like, Let's go tear up the City, skate memorials, and cause a ruckus. We're just -- skateboarding is really about just exploring the City, and sometimes we may end up in places we don't belong, but we're not doing that intentionally. And it seems like when we do find a place where we can skate freely and y'all catch on to it, y'all take it away from us. So when you kick us out of Love Park, you're pushing us out into the streets. We're going to go venture out and find something else, because that's what we do. It's in our nature. We can't help it. So when you kick us out, we're just going to go find the next best thing, you know. And I'm sorry if we damaged some things we're not supposed to. It's not something we do intentionally. I think it's kind of crazy that you can get locked up for skating nowadays. I've experienced it myself. I've been cuffed to a pole in the police station for riding my skateboard, you know. It's kind of ridiculous. Again, I'm from a family in Philly. I got veterans in my family, and like Tracy just said, if any of our homies, or whatever you want to call them, any of our vandals have messed up any of your memorials, like we said, we're sorry. We don't do things intentionally. Sometimes we may not even know it's a memorial. But like I'm saying, you're pushing us out of a place that's safe to skate and you're pushing us out into the City, so we're going to go find something else. And like I can only think of like three skate parks in the City, and half of them I don't even feel like going to because they too far away, when the City is right here. So I think maybe we just need more places for us to skate freely and we won't have to go out into the streets and destroy things. That's all I wanted to say. Thank you. (Applause.)
Hello. My name is Stephen Miller. I'm a local business owner and a skateboarder. I came with prepared statements, but out of respect for the men behind me, I want to speak frankly to them. When myself and other skateboarders in the City of Philadelphia recently reached out with Councilman Oh, the first thing we said is we fully supported everything in this bill that protected war memorials. I stand by that. And I believe that they are hallowed grounds and they deserve to be respected. The one thing that they brought up that I believe if we leave today, they are right. If there are any fines implemented for skateboarding or any type of vandalism on these spots, that should go to these memorials. The problem with this bill, though, is I believe that the memorials were a greater thing to hide smaller fines throughout the City of Philadelphia, just regular public streets, Love Park, municipal places that are not hallowed grounds. We stand, we respect our veterans, and we understand what they are going through. I don't support anyone that has damaged their property, and I hope them the best of luck in the future and I wish I can support them in any way. We are good people, and all we want to do is be treated as good citizens of this city. And I don't believe that jail time is necessary in most of these cases, and I don't believe that the fine is an obtainable fine for most children or families in the City of Philadelphia. It's hard to look at me here standing in front of you as an adult male talking about this, but this is a culture of 60 percent youth under the age of 18, and they cannot speak here. But I hope that my child has respect for veterans, the respect for their city, but also lives in a city where they can do freely and enjoy the City as their own. And I believe that skateboarding has done that for me and I hope it does that for them. Thank you for your time.
Sarah McEneaney, commenting on 120920. (Witness approached podium.) MS. McENEANEY: Good morning. My name is Sarah McEneaney and I'm the President of Callowhill Neighborhood Association. I'm here to urge all Councilmembers to vote against Bill No. 120920. No civics or neighborhood associations or CDCs in the vicinity of this proposed nine to ten thousand square foot digital billboard supports this bill. Callowhill, Chinatown, Old City, Northern Liberties, Society Hill, Wash West, we all oppose this ordinance. We are all Councilman Squilla's constituents and disappointed that this bill has gone through Council so quickly. Even Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger testified against this bill, saying this kind of zoning should not be happening on a case-by-case basis and that the new Zoning Code for non-accessory signage is currently being rewritten and we should wait for that. So I respectfully please ask all of you to vote against this bill. Thank you.
Roseanne Loesch, commenting on 120920. (Witness approached podium.)
My name is Roseanne Loesch and I'm a resident of Society Hill and a past President of the Society Hill Civic Association, commenting on 120920, the billboard district created in the Callowhill area. There's not enough time to lay out the substantive flaws of this bill, but I would like to talk about process, and I'll make it very short. There are two things that truly puzzle me about how this bill has come before Council. First, Council's complete disregard of the multi-year Zoning Code reform process, which was supposed to eliminate councilmanic privilege and to allow zoning decisions to be made on the basis of well-thought-out and written code which would determine if and where billboards can be erected. Why is Council prepared to completely disregard the planning process that this city and its citizens engaged in over many long months and years? This bill should not even be before Council. Second, I am astonished that Councilman Squilla is prepared to ignore the widespread community opposition in his own district to this bill. Of the six communities directly adjacent to the billboard district, not one has accepted Mr. Hornstein's offer of money in exchange for testimony before Council in support of the bill. And, yes, Councilman Kenney, Mr. Hornstein's offer of $20,000 to $30,000 if a community group would commit to testify before Council in favor of the bill does fit Merriam Webster's definition of a bribe. I say this in response to Mr. Kenney's indignation at the use of the word "bribe" when this bill came before the Rules Committee. Further, it is the height of cynicism for a pseudo community group to have been created to support this bill. For the record, the group was created yesterday, and unfortunately Councilman Squilla had a personal hand in it. Last night he wrote in an e-mail, We changed the name to Center City North Improvement Coalition. He changed it at the request of Callowhill's longtime civic association that objected to the original name, which included the words "Callowhill" and "community," thus confusing it with the real community group. I wonder why does Councilman Squilla need to assist the owner of the Electric Factory, New York developer Myron Berman, for whose benefit the billboard district was created. In conclusion, this bill is a bad bill. It is opposed by the City of Philadelphia Planning Commission, by the Independence National Historic Park, by PennDOT, and by six community groups immediately surrounding the district. Spreading a few dollars around to three parents associations desperate for money does not turn a constituency of one, the owner of the Electric Factory, into a broader constituency. I urge Council to vote against this bill, which was vetoed by the Mayor just one year ago. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President. I'm not offended by the testimony again for the second time accusing people of taking bribes, because I've not been accused of taking one, but I would suggest that the parents from the home and school association of these schools look seriously into Ms. Loesch's accusations, and I hope that Ms. Loesch has her homeowner's liability insurance up to date. Thank you.
