Council President, I'd just like to be recorded as voting aye on all bills I missed while I was out.
Thank you very much. Will the Chief Clerk please read the title of the next resolution.
A privileged resolution, introduced by Councilmember Jones, honoring Dr. Chad Womack and the United Negro College Fund for their work to advance STEM education in the City of Philadelphia.
The Chair recognizes Councilmember Jones for a motion on the resolution.
The mind is a terrible thing to waste. 5/16/24 - STATED - 2ND READING I move for the adoption. (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 ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted. Will the Clerk please read the title of the next resolution.
A privileged resolution, introduced by Councilmember Young, honoring the life and legacy of Doris "Jean" Hackney, "The Grandmother of North Philadelphia."
Thank 5/16/24 - STATED - 2ND READING you, Mr. President. I move for its adoption. (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 ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted.
And a privileged resolution, introduced by Councilmember Young, authorizing the joint Committees on Public Safety and Streets and Services to hold hearings to investigate illegal street racing meetups in Philadelphia.
Council will be at ease. The Chair recognizes 5/16/24 - STATED - 2ND READING Councilmember Young for a motion on the resolution.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for its adoption. (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 ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted.
And a privileged resolution, introduced by Councilmember Brooks, celebrating May 28 as Women's Hygiene Day, recognizing the urgent need for the City to invest in addressing period poverty, and calling for an 5/16/24 - STATED - 2ND READING expanded period equity effort centered on educating and supplying communities across Philadelphia with women's hygiene resources.
The Chair recognizes Councilmember Brooks for a motion on the resolution.
Thank you, Council 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 will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted.
And a privileged 5/16/24 - STATED - 2ND READING resolution, introduced by Councilmember Bass, calling on the Committee of Health and Human Services to conduct a hearing regarding the efficacy and impact of recovery homes and transitional housing and to gather input from all stakeholders, including members of affected communities, representatives from recovery homes and transitional housing, and from those in recovery, to better understand the challenges and concerns from all perspectives.
The Chair recognizes Councilmember Bass for a motion on the resolution.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for adoption of the 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 ayes have it, and the resolution is adopted.
Council President, there are no other resolutions in my possession.
Before we go on to speeches, I want to ask if we can have a standing moment of silence for lifelong City Hall, particularly City Council, photographer, Mark Brooks. I'm sure most of the members who have been around and even the new members as well have had an opportunity to meet Mark. He played a pivotal role in helping us archive a lot of the memories that we have had serving in this Council body. He suddenly passed away this week. And so I'm just going to ask silence, standing moment of silence, on his behalf. (Moment of silence.)
Thank you. Are there any speeches on the part of the minority? The Chair recognizes Councilmember Kendra Brooks.
Thank you so much, Council President, and thank you for doing that moment of silence. We had a great loss. This morning we had a very special guest with us here today in City Hall and I was proud to welcome the second graders from Logan Elementary School and their teacher, Ms. Morgan Washington-Leslie, Logan students -- oh, they left. Let me skip that. My official: My office has established a partnership with Logan Elementary, along with four other Philadelphia public high schools. The for me to stay connected to what's going on in our school communities, share resources and opportunities for the students and the staff. Last December Carla Gamble and I visited the school for a holiday story time and giveaway. I also connected to the school with the Office of Community Engagement at Jefferson University, who donated a hydroponic garden system for year-round indoor gardening at the school. Today's visit is another piece of that partnership, and I'm looking forward to what's next to come. And I also want to thank Welcome America, Mural Arts, Visit Philadelphia for making sure these students leave with some awesome swag, and some of my Council colleagues who also made sure they had a bag full of treats. Last night I hosted Breaking Free from Eviction Records community in the Second District, and I want to thank Council President, alongside State Representative Ismail Smith Wade-El, Chairman Jordan Harris, State Rep Rick Krajewski, State Rep Elizabeth Fielder, Holly Beck from Community Legal Services, and a host of amazing community leaders. The event included a small group conversation and highlighted the impact of housing insecurity on young people, our seniors and shared legislative solutions as we listened to the hopes and concerns of community members, and I look forward to more community conversation and with Council's involvement. And also I would like to connect more with Councilmember Jones on Brith Sholom. The National Organization of Women estimates the average woman spends roughly $18,000 on period-related products over the course of their lives. For nearly half of low-income women in the United States, that means having to and menstrual products. Thousands of women and girls in Philadelphia cannot afford this basic necessity. This has serious consequences on their physical and emotional health, including forcing women to stay home from work and school. At the forefront of combatting this problem is Lynette Medley, the CEO and founder of No More Secrets and a creator of the nation's first menstrual hub, The SPOT Period, which distributes free menstrual products to people in need, and I'm so grateful that they're both doing this amazing work. I also want to highlight three hearings coming up next week. On Tuesday, in partnership with Minority Whip Nicholas O'Rourke, I will be holding a hearing on overdose crisis in Black communities across Philadelphia. Deaths by accidental overdose are getting worse in Philadelphia, and the rate of overdose the Black communities, specifically Black men ages 45 to 65. And we will be hearing from community members and experts about the state of public health infrastructure in our city and a range of evidence-based strategies that we can use to combat this crisis. And I want to thank Councilmember Nina Ahmad, the Chair of Committee on Public Health, for working with our office to host Tuesday's hearing. On Wednesday, we will be holding a hearing on the priority bid legislation that I introduced on Council President's behalf.
