COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY AND PUBLIC WORKS - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, March 2, 2006 2:35 p.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE, CHAIR COUNCILMAN JACK KELLY COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN JUAN RAMOS COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO BILL 050744 - An ordinance naming and designating the Lehigh Avenue Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia located at 601 West Lehigh Avenue as the "Lillian Marrero Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia." BILL 060087 - An ordinance authorizing and directing the change of the McPherson Square Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, located at 601 E. Indiana Avenue, to "The Coretta Scott King Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia." - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2
Good afternoon. This is the Committee on Public Property and Public Works. We'll come to order. We have a quorum present. To my left, we have Councilman Fran Rizzo, Councilman Jack Kelly. To my right, we have Councilman Juan Ramos, Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller and Councilwoman Krajewski. Will the Clerk please read the title of the first bill.
Bill No. 050744, an ordinance naming and designating the Lehigh Avenue Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia located at 601 West Lehigh Avenue as the "Lillian Marrero Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia."
Thank you. Do we have anyone who wishes to testify on this bill? Please come forward. Thank you. Please state your 3 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. name for the record.
Certainly. I'm Elliot Shelkrot. I'm President and Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia, and I am pleased to be here. I thank you, Chairman Clarke and other members of this Committee. And I am supporting the Ordinance 050744, which is to rename the Lehigh Avenue Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia for Lillian Marrero and to make it the Lillian Marrero Branch. I'm not going to read the full testimony that I submitted.
We'll submit it to the stenographer and it will be printed into the record.
Lillian Marrero joined the staff of the Library in 1991 and brought a very special interest in reaching children and young people. She 4 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. set up a computer lab at the branch to help residents learn how to use the Internet, helped with job searches, arranged classes of English as a second language, among many, many other programs. When the American Library Association met in Philadelphia at its convention, that branch was the specific branch that people went to to understand the commitment that Philadelphia has to libraries and to communities and to see how that commitment was translated in a Hispanic community, predominantly Hispanic community. Lillian believed in the importance of the outward appearance of the library. We do have custodial guards at our libraries and other staff, but she was often seen cleaning up outside and sweeping if the appropriate staff were sick or were unavailable. She was the key person in a $25,000 renovation of the branch, planted 5 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. a garden of azaleas and trees. Her commitment and impact prompted the Governor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs to confer on her one of their first Pride Awards. I will tell you also that this is the first time that the name of a librarian will be used to name a branch of the Free Library. Lillian Marrero was absolutely a model for many, many people throughout the Free Library, and when she passed away at a young age, inappropriately young age, we were all very sad, and I suspect there will be many people in the community and the staff who will appreciate this. And I know the Board of Trustees will be acting on the same thing.
Thank you. Yes, sir. Please state your name for the record.
Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, good afternoon. My name is William Qualtahana. 6 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. I am proud to openly support the renaming of the Lehigh Branch of the Free Library to the Lillian Marrero Branch. Back in mid 2005, I was among several vocal members of my community who urged Councilperson Mariano to consider the honor for a beloved and influential figure. She served as a beacon to our children and to our entire community. Councilperson Mariano understood the importance, as did Councilman Juan Ramos. The impact of this renaming in honor of a committed proponent of reading and higher learning will be felt by generations of bright, wonderful Latino children for our generations to come. I thank Councilperson Mariano and Ramos and this body for acting so affirmatively for education and the power of diversity. Thank you.
You're welcome. 7 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. Thank you, gentlemen. Anyone else to testify on this bill? Please step to the witness table.
Thank you, Councilman Clarke and distinguished Councilpeople here today. My name is Mike Walsh. I'm the President of AFSCME Local 2186, District Council 47, and it was my honor to represent Lillian when she worked as a librarian. My remarks are brief. I just want to agree wholeheartedly with the previous speaker, Mr. Shelkrot, as the Director and my distinguished colleague here at the end of the table, that we wholeheartedly support renaming the library after Lillian, and we encourage and appreciate the Council's interest in doing so. Thank you.
Thank you, sir. 8 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. Anyone else to testify? Please come to the witness stand.