I'm sorry. Hold on one second. The Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to state two things that were incorrect about the previous testimony. One was that the name was not changed as a request of the Callowhill Neighbors Association. It was changed by the people who signed on to the Community Benefits Agreement. The partnership with the developer and the community decided that that's the name that they wanted. And also the people who signed on to the agreement signed on because they thought they could partner with the community to make it better for that community, the schools in that area, and also grow the neighborhoods around the sign by having the catchment areas have better schools. That was the reason. Thank you.
My name is C'Anne Anderson. I live at 1312 Nectarine in the Callowhill neighborhood. Councilman Squilla, I think you should be ashamed to present legislation like this without ever having talked to your neighborhoods. We were not spoken to about this. More and more there are studies that are showing that people's bodies do not get rest when they are under subjected -- subjected to bright lights. It's not good for people. This is an issue of corporate cash versus the public's quality of life, and a few pennies thrown at three schools is a really cheap shot, and all it does is cover up what's really going on here. Most of the Philadelphians who are affected by this will not be here to talk to you this morning, and the reason they won't be here is, they are at work trying to support their families. We who live in Philadelphia elected you in this room to watch our backs, and we have legislation out there that says you do not put these kinds of signs in these areas where there are so many Philadelphians. We elected you to watch our backs, and I sincerely hope that you will back the legislation and the zoning codes that are there and help to improve the life in this city instead of bowing to corporate offers like this. Thank you for your time.
Also too, each community group was spoken to surrounding the sign. Every community group has known about this. And if they didn't give you the information, I would go back to your community group leaders, speak to them and find out why they did not tell you about this.
Well, then speak to the people -- the person right next to you.
I have spoken to you, Roseanne, and also told you that if you were willing to join in on the conversation, we'd be more than happy to have a conversation with you. So just unfortunately people want their own opinions. We received over three or four hundred e-mails in support of this from the community people that we could show. So to come up here and state that the community is not in favor of this is an out-and-out lie. So, I mean, you could -- this is your free will. We can give you a copy of all the e-mails that we have received in support of this and you could go back to your communities, and I think the majority of the community is in very much favor of this. Thank you.
The next three speakers on 120920, Lorna Katz-Lawson, Jeff Hornstein, Jenni Desnouee. (Witness approached podium.)
Lorna Katz-Lawson, Society Hill Civic Association. I'm the Zoning and Historic Preservation Chair, and I would just like to start by saying that Councilman Squilla's office has been religiously making us aware of anything that would affect our community in terms of development and we did not get -- I did not get any notification about this until reading through the Rules Committee reviews. I've previously testified for Society Hill Civic on behalf of the visual impact that these signs will have. Our neighborhood has spent an incredible amount of energy, people's own time and money to keep our neighborhood as attractive and true to the historic profile that it presents, and it is a major attractor of people to the region of all cultures, all countries, and this will be a background to the neighborhood. You will see it from the public parks. It also has a direct impact on high-rise condominium owners. Anyone with a north faced window will have this flashing in their living rooms, in their bedrooms six seconds change on the digital sign. It's an inappropriate background for the neighborhood and for visitor experience, because it's so distracting. We hope that you -- and the other aspect to this is, we feel it's a real breach of trust with the community, because -- I'm talking about the Greater Philadelphia community, because this process can be used any place and every place in Philadelphia and it basically usurps more than two years of working side by side with many members in this Chamber and the Zoning Code Commission to avoid having this kind of an ad hoc grab, let's say. Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. (Applause.) (Witness approached podium.)
Good afternoon, members of City Council. I'm Jeff Hornstein. I'm speaking on behalf of the Center City North Improvement Coalition. As Councilman Squilla noted, it was a name created by the groups that signed the Community Benefits Agreement, which I helped negotiate. I'm not going to address some of the scurrilous accusations about bribery and such. That's kind of silly, in my view, but I would like to bring up how many people have said that half a million dollar a year commitment to three neighborhood schools and a CDC is somehow a few pennies, a paltry sum. Those are sums that have been used in the past by a few folks from particular neighborhoods to sort of denigrate this proposal. If they think these are a few pennies, they should be writing the check to those three schools, and I'd welcome that, annually, as Mr. Berman has committed to do. Also, I would also say Wash West Civic Association has not come out in opposition to this. They've taken no position, as has Northern Liberties. So just to set the record straight on those two things. This parcel at 421 North 7th Street has been zoned commercial/industrial forever. I believe Thomas Edison actually had a workshop in this building. The sign that is being proposed will generate substantial revenue, two and a half million dollars a year. There are very few, if any, residents who will be affected by this bill. We did not reach out to Society Hill Civic very particularly because Society Hill's northern boundary is two miles away from the sign. I mean, you have to cut your boundaries somewhere. I would really -it would amaze me if anybody could see this sign as any more than any other piece of visual detritus from their window on a high rise than any other well-lit building or sign in the City. In short, we believe this is a pretty innovative approach to raising much-needed revenue for our schools and communities without raising anyone's taxes. That's the key point here. And we should also note that this bill -this sign will contribute significantly to the General Fund revenue, about $700,000 a year in business taxes. So this is really, in my view, a public policy decision. We're weighing choices. Three struggling schools versus one billboard. I made the decision as somebody who lives in a pretty well-knit community that this was a good deal, that three struggling schools need the help more than one digital billboard might damage anybody's quality of life. We heard earlier -- I believe it was during earlier testimony -- that 80 percent of our schools have no libraries. This is the kind of money that can help fund them. So I urge you to vote yes on Bill 120920, and we thank you, Councilman Squilla and others, for supporting us on this. Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. (Applause.) (Witness approached podium.)
