Thank you, Council President. On your behalf and on behalf of all Philadelphians and Eagles fans everywhere, I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.) 3/7/24 - STATED - 2ND READING
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Will the Clerk please read the next title of the resolution.
A resolution honoring and recognizing Katalin Kariko, PhD and Drew Weissman, MD PhD for winning the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Will the Clerk -- the Chair recognizes Councilmember Jamie Gauthier.
Thank you, Council President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution is adopted. All those in favor will signify by saying aye. 3/7/24 - STATED - 2ND READING (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Will the Clerk please read the next title of the resolution.
A resolution honoring and congratulating Champion of the Week, Lucas Koo, a Masterman High School student who competed in short track speed skating at the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
The Chair recognizes Councilmember Isaiah Thomas.
Thank you, Council President. Definitely want to make sure we're still continuing to spread good news about our young people. So with that being said, I enthusiastically move for the adoption of 3/7/24 - STATED - 2ND READING the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted.
A resolution Honoring and Recognizing Tanya Hill-Holiday for her admirable career achievements during Women's History Month, introduced by Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr.
The Chair recognizes Councilmember Curtis Jones, Jr.
Eleven McDonald's later, I move for the 3/7/24 - STATED - 2ND READING resolution to be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Will the Clerk please read the next title of the resolution.
A resolution honoring the life and legacy of Dr. George E. Allen, the longtime leader of the Arts and Music Program at Overbrook High School, introduced by Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. 3/7/24 - STATED - 2ND READING
Thank you again, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Will the Clerk please read the next title of the resolution.
A resolution celebrating Meredith Foote's trailblazing leadership as Executive Director of the TGR Learning Lab at The Cobbs Creek Golf Course on the occasion of Women's History Month, introduced by Councilman Curtis 3/7/24 - STATED - 2ND READING Jones, Jr.
I heard by Tiger Woods himself. I move for the adoption. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Will the Clerk please read the next title of the resolution.
A resolution celebrating Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day in The City of Philadelphia, introduced by Councilman Mike Driscoll. 3/7/24 - STATED - 2ND READING
The Chair recognizes Councilman Mike Driscoll.
Mr. President, I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the motion be adopted. All those in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Will the Clerk please read the next title of the resolution.
A resolution recognizing March of 2024 as Philadelphia's month of Literacy and 3/7/24 - STATED - 2ND READING Reading, introduced by Councilmember Bass.
The Chair recognizes Councilmember Cindy Bass.
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 will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Will the Clerk please read the next title of the resolution.
A resolution authorizing the Committees on Environment 3/7/24 - STATED - 2ND READING and Global Opportunities and the Creative/Innovative Economy to hold joint hearings regarding the reliability and servicing of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations in the City of Philadelphia, introduced by Councilmember Nina Ahmad.
The Chair recognizes Councilmember Nina Ahmad.
Thank you, Council President. I move for the adoption of this resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All those in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The it, and the resolution is adopted. Will the Clerk please read the next title of the resolution.
There are no more resolutions on the Calendar for consideration, Mr. President.
Thank you. At this time, are there any speeches on the part of the minority? (No response.)
Are there -- yes, there are -- speeches on behalf of the majority? The Chair recognizes Councilmember Phillips.
