Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA STATED MEETING Via Microsoft Teams Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, June 4, 2020 10:24 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS COUNCILMAN ALLAN DOMB COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE RICHARDSON COUNCILMAN DEREK S. GREEN COUNCILWOMAN HELEN GYM COUNCILMAN BOBBY HENON COUNCILMAN KENYATTA JOHNSON COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN DAVID OH COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILWOMAN CHERELLE L. PARKER COUNCILWOMAN MARIA D. QUINONES-SANCHEZ COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA COUNCILMAN ISAIAH THOMAS MICHAEL A. DECKER, CHIEF CLERK Stated Meeting June 4, 2020
Thank you. Sorry for the delay. Good morning. We'll start out by giving you some information, a requirement under this particular new normal. I understand that the state law currently requires that the following announcement be made at the beginning of every remote Council session as we are still in the red and it's not clear to me when we'll be able to physically meet in City Council Chambers. Due to the current public health emergency, we're obviously in remote session. We are using Microsoft Teams to make this remote meeting possible. Instructions for how the public may view the meeting and offer public comment are included in the Stated Meeting notice that was published in the Daily News, Inquirer, and Legal Intelligencer prior to the meeting and can also be found on PHLCouncil.com. We're going to get started now. Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 the hour has come, so I'm going to ask the Clerk, please call the roll to take attendance. Members obviously will indicate by saying present, but also add an additional word to make sure that your sound is picked up. Mr. Stitt.
Good morning. Present, and looking forward to today's proceedings.
Hi. This is Alison from Councilwoman Brooks' staff. She Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 is on her way to City Hall now, but may not be able to participate until she's reconnected.
Good morning, Council President, colleagues, and the public.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues and everyone. Happy to be here today.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. Happy to be here Stated Meeting June 4, 2020
Good morning, colleagues. Happy to be here today. Look forward to our conversation at today's Council session.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. Look forward to our work today.
Good morning, Council President, and good morning, colleagues.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. I want to also say thank all of you for your prayers, your words of encouragement, and your words of support during the passing of my sister. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Councilman, and our prayers continue to be with you and your family.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. Good morning, Philadelphia. We will survive.
Good morning. Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues.
Good morning, Councilman. Stated Meeting June 4, 2020
Good morning, colleagues. Good morning, Council President, and good morning to the people of Philadelphia.
Good morning, Council President and colleagues. Look forward to our work today. Thank you.
Good morning, Council President and colleagues. Looking forward to a good day's work.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. Happy to be here, ready to do the people's work.
Good morning. Thank you. And excuse me, Mr. Decker, for not acknowledging you today as the Clerk for the session. So we're going to get started. Despite the great need, we're not going to have an invocation today, so we will first, however, observe a very brief Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 prayer for our city, its leaders, and the citizens on this current public health crisis. So may we please have a moment of silence. (Moment of silence.)
Thank you. And to further recognize the challenging times that we find ourself in, we just would like to acknowledge everything that's going on. We have been full participants in all aspects of it. To our citizens, to all of those who are watching us that have been involved in whatever way you have, we would like to at this time, we're going to take a knee, and we're going to take a knee obviously to recognize what we're going through as a nation, as a city, but we want to take a knee to recognize the memory of George Floyd. The individual, until this particular time, was pretty much anonymous to us all, but now we Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 symbol of all of the things that could be wrong in this country. I think the most important aspect of what happened as a result of that is that we come out of this stronger, better, more unified to move forward all of the things to right as much as possible the wrongs that have been done. I think that if we don't do that, the memory of George Floyd will be lost. I'm just very concerned about the direction that we could conceivably go in. But today, this morning, I'm going to ask all members to please take a knee in this virtual format, so as we speak. Can we all please take a knee in the memory of George Floyd and his unfortunate death. (Councilmembers pause to take a knee.)
Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 Okay, colleagues. Thank you very much. Thank you. We will follow that up by doing work to move our country, our city, and for all the citizens move forward in the right direction. I want to thank you so much for that. Our next order of business is the approval of the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, May 21st, 2020, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, May 21st, 2020 be approved. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, May 21st, 2020 stand approved. All those in favor say aye. (Aye.)