Good afternoon, Council. My name is Jenni Desnouee. I'm Co-President of the Kearny Home and School Association, a non-profit organization composed of parents and community allies who support our neighborhood school at 6th and Fairmount. I want to say, first of all, I have a new-found respect for the difficult choices that you have to navigate every day, and I'm here to speak for 1,500 of your constituents, who are not taxpayers yet, but we're trying to get them there, the 1,500 students that this Community Benefits Agreement would serve. I also want to make a point -many references were made to the community organizations that oppose this. I want to say Kearny Elementary has been in very close communication with the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association on this issue, and because of their own internal parliamentary reasons, they were not able to come out in support of it, but they have made very clear to me that they are not coming out in opposition to it, and they very much are hoping that this bill will pass and support our school, our neighborhood school. So I am here today to urge you to vote yes for Bill 120920. As I stated before the Rules Committee on December 4th, while our school is on the edge of the fast-growing Northern Liberties neighborhood, over 85 percent of our students are classified as economically disadvantaged. Many of them live in subsidized housing. While our resourceful principal, Eileen Spagnola, she's been at Kearny for 20 years and done an amazing job of running a quality school on a shoestring budget, but resources are dwindling. The budget gets tighter every year. Our teachers are some of the best in the City. We have a dynamic mix of committed veterans and energetic young teachers. We are currently the fourth most requested school in the District's voluntary transfer request program. However, the one thing that's stands between us and the top three is our resources. As I stated in my previous testimony, we don't have a single working computer in our computer lab or our small computer lab in our library. We're hoping to change that. So when the building's owner agreed to put 20 percent of net revenue into a Community Benefits Agreement that would support neighborhood schools in the immediate area, we thought fantastic. Finally, we might be able to match the excellence of our teaching staff with all the necessary resources to maintain the quality education offered at Kearny. Like our colleagues, we respect that some communities oppose billboards as a matter of principle, but with the challenges facing our schools, we must be practical. A dedicated revenue stream of this magnitude, not pennies, this is significant and this is a game-changer for our school. This must trump other considerations. Thus, on behalf of the Board of the Kearny Home and School Association, we urge you to vote yes on Bill 120920. Thank you.
The next three speakers on 120920 are Sharri Horowitz, Jeffrey Saunders, Steve Masters. (Witness approached podium.)
Good afternoon. My name is Sharri Horowitz. I'm a Vice-President of the McCall Home and School Association. McCall Home and School is a non-profit organization composed of parents, teachers, and community allies who support our neighborhood school at 6th and 7th Streets and Delancey where I have two children. We have 640 students in our school, and I am speaking today on behalf of the approximately 1,300 students that comprise the three neighborhood schools. I am here today to urge you to vote yes on Bill 120920. As our President, Merle Becker, testified at the Rules Committee on December 4th, McCall School's catchment area is quite large. It stretches from South Street all the way north to Vine Street, from the River to Broad Street. We are the neighborhood school for Old City, Wash West, Society Hill, and Chinatown. We have two homeless shelters in our catchment. Fifty-five percent of our kids live in Chinatown. Fifty percent of our children are classified as economically disadvantaged. Our amazing principal, Carol Domb, has been at McCall for eight years and runs a quality school on a tiny budget that gets tighter every year. In the face of budget cuts, we have lost key programs. As parents in our catchment area contemplate whether on the one hand to send their kids to our tax-supported neighborhood school; on the other hand, to dig deep into their bank accounts for private school, our ability to afford quality programs and provide a productive school environment is a key factor in their decision. We've heard today that some people in Old City, Chinatown, Society Hill will not be happy with this billboard at 7th and Callowhill. Some people don't like billboards. But this particular site, facing the expressway and separated from residential neighborhoods by 200 yards of highway ramp, seems to us to be the lowest impact sign that we've seen. When Mr. Berman agreed to put 20 percent of his net revenues into a Community Benefits Agreement and propose giving the bulk of the funds to three neighborhood schools, including McCall, it did become difficult for us to put an abstract principle ahead of the needs of our students. With the challenges facing our school, which is on the verge of excellence, we must be practical. A dedicated revenue stream for our school must trump other considerations. Therefore, on behalf of McCall Home and School Association, I urge you to vote yes on Bill 120920. Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. (Applause.) (Witness approached podium.)
