Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. We will now consider Bill No. 090710.
An ordinance authorizing John Kile to construct, own and maintain an open-air sidewalk cafe at 2448 East Huntingdon Street.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Chief Clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The Chief Clerk will please read the title of Bill No. 090711. 11/19/09 - STATED - 2ND READING
An ordinance authorizing Mick Hally to construct, own and maintain an open-air sidewalk cafe at 1148 through 1150 South 11th Street.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Chief Clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. We will now consider Bill No. 090712.
An ordinance amending Section 9-211 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Boxes for the Distribution of News and Printed Material," by amending certain specifications for publishers' boxes.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. 11/19/09 - STATED - 2ND READING The Chief Clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. 11/19/09 - STATED - 2ND READING The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. We will now consider Bill No. 090672.
An ordinance amending Chapter 17-1600 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Economic Opportunity Plans," by providing that Economic Opportunity Plans be included on all development projects or contracts bid pursuant to federal stimulus funds allocated to the City of Philadelphia pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Chief Clerk will please call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. for today. Are there speeches on the part of the minority? (No response.)
Are there speeches on the part of the majority? Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Madam President. First I would like to say thank you to my colleagues for the support of the pedicab bill. While I am thrilled about the prospect that this new measure will move us towards reducing our city's carbon footprint, I'm thrilled that, more importantly, it will create new jobs. To that end, I would like to recognize, acknowledge and appreciate two small business owners who are waiting, waiting for this to move to the Mayor's desk and become law. I would like to welcome Mr. Ardom Olmes (ph) and Travia, businesspeople here in our city that are thrilled about this new eco-friendly tourism option. Secondly, Madam President, I'd like to speak about my deep concern around the decision to move the Dad Vail Regatta to New Jersey after 55 years of being in the City of Philadelphia. As Chair of the Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, I am keenly aware that this event is one of the crown jewels of our Park system. What we know is that the City of Rumson, New Jersey offered $250,000 to lure the Regatta, and as of today, they succeeded. Due to our city's budget crisis, we have been unwilling, and many might argue responsibly so, to financially support events like the Dad Vail Regatta. I rise today not to at all suggest a blame game, because, quite frankly, that's unproductive. It is, however, a strong call for immediate collaborative problem solving and numbers I am urging Commissioner DiBerardinis, the Administration and any other interested or appropriate parties such as GPTMC through our Council representative, the Honorable James Kenney, or the Sports Congress of the Philadelphia Convention Bureau to act quickly. A Daily News article stated Rumson officials are thrilled and think that the event will benefit Rumson and other surrounding towns. Let's be clear. New Jersey is willing to spend a quarter of a million dollars because they know what happens when 35,000 people from all over North America representing about 120 colleges and universities come to their town. They fill hotels, they eat in restaurants, they tip the waiters, they pay taxi drivers and they shop at our stores. What we also know, that when the arts and culture community invests arts or culture of anything, there's a four dollar domino effect in the hospitality, tourism industry. At a time when we are seeking to close massive gaps in our budget through a sales tax increase, can we really afford to tell 35,000 people not to come to our city? So I am speaking out to say, yes, we want them back. And the sad news is that they did not want to leave, Madam President. They did their part to find a way to stay here. We want them to know that we want them back and we want to seize the moment to aggressively communicate this message. I should mention also and commend my colleagues Councilman Bill Green and Councilman Curtis Jones for their efforts to reverse the decision. Twenty-first thinking requires that we have the skill called collaboration. So I am hopeful that all the stakeholders fair share to bring them back to Philadelphia come 2011. That would include Mayor Nutter, Commissioner DiBerardinis, Meryl Levitz, David Montgomery and others who have an interest in bringing the Dad Vail Regatta back to Philadelphia. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Madam President. I'd like to take the opportunity to just say a few words about bicycles. Legislation was introduced today by Councilman DiCicco and myself to start a process of examining how we all can share our pavement, streets and road together safely. Sometimes when we introduce legislation that's punitive in nature which provides a penalty, similar as we did with the red light cameras - got one of those tickets and paid it and now every time I go through an intersection, I actually slow down when the counter that Councilwoman Miller advocated for, the countdown clock, when I get to the intersection that's at two or one, I put my foot on my brake as opposed to what I used to do and not try to speed up and beat the light. So what we're looking to do is to have some peace on our streets relative to the sharing by bicyclists and pedestrians in Center City and neighborhoods around Philadelphia. Over the last decade, bicycle use has take off, and I think that's a wonderful thing. People are interested in the environment. Gas is too high. People are concerned about their health, and I think we should be applauding people who want to use their bicycles to go to work and to do business and shopping. And I will say that in this whole issue, group of them who do not abide by the laws are not the only ones at fault. I mean, pedestrians have a tendency to want to walk against the light, walk out into the street in the middle of an intersection on a red light, jaywalk. Drivers park in bike lines, won't give people access or opportunities to cross at an intersection, block the box. There's lots of, I guess, unfortunate and impolite activity that's going on in our street, and we want to use this opportunity to talk about the immediate safety issues, which caused two deaths in the last month, which I think is something we should address. I do think the majority of folks who use bicycles do so in a very safe and legal way, but we do have people who like to jump the curb and zoom down the street and turn the corner quickly and ease in and out of -- weave in and out of traffic and not use the bike lane But they're all correctable. And I think the reason that we put fines in to begin with and all this stuff, as you know and you've been here long enough, bills come out -- come in. They're introduced and come out much different than they go in, but you still accomplish the same goal. So the reason for the financial punishment is because that seems to be the thing that modifies people's behavior the most. If any of all of these bills get passed in whatever form they get passed in, I would expect a 30, 45-day kind of grace period where people are educated, where cards are handed out to people who are in violation of sidewalk riding or not having brakes or things of that nature, are given an opportunity to kind of correct their behavior before we go into the enforcement. We want to just have a situation in the City where bicycles, pedestrians and automobiles can share our public space in a safe and manner, and that's the goal of the legislation. It's not to hurt anyone or to accuse anyone of doing anything. We're trying to get people's attention so that their behavior is modified and we're all a lot safer in the future. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Madam President. I want to thank Representative John Taylor for introducing a piece of legislation yesterday that complements a lot of the work that this City Council wants to do as it relates to abandoned properties in the City of Philadelphia. There are 40,000 vacant properties in the City of Philadelphia, and sometimes when I walk around my district, I think the vast majority of them are in the 4th Councilmanic to spend $17,000 on average to demolish a property, it is a significant burden to our already overtaxed budget. This legislation will allow our municipality to gain properties in impacted neighborhoods before speculators from as far away as New York come in and change the very character of our communities from homeownership to rental. And in this legislation, many of my colleagues, Councilwoman Tasco and others and co-sponsored now by Councilwoman Blackwell, want to look at how we can complement this legislation in a practical way with our operating departments. I think this is one of the most significant pieces of legislation to remove blight, other than the broken window law that my colleague Councilman DiCicco introduced some time ago. I think finally we will have some teeth in the ability to take slum landlords out of our way to develop our neighborhoods. you, Madam President. (Applause.)
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Sanchez.
Thank you, Madam President. Today around the world Puerto Ricans celebrate the discovery of Puerto Rico. Some of my colleagues have had the pleasure of visiting my island nation. I know Councilman DiCicco enjoys our golf courses. And while we celebrate this as part of our calendar, this is the official day that Christopher Columbus had the honor of arriving at our land. When I leave Council this morning, I will be joining Post 840, the Latino veterans, as they march to our Centro de Oro in celebration of this historic day. Thank you.