Thank you. Thank you, Council President Johnson, Council colleagues, and to all the Philadelphians who have been deeply affected by the terrible tsunami of violence that has happened in our city. I am feeling powerless and of desperation. Our children, and most specifically teenage Black men, are at the crosshairs of a seemingly unending crisis of senseless gun violence. You all know the statistics by now. Yesterday 11 students, our children, our nieces, our nephews, our neighbors, have experienced an open season on their very lives. This is a crisis at every level. It reflects an abject failure to protect our most basic social rights - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We have an essential crisis in the City of Philadelphia. We not only see it on the news, we see it in our very lives and communities. People have wearied of our -- people have become weary of our banter about thoughts and prayers. They want more. They deserve more and they deserve better, and that is what we must do to resolve their concerns. to clarify that this is not a SEPTA problem. It is a societal problem. It could and can happen anywhere. This is an American cultural problem coincidental to SEPTA. As our Mayor has alluded, everything in our toolbox has to be considered. Nothing can be off the table with respect to restoring the safety, security, decency to our streets, our transportation system, and our schools. This is a moment for us to set aside our north stars of ideologies and preference. The people of Philadelphia are no longer interested in idealogies. They want ideas and solutions. They want safe streets now. They want ideas that create stronger homes and families, that the family must be the foundation from which we begin starting today. We must use every device, policy, strategy, penny, bully pulpit to crush the lawlessness which allows our city to be derided as an unsafe city, and must be our partner and we must be theirs as we create a better Philadelphia. The family is the first and best building block of any civilization. We must underscore the responsibilities of families to raise their children, create high expectations, and reinforce those values day by day. We must be clear, government cannot and should not raise children. We are not built to do that. It is neither our responsibility nor our right. We can, though, be a help to families by making available every tool and educational extracurricular experience, but families must step up to fundamentally change our society. We are at a moment of crisis. Crisis demands action. It demands flexibility and speed. When children are under attack, whether it is West Oak Lane or Lawncrest as of yesterday, Lawncrest/Burholme, require a resolute heart and strong action. Our Police Commissioner, Kevin Bethel, and those under his command need our support, and whatever tools, whatever resources they require need to be deployed, and that should happen now. Several of us in Council, led by you, Council President Johnson, have already huddled and will soon will allow meaningful ways in which we can make a difference and stem the tide of this carnage. Keep the families of Lawncrest, West Oak Lane in our prayers. God bless.
I had a whole speech of the majority talking about Ramadan, you know, the press conference we had, but I'm inspired by Member Phillips to swivel on that. Wish Ramadan, but I have to push back gently on your comments. I got elected not to be helpless. We have a President of City Council, we have a Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, we have a Police Commissioner, we have 7,000 men in blue, many of whom were in here today. We have SEPTA. We have over 3,000 cameras. We have answers. We have a blueprint. We just need to read the recommendations and measure ourselves on how we're standing up to that, 140 recommendations. Next week, Mayor Parker will be in here presenting her budget. How does that measure up to what our expectations are on public safety for our kids. We have an obligation, a sworn oath, never to be helpless. We have a Governor. We have a legislature led by an African American from Philadelphia. Helpless? We are the help, and we need to measure up, man up, pony up to be that assistance to the people riding SEPTA. should be saying, I feel helpless. We have to double down, be determined to make our streets safer. Why I supported Mayor Cherelle Parker, she was willing to push back about how we approach the lawlessness in our communities, and she ain't afraid. She ain't hopeless. She ain't helpless, and we are going to help her. And I say that -- I wanted to talk about Ramadan, but I said in the press conference earlier that we must begin to sweep under our feet. If we sweep under our feet, the world will be a better place first before we can do anything else. Last week proved with all of those shootings, with all of that open-air violence that we got work to do right here in the City of Philadelphia, and we need to be about our business to do it. So I look forward to the 100-day plan offered by the Mayor. I presentation of budget. And I can guarantee you one thing, it's a lot better prioritized in this Administration about what we can do as a city to prevent gun violence and have a safer Philadelphia. So I have confidence, confidence that we are moving in the right direction, sometimes not fast enough. Thank you, Mr. President.
Two weeks in a row. You know I'm not big on the public comment stuff, but some things need to be said. First, I wanted to commend you for the task force around issues related bigger problem than what I think people realize, and listening to some of the testimony -- I really appreciate the public comment today. Listening to some of the testimony around the work that organizations have done during the pandemic and still doing is very important. I also wanted to take a moment to thank District Council 33. They had a lot of us in at their conference this past week, and I just wanted to publicly thank all of those City workers. In the midst of all of the issues and different problems that we try to address as City Councilmembers, I think it's important that we also reward folks. I'm so happy to see what Councilmember Gauthier did today, and that's the type of stuff that we have to continue to do despite some of the problems that we have across the City. So thank you, District Council 33. Thank you for being the backbone of the City of Philadelphia. And thank you to all of my colleagues who took the time to go out there and have dialogue and build with them. I do want to start by communicating my disappointment in the School Board in their vote of not giving Global an opportunity to open the high school. I want to be clear. We work a lot behind the scenes, and so a lot of people don't know what happened leading up to that point. I do want to say thank you to Councilmember Curtis Jones as well as Councilmember Anthony Phillips for offering their support for Global on the record, but it's not often that as elected officials that we go to School Board meetings to testify at all. I've never testified or advocated for any charter school to be open, but I thought this was a situation that we've never seen before. with me when I went to go testify in front of the School Board, and the reason I had him with me was because we had a basketball game right across the street at Ben Franklin High School right there when the School Board meeting started. And the reason that I bring my son up is because my son, who is in sixth grade right now, he's been in the same school with the same classmates and the same African-centered culture since he started school. The young people and the families who go to Math, Civics and Science, the situation that they're in is not their choice. It's also not their fault. So in the same spirit that Councilmember Jones just had as it relates to government stepping up to do the right thing, I felt we were obligated to open Global if for any reason to be able to give the families and the young people a soft landing. Think about my family, for nephew in ninth grade, I have my son in sixth grade, and I have a niece who is in second grade. They all commute to school together every day. That's our carpool. As working families, that's our way of coordinating to make sure that our young people are safe, but also we all believe in an African-centered education. So when the decision was made for the School District to -- for the School Board to essentially work with us, the Education Committee, behind the scenes and for us to have a certain level of understanding of what we would try to do and then for them to essentially switch their position, to me that's extremely frustrating, and as of March 7th, I don't know. What do we do about the families at Math, Civics and Science? What do we do to support those children? Do they now get displaced?