Those opposed? Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 (No response.)
The ayes have it, and the Journal is approved. Our next order of business is requests for leave of absence, and the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Parker.
Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the members of Council, there are no requests for leaves of absence today.
Thank you so much, Councilwoman. Our next order of business is communications, and the Clerk, Mr. Decker, will please read the messages from the Mayor and other communications that he may have in his possession today.
To the President and members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, per your request that my Administration note all business before Council that should be considered relating to our response to the pandemic Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 necessary to allow for expedited action, I respectfully report and submit for the consideration of your honorable body the following: An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into an Amendment to a Joint-Use Agreement with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania pursuant to which certain parcels of real estate constituting the I-95 right-of-way, located beneath the elevated highway between the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and the Walt Whitman Bridge, are leased to the City of Philadelphia by the Commonwealth, subleased by the Interstate Land Management Corporation; and An ordinance amending an Ordinance (Bill No. 180293), entitled "An ordinance authorizing the revision of lines and grades on a portion of City Plan Nos. 34-S and 41-S by striking from the City Plan and vacating the legally Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 of Packer Avenue from Christopher Columbus Boulevard to the Pierhead Line of the Delaware River and reserving and placing on the City Plan a right-of-way for sewer and drainage purposes, water main purposes, and public utility purposes within the lines of Packer Avenue being stricken and authorizing acceptance of the grant to the City of the said right-of-way"; and An ordinance authorizing the Procurement Commissioner, on behalf of the City, to enter into a concession agreement with Bicycle Transit Systems, Incorporated for the operation, maintenance and expansion of a bicycle sharing system, an essential service during the COVID-19 period; and An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City, to acquire fee simple title, or a lesser interest in real estate, by purchase, dedication, donation, condemnation, agreement in lieu Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 of condemnation, or otherwise, in parcels of land along the Delaware River and in the bed of the former Kensington & Tacony Railroad, all under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you very much, Mr. Decker. That will be reflected in the record. Our next order of business is the introduction of bills and resolutions, and the Clerk will please read the titles of the legislation that is being offered today by the members.
Councilwoman Parker offers one bill, entitled "An ordinance amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code to create a new Chapter 9-5000, entitled 'Food Delivery Services,' to regulate third-party food delivery services, require certain disclosures to consumers, and provide for a limitation on certain fees charged to consumers."
This Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson introduces one non-privileged resolution, entitled a "Resolution encouraging the City of Philadelphia to support local business and shorten the supply chain by locally sourcing COVID-19 related equipment, supplies, and services from local businesses and suppliers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency."
Thank you. Mr. Decker, did you say that was privileged?
Non-privileged, okay. Thank you. This will be placed on the Final Passage Calendar at our next session of Council.
Councilman Henon offers one bill, entitled "An ordinance Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City, to acquire fee simple title, or a lesser interest in real estate, by purchase, dedication, donation, condemnation, agreement in lieu of condemnation, or otherwise, in parcels of land along the Delaware River and in the bed of the former Kensington & Tacony Railroad."
That bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
Councilman Jones offers an ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by 56th Street, Arch Street, Conestoga Street, and Market Street.
That bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
Councilman Johnson offers two bills, entitled "An Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 ordinance amending Chapter 19-3200 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Keystone Opportunity Zone, Economic Development District, and Strategic Development Area,' to provide for additional extensions of certain benefits, for the purpose of facilitating economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic"; and An ordinance amending Title 14 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Zoning and Planning," to amend certain provisions of Chapter 14-500, entitled "Overlay Zoning Districts," by creating the "/WSC West Chestnut Street Overlay District."
Thank you. These bills will be referred to the appropriate committees.
Councilwoman Sanchez offers two bills, entitled "An ordinance amending Title 14 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Zoning and Planning,' to amend certain provisions of Chapter 14-500, entitled 'Overlay Zoning Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 Districts,' by creating the '/AME, American Street Overlay District'"; and An ordinance amending the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Norris Street, American Street, Berks Street, and 3rd Street; and amending Title 14 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Zoning and Planning," to amend certain provisions of Chapter 14-500, entitled "Overlay Zoning Districts," by creating the "/BNA Berks and American Overlay District."