-- President Clarke. I am Jeffrey Saunders, Vice-President of the West Poplar Community Development Corporation. We are the RCO that takes care of an area contiguous to the proposed sign. The West Poplar CDC firmly supports the partnership made possible by Bill 120920. We're talking about a large digital sign on the side of a building facing highways. Just yesterday I again walked the immediate area and then off in different directions away from it. My conclusion remains because the bottom of the sign is at the fourth floor, it would rarely be seen at sidewalk level and minimally seen from outlying areas. The only consistent high visibility of the light sign is at the confluence of the highways rushing past it, exactly the intent. But there is something else. Four inches. In the middle of Franklin Square Park, I held up this tape rule and looked at the closest residential high rise to the lighted sign. It was the Metro Club Condominium, a big curving building of tan glass one block away. It is ten stories, but on my ruler, held at arm's length, the building measured about seven and three-quarter inches high. Now, the light sign will be more than two blocks away. From there, the tan condo building would appear to be four inches high. And the reverse is also true. Without descending it to a geometry class here, this means that looking out of a condominium window, the light sign would also appear to be about four inches high. Councilmembers, let's put this into perspective. You look out a high-rise window and you see many things, among them a light sign that appears, in perspective, smaller than an iPhone, just another element on the skyline. As I previously testified to the subcommittee, we respect that some organizations oppose billboards out of principle. Indeed in a different location, I and my CDC might oppose it. That is why we strongly urge the Council to only consider billboards on a case-by-case basis. You see, the precedent here is not the billboard. The real precedent is the special characteristics of this location, which are very tough to meet elsewhere, paired with the strong benefits agreement. The strong special characteristics precedent of such billboards is the real precedent that you hereby set with passage of 120920. Finally, at the Spring Garden School, 90 percent of our children are economically disadvantaged. The West Poplar CDC is not asking you to write another big check for our schools out of your strained budget. We ask only for a few drops of ink to sign Bill 120920 into law so someone else can write a fat check for our schools. Thank you.
Thank you. (Applause.) (Witness approached podium.)
Good afternoon, members of Council. Steve Masters. I'm the legislative attorney for Scenic Philadelphia. Mr. President, I have a letter that I was hoping to get distributed to the members of Council, but it may not be the correct protocol during this time, so I'm not sure.
That's a public hearing. We'll make sure the members get a copy.
Great. So I'm here to talk about what this bill is really about in terms of money. The Community Benefit Agreement that we've heard about is very positive, and as a City Council attorney, I helped negotiate many Community Benefits Agreements. But the Community Benefits Agreement isn't the whole story here. We're calling this bill Philadelphia's version of the fiscal cliff. Why are we saying that? Because PennDOT's general counsel has sent you a letter saying that if we pass this bill, then they will have to cut 10 percent of all the highway money for the State of Pennsylvania, and they're not going to share the pain on that. They're going to put the entire cut onto the City of Philadelphia's budget. Last year when Council considered this bill, that amount of budget cut was valued at something like $10 million over three years. Now, Joe Beller, who is the attorney for the sign owner, has told you don't worry, no problems, City Council can do this. Here's the problem: His memo to you was missing a very important point. Ninety-five percent of what he said was right. He just forgot to tell you about a code of federal regulation that says that, yes, cities can, through their zoning legislation, change what is appropriate for the Federal Highway law, but only when you do it comprehensively, when you do it across the board, like we're actually going to be doing next month. Scenic Philadelphia, the billboard industry, and Council staff are going to be sitting down with the Administration and working on the comprehensive bill for the billboard part of the sign code. We can do that. We have the power to do that. But the regulation says when you have a bill that only addresses one billboard, then that doesn't quality for the exception, and that's why the general counsel of PennDOT has said passing this bill will trigger this catastrophe for the City. So there's a way out of this. You can decide to hold off on voting for this bill today and wait just one month until we consider the community groups and Council and the Administration consider the comprehensive bill on billboards and address this issue as part of a comprehensive bill. What's the rush? There really is no rush that I can see positively that can't wait. This billboard has gone up and down the courts for many years, but if we pass this, we face the catastrophic fiscal cliff.
Louise Carpino, commenting on 120905. (Witness approached podium.)
Good morning, Council, President Clarke. My name is Louise Carpino and I represent AFSCME Local 810, professional employees in the First Judicial District. We have approximately 550 members, comprised mainly of juvenile and adult probation officers, domestic relations hearing officers, and pretrial court officers. Local 810 received an interest arbitration award in July 2012 after four years of hearings. The City has implemented part of the award and has not appealed this interest arbitration award. However, the City has refused to implement the entire award; most specifically, the raise for maxed out veteran probation officers, taking the position that it is the Court's responsibility to pay for that raise out of their existing budget. The Court's have told Local 810 that they want us to get our raise, but they can't afford it unless the City gives them the extra money in their budget. I addressed this issue before the Appropriations Committee on 11/29/12, resulting in the Court Administrator saying that the Courts want us to have the raise, but have no money and the City saying it was a legal issue. Clarification of the City's legal issue was later given to Councilman Goode. The City Solicitor states therein that the Courts have enough money to pay the award. She also presents the same specious legal arguments that were made throughout the interest arbitration proceedings, resulting in an award that the City has not appealed. This cat and mouse game between the City and the Court again provides further justification for the City to continue to splurge the taxpayers' money on wealthy law firms while obstructing rehabilitation of offenders and comprising public safety in our neighborhood -- compromising, sorry, public safety in our neighborhoods. Local 810 members supervise over 60,000 offenders living in the City of Philadelphia and save the City millions of dollars in incarceration costs each year. On behalf of these members, I'm asking that the Legislative Oversight Committee of City Council hold hearings to determine the veracity of the budgetary representations of the City and the Courts concerning the implementation of Local 810's unappealed interest arbitration award. Thank you.
Robert Taylor, commenting on 120913. (Witness approached podium.)