Thank Councilman DiCicco. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you, Madam President. I just want to follow up briefly. I have some prepared remarks following up on some of the comments that were made by my colleague and co-sponsor of the bicycle registration bills that were introduced today. The cycling community has expressed some apprehension over the legislation that was introduced today, and rightfully so. Before those concerns grow, I wanted to clarify my intent and my hopes for this bill. First, the legislation is not an attempt to curb bike riding. I have supported the Administration in its attempts to improve bicycle safety and make it easier to utilize alternative forms of transportation, and I will continue to support that effort. Nor is this legislation a money grab, as has been suggested by several folks who have either e-mailed or sent -called my office in the last 24 hours. A one-time fee of $20 is hardly a windfall for the City, and my hope is that any revenue raised would be directed towards enforcement or education programs. Most importantly, that fee, like everything else in the bill, is negotiable. This is the beginning of a conversation and the beginning of the legislative process. In fact, the very foundation of the legislation is negotiable. If there are any alternatives to registration that help us reach the same goals, I think we will all be satisfied. What is not an option, however, is that the City continue to do nothing when it comes to the regulation of bicycles, the education of the bicycle riding public and the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike. How many times have we seen sidewalk? Been nearly clipped crossing the street? How to dodge someone going the wrong way on a one-way street or press the brakes before someone ran a red light? Yes, I know these cyclists are a minority of the population, but there's no way for the police or the public to identify that rider. And while rare, serious incidents involving cyclists and pedestrians do happen. Last month, two pedestrians in two different incidences were killed. In one of those accidents the rider was never identified. While I know it's not an eloquent solution, my hope is that the registration will help identify problem cyclists and become a tool for enforcement. I also hope that by requiring registration, we gain a contact point for better educating the riding public. I know that the Bicycle Coalition, the Administration and others have the same goals, education and public to working with them to resolve these issues and ensuring that all various stakeholders have a seat at the table. To conclude, these problems cannot be addressed by an "us versus them" attitude. I know that many feel that bicyclists are unpredictable and ignore traffic laws. Cyclists, on the other hand, feel that motorists refuse to share the road. Both are right, and it's time that we all share responsibility and work towards solutions rather than simply complaining about each other. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you, Madam President. I'd just like to remind my Council colleagues that at 1 o'clock Chambers, the Urban League of Philadelphia will present a briefing for Councilmembers and staff regarding the State of Black Philadelphia report. As you will remember, I believe it was about a year or year and a half ago, we had the full report presented to City Council and received support for continuing the hearing using the individual reports around economic development and crime on an individual basis so that there will be more in-depth information and discussion provided. The hearing should last no longer than an hour, since I do think we have a 2 o'clock hearing. So I encourage all my colleagues to come back for the briefing by the Urban League. Thank you.
Thank you. And we also have a briefing immediately after Council sessions in the Caucus Room, and I just wanted to
Thank you, Madam President. This is our reminder that we have our Montel Williams or Partnership for Prescription Assistance table available for constituents who need prescription assistance. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Madam President. I want to commend two of my colleagues, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez, for pushing for and calling for hearings with the School District of Philadelphia. Not until 2123, according to the Inquirer, will students in the School District be learning at grade level if we the same rate that it is happening today. There is improvement, but it is improvement so slow that we won't get to where we need to be until 2123. That's outrageous. We can continue to tinker with tax rates. We can do things at the margin to improve quality of life. We can increase services in the City of Philadelphia, but until we fix our school system, until we educate our workforce, until we educate people all throughout this city with a free, quality education, we will not turn this city around. The train has left the station for the City of Philadelphia, and unless -- and any other change we make will be incremental and only slow it down. We must fix our educational system in this city. I want to thank the 12 charter schools who came and gave extraordinarily thoughtful and heartfelt testimony. Many of these charter schools have hundreds of lists. They are in the highest poverty, highest crime, worst performing public school areas in the City in areas with the highest dropout rates. They are performing services in these neighborhoods that the School District has been unable to do. The reason for charter schools, the reason Dwight Evans and Maria Quinones-Sanchez and Tony Williams and others fought for them was to provide competition to the School District so that we would have an ability to educate people in all neighborhoods in the City of Philadelphia with a free, quality education in a safe and secure education. And so it is my belief that what the School District is now doing is limiting that competition because they are losing that competition. With 67 charter schools and 100 people on a waiting list for each one, you're talking about 6,700 students that would leave the School District, that want to leave the charter schools are providing a better product, because parents want their children there. This limitation on the growth of charter schools is bad for the City of Philadelphia and I'm going to do everything I can to stop it. Thank you, Madam President.
Would anyone else like to be recognized? (No response.)
Seeing no one, the Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke for a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, December 3rd, 2009, 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
It seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, December 3rd, 2009. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. Thank you. (Stated Meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.) 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 on November 19, 2009, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)