For years I've been advocating to protect and expand community gardens, and at our hearing next week -- I mean, our hearing last week, we heard about the many benefits for decreasing crime and stabilizing neighborhoods to provide healthy food and increasing climate resilience. Rising property values and pressure from developers are threatening in our city. In 1996, Philadelphia was home to over 500 community gardens, but over the past 25 years, we have lost over a third of those gardens, and once the land is sold, we will never get it back and we lose the opportunity to make Philadelphia a greener, more beautiful city for our children. Granting a priority bid to the Land Bank is a necessary step to allow community gardeners to take ownership of the land that they have been tending to for years. I would like to thank Councilmember Quetcy Lozada for her leadership as the Chair of Public Property Committee, which will be hosting the hearing on Wednesday morning. Also on Wednesday in partnership with Councilmember Gauthier, O'Rourke, and Landau, I will be holding a hearing on legislation to make the Eviction Diversion Program permanent. Eviction filings can destroy safe, affordable housing in the future, and the lasting harm of eviction records falls most heavily on Black women and their children. Of the people who enter the Eviction Diversion Program, nearly half reach an agreement without filing for eviction. At the hearing Wednesday afternoon, we will be hearing from tenants, landlords, and legal experts about the many successes of the program, which has been hailed as a national model for keeping families in their homes. We will also be examining the need for targeted financial assistance, also known as rental assistance. Under the leadership of then-Councilmember Johnson, we secured $30 million a year in rental assistance over the past two years. As noted in Mayor Parker's Five Year Plan, that funding has helped nearly 38,000 landlords recoup an average of about $4,000 in rental arrears. In total, nearly 10,000 landlord-tenant pairs have benefited from either mediation or rental assistance since 2020. By including $50 million in rental assistance in next year's budget, we will ensure that families can continue to access this critical financial support during our city's unprecedented housing crisis. Thank you so much, Council President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes -- you got a lot going on next week. The Chair recognizes Councilmember O'Rourke.
Thank you, Council President. I'll be quick. Just a couple of things I wanted to hit on. First, I was disturbed, deeply disturbed, to have to go on Monday night due to the update from my Director of classmates with Ms. Ondria Glaze, someone who was murdered. I was disturbed because I heard this was the third case of domestic violence this past month, I think, that has come up. And so that was alarming to me and certainly a downer. The next morning my spirit was lifted just a bit as I had the opportunity to see the renovations that are taking place at Ameya's Place. Much kudos to Women Against Abuse and the renovations that took place there, a shelter that is for those who are fleeing domestic abuse, and that's something that we need to keep our eyes on and continue to raise points about. Also in that spirit of celebration about good things, I had the honor of nominating, I guess appointing, Ms. Abena Ruiz to the new Philadelphia Commission for Women. She's a proud immigrant from Trinidad who works as a nanny and doula with a deep concern for families, and that was a big deal for me to be able to make that appointment because of her organizing work with the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Special place in my heart, as my grandmother was a domestic and I grew up in other people's homes that she was helped raising their children and families, and I know how important they are to the fabric of our society. And in conclusion, I wanted to send one more note of congratulations and appreciation for the workers that are organizing our city's largest employer, UPenn. It seems like when it comes to Penn, everything is big. They're not just the biggest employer, but they're also the City's largest property owner, private property owner. So the ripple effects of their workforce continually organizing and unionizing, it's fair to say, are sure to be big as well. I also want to thank my colleagues, all of you, for joining me in that unions belong at Penn, something that's become clearer and clearer as more workers realize their collective power, the power and solidarity. Graduate student workers came to that realization earlier this month when they came together to win their union certification election. Now the question is what that union as part of the larger coalition of Penn workers can actually achieve going forward. I certainly look forward to the impact this will have at the University and citywide, and I hope that we as members of this body remain in steadfast solidarity with the coalition of workers at Penn. I want to say once more, unions belong at Penn. So we as a body expect timely, timely contract negotiations in good faith from the University, because anything less than that I think is unbecoming of an institution that anchors our city and doesn't pay too many taxes of property. After all, Philly is a union town. As they say in the streets, get up, get down, Philly is a union town. We can't just talk about it, but we got to be about it. Thank you, Mr. President.