-- members of Council, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Robert Taylor, citizen of South Philadelphia, President of the Transport Workers Union Local 700, and a member of the TWU PA State Council and also co-host on WPEB 88.1 FM, the Jasper Jones Show. I'm commenting today on Ordinance 120913, authorizing transfers in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2012 within the Water Fund. I don't oppose the bill itself, but I do oppose anything that may fund adding fluoride to our water supply. The Water Department must lower the amount of fluoride from its current one part per million, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Quote, "HHS's proposed recommendation of 0.07 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water replaces the current recommended range of 0.07 to 1.2 milligrams. This updated recommendation is based on recent EPA and HHS scientific assessment to balance the benefits of preventing tooth decay while limiting any unwanted health effects," end quote. Yet, our Water Department has not lowered the fluoride in our water supply to meet even this dangerous standard. Harvard University scientist stated, quote, "Our results support the possibility of adverse effects of fluoride exposure on our children's neurodevelopment. The children in high fluoride areas have significant lower IQ's than those who lived in low fluoride areas." Please see the government's National Research Council report 2006, "Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of the EPA's Standard." This report can be found at www.nap.edu. Quote, "The panel's exposure analysis in Chapter 2 of the report indicates that certain subsets of the population consuming water fluoridated at 1 point per million were already exceeding the EPA's referenced dose of 0.06 milligrams kilogram day listed in the EPA's integrated risk system. These population subsets includes bottle-fed infants. Children under 6 should not drink water parenthetically, those with borderline iodine deficiencies, those with impaired kidney function, and those who drink excessive amounts of water, including outdoor laborers, athletes, military personnel, and diabetics. The case against fluoride," end quote. Of course, it would be better to lower the fluoride amount to zero. Again, no drug can be safely given to all people regardless of dosage, age, and medical backgrounds. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you for your testimony.
Jihad Ali, commenting on 120889. (Witness approached podium.)
Good afternoon, Mr. President, other distinguished members of City Council. Mr. Chief Clerk, I'd also like to comment on 120534-A. During the prior testimony when the veterans spoke, I support the veterans. As a veteran, I'm a proud former Marine. Also my friend Tommy St. Hill is a proud former Marine. But one thing that's significant about Tommy St. Hill is that in his -- that you may not know, those of you who know Tommy -- is that in his house, he has on the wall a captured flag, and the flag is from a battle in Vietnam that's signed by all the other Marines that were in that unit, and there's blood on that flag, because they spilt flood in Vietnam. Tommy, all the other members that used to be in City Council, Councilman Lucien Blackwell, I think about Cecil B. Moore, I think about Hardy Williams, Sr., I find it hard to believe that they would all want skateboarders to go to jail for skateboarding. I support the Vietnam Memorial Fund, but one thing, Mr. President, I'd like to remind you of, there's more black young men died in Vietnam from Ben Franklin High School than any other high school in the nation.
Thank you. I knew it was your district. Thank you. But one thing about that is to remember -- because sometimes, you know, we forget about the diversity when it came to war, because that was during the draft. So in that regard, I support the memorial. I think that taking their skateboard, fines, double the fines, 2,000, I think that's all adequate, because they'll have a choice. But jail -- I speak as a former police officer. Jail is a rough sentence to give those guys. And when you look at these skateboarders when they go about their craft, they're in their own little world. Probably like the young guy said, they have no idea that they're damaging property. I think holding the parents accountable will do that. I'd like to move on to the other bill that I'm really here about, and that's 120889, and that was the bill about RCOs. And the problem that I had with that was, Councilwoman -- it almost got by me, and Councilwoman Blackwell was the one that she stood up to fight that. And I'd like to quote Thomas Jefferson. He said, one man, my words, or woman with courage is the majority. And when Councilwoman Blackwell stood up for all those groups out in West Philly and throughout the City that opposed that bill, she really took a fight on our behalf, because the problem was that the Planning Commission -- and not to take anything away from the professionals at the Planning Commission, like David Reddish and all them. They're all professionals. But when Eva Gladstein sent that e-mail out and said "to my friends," all the people that opposed that bill, like Tracy, all the other activists that opposed that, Eva Gladstein did that on the public dime. So she used the taxpayers' money to get her friends here to come to oppose the sitting Councilperson. But the people that were on the other side of that, they didn't have that. They didn't have the taxpayers' expense to send it out, and that was wrong. She said "to my friends." I don't look at any of y'all having friends, but citizens. She needs -- that was unethical, and she needs to be held accountable for that. And in closing, Mr. President, I'd like to thank you all. Mr. President, from your leadership, you've extended an opportunity for those who will fight for the disadvantaged to step up on the economic ladder. To all the Councilmen, especially Councilmen Kenney, Squilla, Henon, Greenlee, Green, and O'Brien and even Oh, I have stood up here and talked about rights of black men through most of the time I've been here, and you've all respected the right of me as an African American male to speak on behalf of African Americans, and you've all voted on all the issues that were concerning me. All the other Councilmen, my Councilman, Curtis Jones, Councilman Goode, I think y'all have had outstanding leadership from this Council. I thank you for your service. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, sir, for your testimony. (Applause.)
The final speaker, Tully Speaker, commenting on 120754. (Witness approached podium.)
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning, good afternoon, whatever it may be.