Someone might lose their job because three children now have to go to schools, and as government, we did not do those families justice. So I'm not sure of what the answer is. I'm not saying we're helpless, Councilmember Curtis Jones, but what I am saying is I don't appreciate how the School Board led us down the path to not finish the journey. I'm going to leave it at that, Council President. And the reason why that is important is because of the violence that we're seeing with young people listening. When we first -- when I first got into Council and my freshmen four colleagues, we would do a lot of advocacy stuff. One of the things that I talked about all the time is that this ain't the gun violence of the '90s, right? This ain't the early 2000s. When I was a kid in high school, the people who carried guns and sold drugs, they were poor. They were doing so to provide a living for their family, because they felt they This was all I know. This is all I have access to. Councilmember Phillips and Councilmember O'Neill, Councilmember Bass, the Councilmembers who represent these areas, they'll tell you this ain't about poverty. This ain't about territory or a certain corner, right? I'm not going to say what it is about, but what I am going to say is that the tactics that we've used in the past, that's not going to work for this generation. That's not going to work for this era. So I am concerned. I've talked to leadership at both Imhotep as well as at Northeast High School, and if you talk to the people who work in those schools, they'll tell you, listen, we had no idea this was going to happen. This is not an incident that started at lunch. No one stepped on someone's sneaker. This caught a lot of people off guard. And for me the most concerning -- a good friend of mine is the head coach at Northeast, and so you know naturally I'm going to reach out, and I asked him, you know, just basic stuff, how you guys doing, what can City Council and government can do to step up, and his exact response was, you know, this has created more questions than answers. Our young people are so desensitized to this stuff that they don't even see it as a big deal. Eleven kids shot this week and it's just a normal Thursday for them. So at the end of the day, while we continue to huddle and do the work that we do, because we're going to do the work, how do we change culture? How do we change mindset? You know, while some young people are saying that they're desensitized to this, other young people who never even met these kids was in tears. I had to break it to my kids that the shooting happened at Imhotep, and is supposed to play a basketball game on Friday at West Philadelphia High School. If you don't know, Imhotep is one of the best programs in the entire country. The CEO is contemplating not playing those games on Friday. So not only will there be one tragedy with the unfortunate death of a young man and other people shot, we're talking about another tragedy because now one of the best programs not just in the City of Philadelphia but in the entire country is saying we don't feel safe allowing our young people to play. We can't guarantee their safety. I say let the young people play. I say it's time for us to say we're going to step up and we're going to make sure that that game at West Philadelphia High School feels as safe as this Council Chambers do. When I walked in today, I thanked -- and I try to do it every time
I thank every guard, every sheriff, and every person who wakes up every single day to make sure we can come in this building and do our job in a safe way. Why can't our kids show up to their schools and feel as safe as I do when I walk in here? Why can't the young people at Imhotep participate in athletic competition on Friday and feel as safe as we do every single day? Look, I'm not going to act like this is the safest place in the world, right, but at the end of the day, how fearful our young people are is 100 percent unacceptable. So, Council President, that's my monologue for this Thursday, and colleagues, I appreciate each and every one of you, especially Councilmembers Bass, O'Neill, Phillips, and Gilmore Richardson who was on the scenes at these unfortunate incidents throughout the course of the week and doing everything support the families, the schools, and other stakeholders who have been negatively impacted. Thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Council President. And I just want to thank my colleague Councilmember Isaiah Thomas for his impassioned plea to all of