You're welcome. Speeches on behalf of the majority? Councilmember Phillips.
Two weeks ago I -- thank you, Council President. Two weeks ago I introduced legislation to rename the West Oak Lane Library the Dwight Evans Library West Oak Lane. Well, today is Congressman Dwight Evans' 70th birthday. So I just want to say happy 70th birthday to Congressman Dwight Evans from all of us in the City of Philadelphia and thank you for being a trailblazing community servant and Philadelphian, but especially in Northwest. us in City Council, happy 70th birthday, Dwight Evans.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Jones.
Thank you, Mr. President. Today on behalf of the Administration, the Parker Administration, we introduced a bump stock prohibition. There's an African proverb that says how do you eat an elephant, and the answer is one bite at a time. You won't stop gun violence, you won't stop the proliferation of weapons in our city until you take it on one bite at a time, being oblivious to and not fearful of being sued. You proved that if we persist, we prohibited ghost guns. Matter of fact, we got a couple of dollars back for it. So fighting the good fight is what It is unfair to the citizens of Philadelphia but to our officers on the street that every day go out to protect us, and with this piece of trigger mechanism, imagine this, as fast as you can pull your trigger, it fires twice as fast, because it pulls it, shoots. When you let it go, it shoots again, almost creating a weapon that is on automatic. Our officers come out with their standard issued guns, face all kinds of unknowns, but what they should not have to face is trigger enhancements. The secret is it's not as much the caliber of the gun, it's how many pieces of lead come at you quickly, and it's not uncommon for us to see 100 spent shells at a crime scene because of these trigger mechanisms. You, I, and former President Darrell Clarke went up to a gun show, and it was like the movie scene in Jaws. We all backed up gaping and said, we need a boat, because I never saw that many tables full of guns in my life and, more importantly, some of the parking lot transactions that happen after it. So this city, this Administration, our Mayor is doing what she can in the way that she can to protect citizens and police officers in the City of Philadelphia. So I would hope you will consider this prohibition favorably. Thank you, Mr. President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilmember J. Young.
Thank you, Mr. President. This past Tuesday, the Fairmount Civic Association hosted an emergency town hall to discuss the proposal for 2100 Girard Avenue. It was a well-attended meeting. Over 200, close to 300 residents attended this meeting because they are concerned about their to have answers to some of these questions. We are fortunate, and I want to thank the Mayor for sending the Managing Director and her Chief of Staff to this meeting to try to answer some questions, but there are many, many questions that were left unanswered, and as we continue this process, I want the folks in Fairmount and the Fifth District as a whole to know that we are here fighting for you and we will make sure that you get every answer you deserve, because when something has a negative impact in your quality of life, it's up to us as your Councilmembers to fight for you and to make sure that your rights, your safety, and your welfare is protected. This evening I will also be back in the Fairmount community. Today is Bache in Bloom, which is Bache Martin's annual fundraiser. So I will be at the Bache Martin Elementary School this evening from 4:00 to 7:00, is the anyone is able to come, please attend. This Saturday is also the Girard Avenue Festival sponsored by myself, State Representative Donna Bullock, and the Fairmount CDC. And so if anyone wants to come out, there are performances, there are resources. Please bring your family and enjoy this Girard Avenue Festival for the Fairmount and Brewerytown communities. And that will be between 26th and 29th Street on Girard Avenue. For my Girard College alumni, happy Founders' Day. Founders' Day is Saturday, so please come out as well to fellowship with your fellow Girardians. And I will also be at a town hall this Sunday at Makkah Masjid on 13th and Susquehanna talking about the state of the Muslim community here in Philadelphia. So please come out if you are in that particular area this Sunday from o'clock until o'clock. you, Mr. President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Rue Landau.