Thank you. Those bills will be referred to the appropriate committee.
Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez also offers a privileged resolution authorizing City Council's Committees on Public Health and Human Services and Commerce and Economic Development to consider the City of Philadelphia's revenue collection and Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 regulatory policies for businesses and property owners to support economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
Councilman Domb offers two bills, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the operation of sidewalk cafes during the COVID-19 emergency until December 31, 2020 in areas of the City where such activity currently must be otherwise authorized by special ordinance, and allowing expanded activity by currently licensed sidewalk cafe operations"; and An ordinance amending Chapter 11-100 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "General Provisions," to authorize the Streets Department to permit closure of the public right-of-way, including on street parking spaces, for public health, welfare and safety purposes during the COVID-19 public health emergency until December 31, 2020, including expansion of Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 business uses that cannot operate in indoor environments or have limited indoor capacity and/or service due to the COVID-19 emergency.
Thank you. Those will be referred to the appropriate committee.
Councilman Thomas offers one bill, entitled "An ordinance amending Section 17-109 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Local Bidding Preferences,' to amend reporting requirements to require the establishment of local business usage goals and reporting on reaching such goals as a way to assist community businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic."
That bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
Councilman Squilla offers two bills, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 Philadelphia, to enter into an Amendment to a Joint-Use Agreement with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania pursuant to which certain parcels of real estate constituting the I-95 right-of-way, located beneath the elevated highway between the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and the Walt Whitman Bridge, are leased to the City of Philadelphia by the Commonwealth, subleased by the Interstate Land Management Corporation"; and An ordinance amending an Ordinance (Bill No. 180293), entitled "An ordinance authorizing the revision of lines and grades on a portion of City Plan Nos. 34-S and 41-S by striking from the City Plan and vacating the legally open portions of Packer Avenue from Christopher Columbus Boulevard to the Pierhead Line of the Delaware River and reserving and placing on the City Plan a right-of-way for sewer and drainage purposes."
That Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 will be referred to the appropriate committee.
Councilman Oh offers one privileged resolution, entitled a "Resolution recognizing May 2020 as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Philadelphia to commemorate the proud heritage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and their vital contributions that continue to enhance the City's culture, economy, and the founding ideals of independence and democracy."
There are no other bills or resolutions being offered by the members today, Mr. President.
Thank you very much, Mr. Decker. We have no reports from committee today. Let me quickly recognize today's introduction of bills. This particular session was targeted for Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 2ND READING legislation or resolutions that will help facilitate the opening of the economy to provide opportunities for much-needed jobs. So we have focused on that today in this Council session. The following session we will be addressing a number of issues, particularly issues that relate to some of the current environment, but today we'll be focusing on things that will help us deal with this particular economy. We anticipate having a significant number of issues addressed in our next session of Council. Very, very important issue. Our next order of business is the consideration of the Calendar. I note there are no bills on the First Reading Calendar, but today we are only considering those legislative matters on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar that directly pertain to the COVID-19 crisis. A reminder that we are still in Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 2ND READING the pandemic. There are two such matters on the Calendar. The prime sponsors of those matters have already communicated their desire to have those matters considered today. I, therefore, recognize Councilwoman Parker for the purpose of calling up those matters from the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar.
Thank you, Mr. President. The following resolutions are being called up from the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendars today. They are Nos. 200332 and 200337. All other resolutions and bills are being held.
Thank you, Councilwoman. Before considering these resolutions, we will consider public comment. It will go as follows: Under normal circumstances, public comment must concern matters on the Second Reading and Final Passage Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 Calendars for possible action at a session of Council. A speaker on any of those matters must sign up in order to testify. You must call 215-686-3406 by 5:00 p.m. the day before the session to sign up for public comment. When you call, we will take your number and your name and the number of your legislative item you are commenting on and whether you are in support of or against the legislation that you add to your list. We will telephone each person on the list during Council session and invite them to our remote meetings, and under ideal circumstances, they will have -- we will have two minutes to speak given the timeframe and the challenges that we have before us. In order to be fair to all those wishing to speak, we're going to please ask for individuals to please adhere to the time limit. We have Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 consistently had a lot of individuals that have indicated an interest in testifying, and we encourage that, but we do want to make sure that everybody has an opportunity. So there will be a timer that will monitor your time. When you hear a ringing of a bell, maybe a little slight, the first ring will indicate that you have 30 seconds to conclude your remarks. When you hear the longer ring, that will mean that your two minutes are up. Thank you so much for your participation and thank you so much for your adherence to the guidelines that we have been appointed. So you're going to be muted and disconnected from the remote meeting after you conclude your testimony. Thank you very much. So, again, comment is limited to the matters called up by Councilwoman Parker, Resolutions No. 200332 and 200337. Thank you very much. Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 Mr. Decker.