us. And on that note, on a brighter future, I am going to speak about the resolution that I introduced today, which was about a hearing -- holding joint hearings regarding the reliability and servicing of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations in the City of Philadelphia. laying out that Philadelphia is poised to lead the nation's transition to a cleaner and greener transportation as part of the broader effort to reduce greenhouse emissions and mitigate the negative effects of climate change but also creating new categories of skilled family-sustaining jobs. We must have a brighter future. You know, the EV ownership is more affordable than before and prices have gone down 20 percent from one year ago. As of January 1st, Americans can get up to 7,500 off the sticker price of many of the new electric vehicles eligible for the Inflation Reduction Act, 30D, New Clean Vehicle Tax Credit and up to $4,000 for the price of a used EV and get vehicle tax credit as well. So as we can see the federal incentives supporting the Biden Administration's stated goals are 50 percent of nationwide auto sales being 2030. The adoption of clean vehicles only stands to accelerate. This transition depends and relies heavily on the widespread availability of reliable public EV charging infrastructure. Therein lies the challenge to make sure we are not putting the cart before the horse in this transition. I look forward to robust hearings about this from all sectors of our community to make sure that they are ready for this important transition. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President. It's been a rough week. I just wanted to follow up on what my colleagues have discussed, which is what everyone is discussing, which has been the shootings that have occurred in the Northwest and Lawncrest and Ogontz, and I wanted to follow up on something that Councilman Phillips stated, which is that families really do have to step up. And I coined the phrase "what do you do when the shooter lives with you," because these guns were in people's houses. And so we call on parents, caregivers, family members, if you have someone in your house that you suspect is involved, could be involved, knows someone involved in any of this gun play, because back in the day there used to be such a thing called a fair one, right? You get into a fight, everybody could go home at the end of the day. It doesn't work like that anymore. And so what we need folks to do is to run that room. You have to go in that room, you have to flip the mattress, you have to go in the closets, you have to look in the drawers, you have to look behind everything, under everything. know, in my house and the way I was raised as well, there's no privacy in your mother's house. Okay? Old school. There's no privacy. So, you know -- and I understand that we want to give our young people autonomy and space and all of those great things that sound impressive and mature, but sometimes you have to intervene, and your intervention, the idea behind it is to keep your own child out of jail and someone's child out of a hospital or a casket. And so we have to be unapologetic as parents and caregivers about stepping up and stepping in and making sure what is my young person involved with. And the other thing about it as well -- listen, social media, when used wrong, is like the devil. Social media when gone wrong incites what we've seen this week, and we can't ignore it. We can't act like there was no role to play was a role in what has happened and what is continuing to happen. And so I just really want to encourage parents and caregivers again to be involved, because what do you do if that shooter lives with you is real. The guns used to kill 17-year-old Dayemen Taylor -- and we're going to say his name -- and to shoot four others near Imhotep High School and also the guns used to shoot nine people yesterday in Lawncrest, they were in someone's home the night before, the day before, that same day. These aren't people who have apartments, own homes. These are kids shooting other kids. And so we have to do more and say more and be much more vigil in terms of looking at what is happening in our community, particularly if you have a teenager in your household. So thank you, Mr. President. I just really wanted to remind everyone role to play. I'm the mother of a 14-year-old. I have a role to play. We all have a role to play. Thank you, Mr. President.
And thank you for saying that young man's name. Thank you for saying his name. Councilman Jim Harrity.