Thank you, Council President. Good afternoon, everybody. It's a late one. I want to start by thanking my colleagues for your support on my tax preparation transparency bill. It passed today. It will mean that next year during tax season, tax preparers will have to disclose their fees up front. This means no more hidden fees for consumers to go to big tax preparers who go through sometimes hours-long process just to be hit with high fees in the end. In Philadelphia, there's over 50,000 eligible Philadelphians who are not -- who are eligible for and not receiving the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is the greatest anti-poverty That's free money for our neighbors and for our family members. Tax prep can be expensive and confusing, and free services with IRS-accredited tax preparers are available in Philadelphia. We estimate that $64 million could be returned to low-income Philadelphians if they use free tax prep services. And one big reason for the lack of participation is that some unscrupulous corporate for-profit tax preparers don't disclose their prices up front and they use tricky ads to lure consumers in. While there's plenty of work to be done on consumer protection in Philadelphia, I'd like to again thank my colleagues for the rich conversation about this bill and for the work we were able to do to get it across the finish line. I'm confident that the disclosure of these fees will lead to not only more money in the pockets of Philadelphians Philadelphians considering and learning about free tax prep services alternatives like VITA. And, second, I'd just like to give a shout-out to Councilmember Curtis Jones and his office for their work with Brith Sholom and the continued work on fighting for safe, habitable, and affordable housing there, and also for the swift implementation of the Necessary Urgent Repair Program of L&I. I look forward to working with my colleagues so we can find a positive resolution to the situation soon. And, finally, I'd like to shout out Councilmember Jones for his bill which I co-sponsored banning bump stocks on guns. This is a commonsense regulation. With gun violence still raging here in Philadelphia, this is one of the steps we must take as a legislative body to move closer to mitigating gun violence in Philadelphia. Thank you.
Thank you. Very good bill. Young people call them switches. That's what they call them in the streets these days, but definitely need to be prohibited. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Cindy Bass.
Thank you, Mr. President. I'll be brief. I just wanted to say just a couple of things. The first is that in my tenure here in City Council, you come across a lot of different people, and we've sort of seen them come and seen them go. Mark Brooks was a class act. He was a great guy. He was a part of the City Council family, and he was here from day one when I arrived, and he was just a joy and a pleasure to work with, always smiling, always positive, always friendly, never having a bad day despite, you know, whatever his physical or health limitations and challenges were. And so he is going to be missed, because he was guy and, you know, he was really a special individual, so he's going to be missed. I just wanted to say just a couple of things really briefly. I wanted to thank everyone who came out to our expungement clinic and Family Fun Day at Panati Playground on North 22nd Street this past Saturday. We had about 400 or 500 folks who showed up, and we wanted to give much thanks to Keisha Hudson and the Public Defender's Office and also Community Legal Services, Darrell Schuler, Herb Beans and the crew, and everyone who contributed to making it such a success, Allegheny West Foundation and so many others. It was just a great turnout, and it's a reminder of the need for such services, that people really do want to get their situations in order. We want more, we want better for our community, and this is something that we have to provide on a more regular basis. So I look forward to working you, Mr. President, as we work to formalize these kinds of events throughout the entire City of Philadelphia, because they came from near and far and wide to be able to get some service. So I just wanted to say this. And I also just wanted to remind everybody before we let go of today's Council session --
Right. I got more. I got more. Before we let go of today's Council session, that we're going to have a very important street renaming this coming Saturday for Frankie Beverly, Philadelphia's own. It's going to be this coming Saturday, and the location was just recently moved from Germantown to the Dell to accommodate the enormity of the crowd that we expect to attend. It's going to be from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m., and the event will be held sunshine or rain, which can be joy or pain. So let us come together. We are one in honoring this Philadelphia native. And, again, 12:00 to 2:00 Saturday will be the golden time of day as we stir up happy feelings and say to Frankie Beverly, I want to thank you. And so let's get together and come out and celebrate him. (Applause.)
You're welcome. I don't know, Councilman O'Rourke. You're getting your run for your money. I don't know. Before we adjourn, just good work, everyone. Very robust group of initiatives that everybody is either working on or upcoming. So it just shows that we're all working collectively to Philadelphia forward. So I just wanted to publicly acknowledge that. At this time, the Chair recognizes Councilmember Isaiah Thomas for a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Council President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, May 23rd, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. sharp. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, May the 23rd, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and the motion carries. ) 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. m. d.