William Elder. There will be a brief pause as public commenters are connected, Mr. President.
Thank you. Hello. My name is William Elder. I'm a resident of Philadelphia's Second District. Thank you for taking my comment today. While I support the spirit of Resolution 200267 to the fullest, I'm calling today because I find the proposition that it could be implemented in any meaningful way completely Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 farcible. The events of the last week have reminded us once again that too many law enforcement officials across the country are unable to use their own fists, elbows, and knees in a manner that does not infringe on individuals' civil liberties, more often than not African American citizens. Providing the Police Department with more military-grade technology than they amplified will simply just give cover to such biases, is dangerous, and unnecessary, and a toothless resolution will not prevent its abuse in a police culture that too often views itself as above the law, particularly when policing minority communities. Rather than adopt this resolution, I call on the City Council to stand together against the police union in order to demilitarize the City's Police Department, to substantially reduce the Department's budget, to ban Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 the use of facial recognition technology in any capacity, and to bring about real reform in our Police Department before we have another George Floyd-like tragedy in Philadelphia rather than waiting until it's too late. The NAACP and social activists both offered bullet point police reform recommendations that I encourage Council to consider. In closing, black lives matter. John McNesby is trash. I yield the rest of my time.
Yes. Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 You're commenting on what resolution or bill? I just want to clarify.
Okay. All right. So we actually are only calling up for public comment for 200332, 200337, but you are on now, so please proceed.
The problem is -- but just proceed. We're only calling up a couple of matters on the Calendar given the current COVID-related situation. So we're only calling up certain bills for public comment session, but you're already on, so just please proceed.
Wonderful. Cool. Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 So I was under the impression that I was going to speak on Resolution 200267, Councilmember Jones's resolution on -
Sir, sir, I just said just go ahead. Just go ahead, because you're taking up your time.
Oh, sorry about that. I was calling to express opposition to the resolution, but only because I believe that the terrain has shifted. I deeply respect the foresight of Councilmember Jones and the concerns that others share for our civil liberties, but this resolution was introduced in March, and although everyone who is listening to this call is in different parts of the City, I think if you look outside, you'll see that the terrain has shifted. The resolution speaks intelligently and perceptively to the automation of law enforcement tactics and Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 is rightfully suspicious of the underlying framework in which facial recognition technology is being placed, idea that it only lacks confidence. I think that Philadelphia is a city of forward-thinkers and activists and heirs to luminaires like Du Bois, and we should withdraw this resolution and reintroduce another as soon as possible to call for a moratorium on facial recognition usage by law enforcement until such a time as regulations are written by a civilian-led body and implemented first. We should write the rule book before we play the game. We wouldn't be the first to do this. San Francisco has and four towns outside of Boston have as well. Portland and Boston themselves are considering these bans right now, and Philadelphia has an opportunity to join them. A moratorium is a moderate assertion given what is going on and given the conduct that we have seen. Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 People are paying attention, and people want to know that you'll protect us. We can't be laissez-faire. This issue touches all aspects of our lives, and to vest this regulation in the Roundhouse and in federal LEOs is not something that this Council with the leaders that it has should allow. Algorithms that run through the City should be made to work for the people, should be controlled by the people. You can't eliminate bias in code because someone has the code, but you can control bias, and you can lay a foundation that is bias for us. I urge the Council only to withdraw this resolution and to return quickly with a stronger stance on facial recognition to make Philadelphia a light and to start working with the people who are out in the street to show us a way forward from a lot of the distrust and a lot of the dishonesty that we have seen. Thank you for your time.
Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 Thank you. Before we go to the next speaker, I just wanted to go over something briefly that I omitted earlier. I just want to say to the individuals that are going to be speaking, this is a public meeting, and the public meeting is being recorded. So because the meeting is public, participants and viewers have no reasonable expectation of privacy. So by continuing to be in the meeting, you are consenting to be recorded. So, Mr. Decker, please proceed with the next witness.
Mr. President, I apologize to the body. There are no speakers on the resolutions you indicated, 200332 and 200337. The remaining speakers are all on Resolution No. 200267. Shall I continue calling those names, Mr. President?
Yeah. I mean, it's a relevant issue. We didn't call it up until people called in Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 to sign up for that. So just let the individuals state their position on that particular resolution.
Good. Just state your name for the record and please proceed with your testimony.
Hi. My name is Hannah Sassaman. I am the Policy Director at Movement Alliance Project and I was hoping to speak on the facial recognition resolution as well, but I can also speak on 332. At this moment in history, it is extremely important for all of the members of Council who have a deep commitment to their communities and a Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 deep commitment to all of the rioting of the City of Philadelphia to understand that both the rhetoric that we are seeing all over the City that Councilmember Gym spoke about in her resolution and the complications of facial recognition and the bias that it can potentially embed that Councilman Jones put forward in his are deeply tied to the hundreds of years of racial oppression that black communities are rising up against right now. The City Council has one moment with this budget session to listen to the call from the streets to de-fund the Police, to take that $14 million excess that they were granted in the budget and to put it into Office of Workforce Development, housing, into rec centers, and the community supports and services that truly help us thrive in the poorest big city in America with vibrant black and brown communities. We are supporting you in trying Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 to take that brave stand right now and thinking deeply about your commitment to your neighborhoods and how coming out of this extraordinary moment in history and this crisis we can transform them by doing what the City of Los Angeles did last night and taking money that is earmarked for the Police and putting it instead into our communities. Even though some of the resources are tied up in contracts, there are over $700 million extra in that budget that are not necessarily tied up in contracts that can be reinvested as the movement for black lives and as thousands upon thousands of people and millions nationwide are saying. I'm grateful for this opportunity to speak. I know you will be hearing from many more people. And, finally, I would say that the budget session for public testimony that you have open on June 9th is already full. It is absolutely incumbent upon Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 Council to open up at least one, if not more than one, session for the people in the streets who are saying invest in our communities and divest from policing, from technology for policing are able to speak to you. I am grateful very much, and I yield the rest of my time.
Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony.
Thank you, Mr. President. I truly appreciate the comments and insights of the public about the resolution dealing with the use of facial recognition, but what that intent of that resolution is not to promote and further the use of facial recognition technology, but to discover if we are indeed utilizing it and how. Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 So if there is a misunderstanding on how, we are having a hearing to open up to the public, to be transparent about City resources being used for that. I wanted to put that on the record, Mr. President. Thank you.
Just state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony. Stated Meeting June 4, 2020
Absolutely. My name is Gregory Allbright. I'm a Ph.D. student at Drexel University. I have worked with some colleagues in the STS, Science Technology Studies Department, talking about issues of surveillance and facial recognition, and all of the literature I've read and what I've seen shows that this technology once it's used, it's really hard to roll back. It leads to lots of civil rights issues, lots of things that just create more problems than is solved. So I would encourage the Council to vote against this bill. Thank you very much.
Good morning. Ms. Grant, can you speak up a little. It's hard for us to hear you. Stated Meeting June 4, 2020
Could you speak a little louder. We're having difficulty hearing you. And just state your name for the record.
Yes. It's a little better. Can you just state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.