It is afternoon, yes. I rather thought it was. The idea of putting illuminated signs on three sides of newsstands is clever. It will make people see the newsstands and perhaps read the advertising that will be there. But this seems to be something like trying to sell wallpaper, and the buggy whip salesman years and years ago eventually went out of business because there was not much need, not much desire to own buggy whips. The print industry, the newspaper industry is in much the same situation. And people who run newsstands sell newspapers, and their primary product is shrinking, and fewer people want to buy newspapers. Papers are shrinking in their physical size. They are printed fewer days a week. The number of pages in most daily newspapers has fallen and continues to fall. The people who sell newspapers at newsstands are very much in the position of buggy whip salesmen. They have a commodity that fewer and fewer people want to buy, that fewer and fewer people need. And so just as buggy whip salesmen might have recovered by selling wallpaper, the newsstand operators for whom this proposal is put forward will be attempting to sell the electronic equivalent of wallpaper, because they will be selling fewer and fewer newspapers. The idea is essentially ridiculous. Further, it will be a distraction. It will be a nuisance on our streets. I urge you to turn down this bill. Thank you. Good afternoon.
There are no other speakers on the public comment list, Mr. President.
This has got to be a year-end record on the amount of public commentary, but I didn't ever see as much reaction to any of the public commentary until they start talking about buggy whips from over there at the press row. Everybody started buzzing. And so I'm going to renew my subscription to all of the local papers just to make sure that doesn't happen.
Mr. Speaker is a longstanding friend of mine. He lives in my district, and we always have some very, very interesting conversations about a whole lot of different things. So I'm not surprised at that comment. Okay. We will now consider the bills and resolutions on the regular -I'm sorry; we got to do Consent. We will now consider today's Consent Agenda. I will ask Mr. Decker to read the titles of all the bills on the Consent Agenda. After each title is read, any member may inclusion of a bill on the Consent Agenda. Upon such objection and without debate, the bill will be immediately removed from the Consent Agenda and placed on our regular Final Passage Calendar. Mr. Decker, will you please read the titles of the bills on the Consent Agenda.
Bill No. , a corporation, as the Neighborhood Improvement District Management Association for the District"; and Bill No. 120875, entitled "An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by 52nd Street, Master Street, Peach Street, and Media Street"; and Bill No. 120878, entitled "An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Kensington Avenue, Torresdale Avenue, Hunting Park Avenue, Jasper Street and Pike Street"; and Bill No. 120879, entitled "An ordinance amending the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Reed Street, Christopher Columbus Boulevard, the former Washington Avenue centerline, and the Delaware River"; and Bill No. 120897, entitled "An ordinance amending Title 14 of The Philadelphia Code and Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code, Subcode 'A,' by providing for review of applications subject to civic design review and for accelerated review"; and Bill No. 120890, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to convey to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development a parcel of land situate at 4900 Spruce Street"; and Bill No. 120894, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to enter into a sublease agreement, with the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, for use by the City of a portion of the premises located at 111 North 49th Street"; and 120895, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to acquire fee simple title, or a lesser interest in real estate, in parcels of land along the Delaware River and the Kensington & Tacony Trail"; and Bill No. 120902, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to convey, to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, a parcel of land located in the vicinity of the Southwest corner of the intersection of 2nd Street and Lippincott Street"; and Bill No. 120919, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to convey, to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, a parcel of land located in the vicinity of the Northeast corner of the intersection of Sepviva Street and East Firth Street"; and Bill No. 120921, entitled "An Commissioner of Public Property, to convey to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, a parcel or parcels generally situate at 1236 and 1238 Crease Street"; and Bill No. 120345, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the revision of lines and grades on a portion of City Plan No. 149 by striking from the City Plan Towanda Street from Willow Grove Avenue to Springfield Avenue"; and Bill No. 120754, entitled "An ordinance amending Section 9-212 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Newsstands," by revising the requirements for advertising and permitting the placement of awnings on newsstands and permitting the sale of additional products from newsstands"; and Bill No. 120779, entitled "An ordinance establishing a one-way regulation on West Loudon Street, from North 5th Street to North 6th Street, westbound"; and Bill No. 120780, entitled "An ordinance establishing a no truck parking regulation on Kinsey Street, between Hedge Street and Paul Street, north side"; and Bill No. 120782, entitled "An ordinance establishing a one-way regulation on North Dewey Street, from Market Street to Arch Street, northbound"; and Bill No. 120798, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the plotting upon a portion of City Plan No.