Good afternoon, Council President, colleagues. I really didn't have much going on today and I wasn't going to say anything, but after talking with my friend Anna Orso, I felt the need to speak up on some of this misinformation that is floating around. I, Councilman Jim Harrity, am not against harm reduction done right. Let me say that again. I, Councilman Jim Harrity, am not against harm reduction when it's done right. I am against harm reduction groups who are becoming more of a nuisance to the neighborhood that they're supposed to be protecting than actually protecting people. There's no doubt that wound care is desperately needed. There's no doubt that giving them clean needles so that we don't spread more disease is needed, but what we also have to take into consideration is the people that live around these facilities and what they have to see going on outside these facilities. It is our moral obligation as leaders of the City of Philadelphia to when we see something not working, to fix it, and that's all we are trying to do with the situation in Kensington, is to fix it. Now, I never claim to know all the answers, but I know a couple of which is that the 32,000 residents of Kensington deserve to be able to walk down the street. They deserve to be able to have the kids go outside and play without having to worry about what these groups are doing and what they are attracting. Now -- so I just wanted to make sure that I was on the record as saying that I am for harm reduction, but only if it's done right and only if it doesn't affect the residents of that neighborhood. Thank you, Council President.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Mark Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, colleagues. And I'm not going to reiterate everything everybody said that I strongly agree with, but I think the time is today and I our Mayor has given about one Philadelphia working together, Council and the Administration with the police, with the folks on the street, our non-profits, all the City of Philadelphia working together to address public safety as our number one priority. I think it is very sad what we're seeing right now, but I do think -I'm hearing optimism from people in the streets. I'm hearing hope from people in the streets, and people are saying that we believe changes are coming, right? And it's not going to change tomorrow and there will probably be some pushback when some of these changes go into place, and we have to understand that, but I think we need to do this. When that pushback happens, that people need to support those changes and they need to stand up and be behind those changes. And not saying that there's not going to be mistakes made by Council or the Administration, but knowing that we those things, doing nothing is no longer the answer, I think, and what we see out there day in and day out, the message becomes that we are a lawless city and we don't care about taking care of our own, and other people get to use that against us. But what you're going to see I think with the Administration's message and Council's message is that we are addressing these issues. We are taking them seriously. We're making changes to address them. And we also need support from the community to do that. So the people out there in the community, when you see these changes and there are pushback, you need to stand up too and say, this is what we want as a community, this is what we're looking for, and this is what the government is giving us. So aside from that, I do want to say we are having a briefing right across the hall. ATAHC, they are an organization that has received an RFP, job in my district with our PHA housing to eliminate bed bugs in all the housing in my district. They have done an amazing job. We never thought it was going to happen. They now have an RFP to do many of the PHA housing throughout the City of Philadelphia, and now they're also doing pest control. And, you know, when we talk about mental health and issues of people who always seem to be looked at differently or underserved, everybody deserves to live in a pest-free home, and we now have the ability to do that and we see that PHA is doing that. They're leading by example. And I want to thank PHA for their leadership and putting out an RFP and selecting somebody to do that work and then looking at the results and seeing that what it means to the folks who live in these facilities, how important it is to know that you're bed bug free and know that you have pest-free housing no matter how much you pay. much, and I will see you across the hall right after Council.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Rue Landau.
Thank you, Council President. First, just want to lend my voice to my colleagues on the wake of the horrific violence that once again has plagued our city in the past couple of weeks. I will absolutely do my part, alongside all of the other leaders in the City of Philadelphia, but I am going to take a second to call on Harrisburg and our legislators across the Commonwealth to pass gun laws so that we in Philadelphia can control the guns in our city, because without that, we are not going to fully have the tools that we need to make Philadelphia the safest place that we need to have. just take a moment on a couple of resolutions and bills today, but I wanted to start by thanking Councilmember Mark Squilla for putting forth the street renaming in honor of my friend and colleague Michael Hinson and to honor his bright legacy. Philadelphia lost a fierce advocate when Michael passed away, and we're honoring him today and commemorating the incredible advocacy to which he dedicated his life, as well as celebrating the lasting impact he has had on the LGBTQ+ community and the Philadelphia community. Michael was a pioneering figure in Philadelphia, actively working to combat the HIV/AIDS crisis and tackling homelessness head on as the head of SELF, Inc. He is dearly missed, but we continue to see the impact of his life's work every day, and I can't wait to see those signs on Chestnut Street. Second, I'd also like to invite Latinas in Tech event that will be held in the 6th Floor Law Library tomorrow at 3:30 that I am supporting with Councilmember Lozada. I'll be in attendance through my role as the Tech Committee Chair to celebrate the launch of the organization's new Philadelphia chapter. This non-profit organization is an important addition to Philadelphia's tech landscape, ensuring more representation and resources for these innovators and leaders throughout their industry. Hope to see you there. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank Councilmember Squilla and colleagues today for passing the resolution honoring Mike Hinson. Mike was a good friend of mine. I met both Board members on the Union Benevolent Association's Board. He believed in the power of community, and he was very instrumental in my legal career once I left this body as a staffer. I also want to echo the sentiments of Councilmember Thomas and thank District Council 33 for inviting some of us down there to their Delegates Convention. As the Chair of the Streets and Services Committee and the Vice Chair of Transportation and Public Utilities, a lot of their work comes under our purview in those committees. I want to thank Loree Jones today for speaking. Loree has been a mentor of mine since I was 18 years old, and I just want to let folks know about Philabundance and their Community Kitchen, which is located in the Fifth Council District. They have a free 16-week program for those Philadelphians that are eligible for SNAP benefits. You be on SNAP but be eligible for the benefits, and you can get a free 16-week culinary arts program where they help place you in some of the best restaurants in the City. So if anyone is interested in that program, they should please check out Philabundance's website. Just for a point of clarity on the Zoning Board, right? So the City doesn't force developers to go to the ZBA to develop projects. I just want to get that out there. Property owners seek variances because they want to build, develop or use their property in a manner that the law does not allow them to. So we don't force them to go seek variances. And variances should only be granted -this is what our Code says. Variances should only be granted when the literal enforcement of the Code will result in an unnecessary hardship. So let's put that clarity out there for folks to know, that as a zoning lawyer, variances are something that you seek when you're trying to do something that the law does not allow you to do. And with that, Mr. President, when I ran to represent the Fifth District, the number one issue on my mind, the number one priority was the reduction of gun violence. From the first moment I stood in front of a microphone as a member of this body, the topic of discussion was gun violence. As we enter into this budget season, we must not forget that the number one issue facing our city is gun violence, particularly amongst our youth. With that, we must ensure that every dollar invested is truly used to achieve this outcome of reducing gun violence. We must have tough conversations and come to the reality that the same old programs and organizations tasked with this call are not working, to echo Councilmember Thomas. This is a new time now. We the reason our children are dying. There seems to be no guidance for our children. They are being influenced by peers who lack critical thinking, conflict resolution, and simple comprehension skills. But who is to blame? What I see missing is accountability. We as elected officials must take accountability during the budget process. Our educational institutions must take accountability, and our parents in the community must take accountability. No one can pass the buck. No one should play the blame game, but we all must look inward and ask ourselves, what are we doing collectively to reduce gun violence in the City, particularly gun violence amongst our youth. So thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you. confident, extremely confident, that members of this body and those of us who have been around for years, we have always kept our foot on the gas around this particular issue, and I have countless examples, but it takes a comprehensive approach of all of us working together, all levels of government, the Administration as well as this independent body of City Council, and I'm pretty confident that we will continue working just as hard. I mean, Councilman Jones, so they have 140 recommendations that we'll be examining. We talk about collaborating and partnering with our legislators in Harrisburg. We just recently got a short win where the Commonwealth ruled in our favor as relates to banning ghost gun parts, right, a resolution I introduced as a member of City Council, which the court in Harrisburg actually upheld. It shows that we're going in the right direction. or may not know, it may not feel like it, but homicides and shootings are down, and that's from the work that this body has done. We've never invested in the history of this city 100-plus million dollars strictly focusing on violence prevention. So we have to continue to keep rowing and rowing in the right direction, and I'm pretty confident that there will be a brighter day in the City of Philadelphia if we're all working together. So continue to keep up the good work. At this particular time, I want to acknowledge Councilmember Thomas for a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Council President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, March 14th, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
It properly seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, March the 14th, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and this Council session is adjourned. ) 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. m. S. org. 158:14 61:22 87:10,25 18 99:16 94:15 88:5,9,19, worry welcoming 104:21 Willits 23 89:4,17 167:7 93:19 148:20 123:17 90:2,6,8, 150:7 wound wellness 10,14,15 166:9 Stated Meeting 50 03/07/2024 Wow 34:9,11 zoning 96:22 35:13,14 31:4,9 written 39:11,12 32:19,20 57:8 78:14 97:4 114:7 99:9 117:4 wrong 116:25 120:14,15 101:21 117:9,10 123:13,14 163:22,23 122:25 175:11,25 123:2 Y 125:19,20 y'all 127:24 108:19 130:2,3 year 134:23 60:23 152:14,23 73:12 153:8 88:11 154:14 91:17 156:10,20, 160:14 22 157:11, 16,18 years 158:9,16 58:14 163:7,18 66:18 165:12 79:20 173:19,20 87:23 88:7 97:11 youth 101:21 25:9 43:19 107:8 69:25 174:19 73:10 178:5 126:9,13 134:15 yellow 176:16 42:12 177:22 yesterday 143:8 Z 145:25 164:14 ZBA 96:25 yield 97:10,17, 42:17 98:2,4, York 5,14 28:25 175:12 young zones 28:14,15 53:17