My name is Nikki Grant. I'm an attorney with Amistad Law Project and a resident of West Philadelphia in the Third District. I'm here to testify in favor of Resolution 200267. For decades, we have seen police forces across the country gather more resources and tools, often with little to no accountability. The Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 evolution of SWAT, the SWAT team, is one example. Try looking for police units that will effect the military reform of 1960. You won't find them. SWAT was created in the '60s largely in response to uprising of black people across the country calling for justice. SWAT radically transformed police forces across the country, turning local police into the military. On Sunday, I watched in horror just blocks away from my house as a man, clad in military gear, shot tear gas into my neighborhood at black youth who are fed up at being criminalized and killed by police. But that's not all. Not only do these militarized units harass people in my community, their insatiable hunger for new toys (inaudible) away from things my community needs. And so I turn to facial recognition software, or FRS. Just like SWAT before it, this technology and the police units and practices that it will Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 create around it will radically transform the police once again to our communities' detriment. If we allow the police to add FRS to their arsenal, they will become big brother. So since we have normalized the (inaudible) of police, soon we will normalize the common presence of police surveillance on the entire populus. Not only do I support setting clear boundaries and transparent policies around the use of FRS, I completely oppose the City, the State or the federal government sending any money already sourced for technologies that will heighten its motivation of everyday life for black people. The issue is twofold. Not only is this a concern about how FRS chills (inaudible) speech and props up mass incarceration, there's also a concern about how these technologies drain resources from our communities and siphons away tax dollars. In addition to asserting Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 boundaries and clear practices around FRS, City Council can take action with our poorer communities who are clamoring for justice by rejecting the $14 million increase to the Police budget. Twenty-five thousand Philadelphians have signed a petition with Amistad Law Project, started working a week ago, calling for just that. So I call on City Council to (inaudible) Resolution 200267 and I call on City Council to reject any increase in funding for the Police. Thank you.
Just please state your name for the record and Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 proceed with your testimony.
Hello. My name is Devren Washington and -- I'm sorry. I'm testifying right now?
Okay. I'm sorry. Yes. My name is Devren Washington and I am testifying regarding the bill -- or regarding the resolution on facial recognition, and I just want to extend a thank you for holding this space in order for the public to testify regarding this resolution. I've been advocating against the use of facial recognition technology for some time, and now is the time for the community and our elected officials to be having that conversation. As an organizer and as an organizer with Black Lives Matter, I understand that we are in a deeply principled struggle for the soul of our city, and the technological capabilities of those in power is of paramount concern Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 to me and my fellow organizers more broadly. And so this technology, especially where it's going, where cameras are able to track the movements of people and where this is a use in which you are forcing people to basically hold their identification, hold their ID like on their face, right, it really just does not serve the public and it endangers marginalized communities, because it allows for racist police officers to be able to track people almost with impunity. I understand that the use of facial recognition technology right now is not widely known, and that is also very concerning to me, but I think right now Council is in a great position to use this resolution to call on the Mayor to actually just ban its use throughout the City of Philadelphia, because in reality, we are asking for the City -- I mean, for the State and for the federal government to provide the policy on facial Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 recognition technology. I feel like that only legitimizes its use, and we don't need to be parsing -- we don't need to be figuring out like how it can be used safely. We need to just ban it indefinitely so that we can protect our First Amendment rights, right? Because if you look at Ferguson, everything coming out of Ferguson -- and as of right now, six people, six organizers that were present in the Ferguson uprising had been murdered. And so we know that there's a long history of police surveillance of black movements and of black people, and so if Council wants to show solidarity for the moment that we are in nationally, they should use this moment to be on the right side of history and do the right thing in this moment, which is calling on the Mayor to ban the use of facial recognition by executive order. So thank you so much for hearing my testimony, and I hope Council can make the right decision. Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 Thank you.
Yes. You're actually in the public meeting, so if you can just state your name and proceed with your testimony.
Great. Thank you. My name is Phil Mayfair. I'm calling to object to Bill 200267 and the Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 use in funding of facial recognition technology by the Philadelphia Police. I am pretty afraid that such technology will negatively affect vulnerable populations, especially black men and women, especially after how horribly the police have acted last week in response to protests. I also oppose this bill since it would seem to pull resources away from areas like education and public health. Thank you for your time.
Good morning. Just please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony. And can you make your voice a little louder.