275 of a right-of-way for water main purposes at the southwesterly end of Parker Avenue, southwest of Umbria Street"; and Bill No. 120799, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 12-2700 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Permit Parking Districts,' by enumerating additional permit parking districts, and by increasing the requirements for designating a block as a residential or for removing such designation"; and Bill No. 120826, entitled "An ordinance authorizing Lucky 13 Pub to construct, own and maintain an open-area sidewalk cafe at 1820 South 13th Street"; and Bill No. 120891, entitled "An ordinance authorizing The Zoological Society of Philadelphia to construct, own and maintain various encroachments to be installed along Girard Avenue, between 34th Street and the eastbound I-76 ramp"; and Bill No. 120892, entitled "An ordinance authorizing William Cooper to construct, own and maintain various right-of-way encroachments at 6009 Chestnut Street"; and Bill No. 120893, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the University of Pennsylvania, Division of Facilities, to construct, own and maintain various right-of-way encroachments on Health Drive"; and Bill No. 120896, entitled "An ordinance establishing a no truck parking regulation on both sides of Hellerman Street, between Horrocks Street and Bustleton Avenue, both sides of Magee Avenue between Horrocks Street and Bustleton Avenue, Bustleton Avenue between Magee Avenue and Hellerman Street, west side, Horrocks Street between Levick Street and Hellerman Street, east side and Horrocks Street between Hellerman Street and Magee Avenue, east side"; and Bill No. 120898, entitled "An ordinance establishing a parking regulation on 12th Street, both sides, Grange Avenue to Nedro Avenue"; and Bill No. 120899, entitled "An ordinance establishing a parking regulation on Marvine Street, both sides, Chew Avenue to Grange Avenue"; and Bill No. 120900, entitled "An ordinance establishing a parking Street, both sides, Chew Avenue to Olney Avenue"; and Bill No. 120903, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the revision of lines and grades on a portion of City Plan No. 156 by striking from the City Plan Fourth Street from Allegheny Avenue to Lippincott Street, striking from the City Plan Lippincott Street from Fourth Street to its terminus westwardly therefrom"; and Bill No. 120918, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 11-300 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Board of Surveyors,' by adding a new section to revise and codify the notice requirements for public hearings held by the Board of Surveyors on changes in the City Plan"; and Bill No. 120953, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the Haverford Business Association to construct, own and maintain various right-of-way encroachments on the 7500 block of Avenue"; and Bill No. 120954, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 12-3000 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Use of an Automated Red Light Enforcement System to Prevent Red Light Violations,' by conforming Sections 12-3006 ('Penalty'), 12-3007 ('Notification of Violation'), and 12-3012 ('Limitations') with the applicable enabling legislation"; and Bill No. 120719, entitled "An ordinance amending Section 9-605 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Towing,' by eliminating the requirement that an illegally parked vehicle be ticketed prior to its towing from a private lot, private property, or driveway; and by requiring that the towing company photograph the violation for which such vehicle is being towed"; and Bill No. "
Thank you. Before we conclude our Consent Calendar, the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.
Thank you, President. I'd like to remove Bill No. 120918 from the Consent Calendar and placed -- to be held.
Thank you, Councilman. Is that the end of the Consent Agenda?
Mr. President, point of order. What was the reason for that, the bill?
There was an advertising issue. So that's -- nothing controversial. Just simply a simple Charter requirement that
You're welcome. Thank you, Mr. Decker. These bills having been read on two different days, the question for each bill now is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker will call the roll, and upon being called, each Councilmember shall vote aye on all bills or nay on all bills or indicate those bills for which the member is voting aye or nay. Mr. Decker, please call the roll.
Aye on all bills. The majority of all members having voted in the affirmative for each of the bills, the bills on the Consent Agenda are passed. We will now consider the bills and resolutions on the regular Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar. Mr. Decker, would you please read the title of Resolution No. 121005.
A resolution urging the Fire Department of Philadelphia to suspend its planned rotation of 293 senior firefighters en masse from all parts of the City, beginning next month. Further deliberation is critical to ensure the success of such a large and abrupt 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING disruption to unit cohesion in fire stations, jeopardizing public safety.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move the adoption of the resolution and hope they listen. Thank you. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Resolution 121005 is adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of 121007.
A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Twenty-Fourth Ward of the City of Philadelphia.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell for a motion.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Resolution 121007 is adopted. 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING Mr. Decker, please read the title of Resolution 121010.
A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in Thirty-Sixth Ward of the City of Philadelphia.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Johnson.
Mr. President, I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.) 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING
The ayes have it. Resolution 121010 has been adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of 121011.
A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Thirty-Sixth Ward of the City of Philadelphia.
Thank you. The Chair again recognizes Councilman Johnson.
Mr. President, I move for the adoption of 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Resolution 121011 has been adopted. Mr. Decker, 121014.
A resolution approving the redevelopment contract of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority for the redevelopment and urban renewal of a portion of the Model Cities Urban Renewal Area, identified by house number and street address as 2528 North Leithgow Street.
Thank 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Resolution 121014 has been adopted. Mr. Decker, 121015.
A resolution approving the redevelopment contract of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority for the redevelopment and urban renewal of a portion of the New Kensington-Fishtown Urban Renewal Area, identified by house number and street address as 2023 East Susquehanna Avenue.
Thank you. 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING Again, I recognize Councilwoman Sanchez.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. 121015 is adopted. Mr. Decker, 121020.
A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING situate in the Thirty-Eighth Ward of the City of Philadelphia.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. Those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. 121020 is adopted. Mr. Decker, 121021.
A resolution authorizing the Director of Commerce to file a proposal for funds with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones. 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING
Thank you, Mr. President. Again, I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. 121021 is adopted. Mr. Decker, 121022.
A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, without consideration, deeds conveying conditional fee simple title to certain City-owned lots or pieces of ground with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Twelfth, Thirteenth and Forty-Ninth Wards of the City of 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING Philadelphia.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. 121022 is adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of 120862.
A resolution confirming the reappointment of Judge Phyllis Beck as a member of the Board of Ethics, to serve in the term ending November 16, 2017.
12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Resolution 120862 is adopted. Mr. Decker, 120980.
A resolution confirming the appointment of Brian J. McCormick as a member of the Board of Ethics, to serve in the term ending November 16, 2016.
The Chair again recognizes Councilmember Jones.
12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING Mr. President, I move for its adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Resolution 120980 is adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of 120534-A.
An ordinance amending Title 10 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Regulation of Individual Conduct and Activity," to prohibit certain activities that damage, deface, or risk damage to, public artwork or memorials, and to provide for penalties for violations of such prohibitions.
Thank you. 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING The Chair recognizes Councilman Oh.