Okay. And we know what this is regarding, right? My name is Enny Ibomian and I'm basically speaking about facial recognition, passing that bill. And so in a time where we lack policing reform, we do not need to add fuel to the fire of police brutality against people's color, especially black and brown communities. In addition, I think a facial recognition tool will be used to violate our First Amendment rights, even if it's done inadvertently. No matter how clear boundaries and transparent policies -how many clear boundaries and transparent policies you try to establish regarding the use of facial recognition technology, you can't overcome the bigotry and racism Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 that lies in the human heart. This is not the time to implement this policy, and doing this will only guarantee a state-endorsed genocide of black and brown people in our community and in our city. Thanks.
Just state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony. If you could lift your voice a little higher. It's difficult to hear you.
How is this? Is this loud enough? Stated Meeting June 4, 2020
Great. Thank you. My name is Dr. Oliver Harris. I'm a resident of Fishtown and I hold a doctorate in chemical and biological engineering from Drexel University. I am against any resolution that allows for the use of facial recognition software by the Philadelphia Police or any other department within the Philadelphia City structure. We all have a lot to do today to take care of our fellow Philadelphians, so I'll make this as quick as I can. You've already heard from many other concerned Philadelphians about all of the various inadequacies in any sort of regulation of this software, so I'm only going to highlight what I think is salient here. Every single First Amendment advocacy group, civil rights group, civil liberties group is immanently opposed to Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 using this technology by the Police Department. You should consider the already published positions by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties, ACLU. You've already heard that fellow cities have already banned its use, including Cambridge, Massachusetts and San Francisco. And, in fact, I want to draw attention to the specific technology being considered here, Clearview AI that Philly PD piloted in November. New Jersey as a state has already banned this technology from being used by its Police Department. So now I want to focus on this current moment. Other Philadelphians have already told you surveillance technologies exacerbate pre-existing racial biases in policing. News outlets like Wired, Gizmodo, Fox, and BuzzFeed have all documented that these technologies fail to distinguish between facial features of black people, which Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 invariably leads to disproportionately high false positives for black people. Even the Department of Homeland Security and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, have published results documenting the abject failure of this technology to be equitable. Additionally, in this time where everyone is wearing masks to protect public health, we are going to undoubtedly see spikes in misidentifications from this technology's use. Finally, I submit that the entire enterprise of predictive policing has been wisely denounced as an inherently racist approach to public safety and must be dismantled to ensure the safety of the people of this city. Now I want to focus on the specific department in question. Last year we learned that hundreds of officers within Philly PD were active members and racist Facebookers. Two Jewish former Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 officers are suing the Department over the discrimination they faced, and there's even an officer who was rehired by the Department, Officer Lickterman, who has a visible Nazi tattoo that continues to go viral worldwide week after week. So do you honestly believe that Philadelphians are going to feel safe with these same racist officers getting unfettered access to even more invasive tools to terrorize our communities? At a time when trust between the people and the police is at the lowest point in anyone's living memory and when every Philadelphian is hurting for real change, you all have an opportunity here to do the right thing. Right now this very same department is being documented every day infringing on civil liberties, breaking international laws governing use of chemical weapons on civilians, and showing blatant disregard for the life and safety of Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 Philadelphians. Is this the legacy that you want to be known for, enabling more of this? You can get out in front of this.
You can lead cities nationwide in defending your constituents from the inherent violence of facial technician software or you can cower to the police, who already face no accountability for their wrongdoings and likely would never face any consequences if their violence can be blamed on a simple algorithm malfunction. To be clear, anything less than an outright ban is enabling the next George Floyd to happen here, and we cannot allow that. Black lives matter. Act now or stand down. I yield my time.
Two things. One, so that if people feel that the intent of that resolution, not a bill, was to further facial recognition, that is not the case. So we will withdraw the resolution to provide greater clarity. The intention of the resolution was to find out where they are actually using that technology unbeknownst to City Council, and I appreciate the advocates who are bringing this strong opposition to our attention. But, again, for further clarification, that was not our intention. We want to be informed about when and where this type of technology is being used in the City of Philadelphia and for what purpose. So going forward, we can make a motion after public comment to withdraw that resolution to find out where this is being used and we'll figure out a way to Stated Meeting June 4, 2020 get that through the budget process.
Thank you, Councilman. We will recognize you at the appropriate time in this session to take action on that particular resolution. Thank you. Mr. Decker, please continue.