Thank you very much, Mr. President and to all my colleagues. I just wanted to make some statements about this bill, of which I am the sponsor. This bill was brought forward by the Mayor of Philadelphia and the bill was submitted to the Public Property Committee, which then gave it a favorable recommendation. The bill was tabled, and I did, as was testified, meet with various groups to try to improve the bill to make it a better bill, and I think it is a very good bill. We have heard some testimony today of different perspectives. What I would like to point out is that there has been no witness, no witnesses today who have represented the subject of this bill; that is, those who say, yes, I jump off of high places and land on top of memorials and public artwork. No one is 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING here on their behalf, because they don't care, they're not here, and they continue to do so. We currently have a prohibition that is a $300 fine. If you pay the CVN of $75, you don't have to have the $300 fine. That has not stopped nor deterred the persons who damage and violate both public artworks and memorials in that fashion. We have spent more money in this city on skateboard parks than we have in maintaining our memorials to those who have died, be it firefighters, police officers, first responders or our military. We have skateboard activities and parks developing throughout this southeastern portion of Pennsylvania, and that's excellent. The fact that we have skateboarding and skateboarding activities, which I do support and hope to continue to fund, is one of the recognitions of Philadelphia's ability to 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING provide recreation appropriate and in a manner that is wanted by our young people. But no one, none of these young people who are enjoying this activity has come and said, And reserve a place for those who damage and desecrate these memorials. Because we have another group of young people. They do not have the choices, many of them. They are told by the government for which they are pledged to go into harm's way. They are the police officers who run and tackle those armed robbers, the firefighters who run into burning buildings, those soldiers and sailors who jump out of airplanes into automatic gunfire. These memorials were not built by this city. They're not maintained by this city. Our city does a really poor job of it. They were built by, funded, and continue to be funded by average people who have served, many of them 19, 18, 20 when they served, and have lost loved ones. They're our children, 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING they're our parents, they're our family members, and there is a thing that they are asking of this City Council; that is, give to those who have sacrificed and died, those who have returned and still suffer, those who have lost life and limb a measure of respect that this city deems these memorials to be protected areas in a manner. I appreciate that the skateboarders have recognized this. They didn't recognize it before, because it was a $300 fine. It didn't stop anyone. But now with this legislation, there is an attention, there is a concern. I hope the word will be spread, and I hope that we will not see any problems related to our memorials and our public artwork. I'm going to change hats at this point in time to say on behalf not of City Council but on behalf of the members of the 82nd Airborne, of which I'm the Chapter Chairman, I'm embarrassed to be the Chapter Chairman when I compare 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING what I have done to those who have lost their lives, lost their limbs, and who to this day suffer upon the memories of the experiences that they've had, which are horrible experiences, and the friends that they have lost and when I see those persons who still serve in our military today. But as the Chapter Chairman, I think we're at a point of trying to understand each other and the common space that we share. You have the streets.
You have the pavements. You have the parks, the recreation centers. You have your skateboard parks. You have places you shouldn't be that you will not be penalized for jumping upon. You have all that, and you'll have more. Don't confuse yourselves by protecting those who desecrate, vandalize, and damage private property that was built in memory of those who suffered. I have yet to see a vandal on skateboards run into any burning building to save any people. 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING So I would ask that this bill be passed. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Mr. President. I speak not only as a Councilperson of the 3rd District representing West and Southwest Philadelphia, but one who succeeded the late and great Lucien E. Blackwell, who was a Korean War veteran in addition to serving as the State Representative, City Councilperson, and U.S. Congressman. We love and respect all vets and await those new service men and women who will be returning from wars needing the help and support of our great city. However, with regard to this bill, we met with the sponsors and regret that we were unable to work out a compromise before today. We realize how important and heartfelt this issue is and 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING regret that we cannot in good faith support it. Therefore, we will be voting no on this bill. Thank all of those who have spoken on both sides of this issue, and thank you very much.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Mr. President. This bill for me represents a collision of two of my very, very special interests. My understanding of, appreciation for, and respect for arts, culture, and recreation of all forms today collides with my always efforts in making provisions, creating opportunities, and accommodations for young people. I will state for the record that the bill in its initial form I found harsh and strident, but I need to commend the sponsor of this bill for doing what I 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING think is always necessary, meeting with all stakeholders, hearing everyone's perspective, and seeking to always make a bill a better bill by offering amendments. So I want to thank him for his amendments, because, in my view, it has made this a better bill. In my former capacity as Chair of City Council's Committee on Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs, I dealt with the issue of skateboarding, so skateboarding is not a new issue confronting or facing the members of this Council. At least ten years ago, over a year I met with the skateboard community, because the issue we're dealing with today we dealt with then dealing with Love Park and Dilworth Square. The good news that came of that was a commitment by the City to find ways with the private sector to construct another skateboard park and one that might have some central proximity to all young people in the City. We should be encouraged to know 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING that soon -- and I don't know the end date -- there will be a brand new huge skateboard park right there at the base of the Art Museum in your councilmanic district. In closing, one of the reasons -- we come to this legislative body for a lot of reasons. One of them is to negotiate measures that hopefully create a more civil society. And so in that spirit and every day, I'm reminded as a parent that adults and young people need boundaries and parameters. Because the penalties have been adjusted, if you will, I will be supporting this bill, with the proviso that the sponsor of the bill will not discontinue what he's already started. I still see opportunity in meeting with the members of the skateboard community, because to date, I do believe -- and I will lean on Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez -- there are no regulations yet around this new growing 12/13/12 - STATED - 2ND READING sport, because it really is an industry, called skateboarding. So with that in mind, Mr. President, I will be supporting this bill today.