Good afternoon. My name is Hector Rios and I'm Lillian's husband, and my daughter here is with me. Her name is Tonya Rios Marrero. I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to address you and to tell a little bit of Lillian's story. I brought with me -- I did not particularly decide to bring her latest permanent employee evaluation, but somehow going through her papers, I chanced up on the latest one of the day of 1/26/05, and it just struck me that in the list of criterias for her evaluation, although she has X's along the outstanding column all throughout, and I just wanted to bring that in case -- just to establish the fact that she was consistently evaluated as an outstanding employee. I also brought a picture of her 9 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. in case any one of you wanted to see what she looked like also. I have them with me. I'd be happy to share that with you. And also I wrote my comments, because I didn't want to ramble on incoherently. Once we established the fact that Lillian was an outstanding librarian and City employee, we need to consider that the outstanding category is insufficient to describe Lillian. " By this, I mean that Lillian always gave a little bit more of what was expected. Here are some examples of her extraordinary contributions to the library and the City: She endeavored to create a web of activity and supportive services to benefit library patrons. She collaborated with community agencies, such as the jail, the Lighthouse, the Police Department, Projectula (ph), Philadelphia Community College, 10 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. Norristown Square Neighborhood Community Association, to name a few, in creating a web of supportive services. So this resulted in a dynamic institution that became a true lighthouse to the community. Had you had the chance to visit her library, you would have noticed that it had a special buzz to it, from creating a safe harbor and a learning place for school-age children, to providing reference services for college students at Temple and LaSalle Universities. When the National Library Association conducted their convention here in Philadelphia a few years ago, they ran a shuttle service to the Lehigh Library for national librarians to see firsthand an exemplary library that happened to serve a poor population. In gest, I used to tell Lillian that she was the new Ramonita Rodriguez of North Philadelphia. Ramonita Rodriguez was a 11 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. beloved teacher, and there was a branch named after her. That is, that Lillian was a person that made an important difference in the lives of many. The Latino Business Association has recognized this fact and commissioned and computed a two-story-high mural of her portrait in the side of her house near the library. The NBC News also featured her contributions in a news story shortly after her death. Lillian was a hard-driven person that overcame many obstacles in her successful career, and she used the library to help others. She used the library as a platform to help individuals, mostly poor and limited English-proficient citizens, to improve their lives. She raised funds to develop a computer lab where patrons were able to improve upon their language, academics and job-seeking skills. In addition, she developed a collection full of books in Spanish that 12 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. drew patrons from all over the City, as well as other faraway places. She also helped to develop the Spanish Books Collection for the whole library system by traveling to Mexico and Spain to buy books for the library. Lillian was known at this bigger world level, as well as the national level. As an active member of Reforma, she conducted workshops in other states on how to provide electronic and Internet-based services to the Latino population, as well as co-wrote a chapter 15 in a book on libraries and the poor.
Lillian obtained the recognitions from Governor Tom Ridge and was featured in an article in USA Today. Lillian was a stickler for details. She personally bought the detergents that were used to clean the library, because she wanted everything to smell good. When the library underwent renovations a few years back, she chose to retain and restore the old and 13 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. beaten-up iron chairs because they were antiques. She raised funds by various means, including flea markets, to buy plants and shrubs for the library's front lawn. Somebody in North Philadelphia is wearing my old blue jeans. She chose to employ a local handyman rather than a landscaper so as to provide employment to a local person. She would pick up trash around the building, and kept the janitor busy looking for trash on the sidewalk. By the way, she kept everybody busy. Mediocrity was not an option for her. Lillian was a lover of plants. One of her favorite yearly activities was to attend the Flower Show. She sought to recreate some of these foliage in the library itself. One is impressed with the greenery inside her library. Lillian and I and my daughter live in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. Lillian loved this neighborhood because of the abundance of 14 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. trees. She sought to bring some of this beauty to the City at-large by volunteering her services with the Philadelphia Horticultural Society and, in particular, with the committee that worked with planting trees in the inner City. Lillian was a special person. You would be struck by her enthusiasm, warmth and wit. She was friendly, treated everybody plainly and humanely, especially the senior citizens of Projectula. For all these reasons, Lillian's work was extraordinary. Lillian was a hero, and as a hero, she died young. I don't think she will have sought or wanted a recognition or an honor such as the one proposed here today. However, the Latino population is in need of heroes and of people like Lillian who can remind us of who we are. Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. 15 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. (Applause.)
Let the record reflect that Councilman Kenney has joined the Committee. Anyone else to testify on the bill? Why don't you all just take a seat at the witness table and we can just have your testimony in succession. Thank you. Please state your name for the record.
My name is Ada Garcia, and my brother worked at her branch, and I used to volunteer for her once in a while. She was always doing a lot of things for her community. She was like a workaholic. So any time she needed me, I would be there for her. Thank you.
Thank you. MS. DeCARLO: I'll be very brief. My name is Patricia DeCarlo, and I met Lillian when she was at the Girard Library Branch. And she really was an 16 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. extraordinary person, because it's sort of like a normal job that you have and how somebody can take a normal job and turn it into an extraordinary activity. She was always nice, pleasant, helpful, and just gave 100 percent of herself to make the library the true community space that it needs to be. Any time we needed any help from her, whether it was flyers or information and she was always coming up with ideas of what to do, and she really was an extraordinary librarian and civil servant, and I can't think of anyone who deserves the merit of having the library at Lehigh renamed in her honor than Lillian Marrero, and I thank you for your efforts.
Thank you, Ms. DeCarlo. MS. VEGA-DeJOSEPH: Good afternoon. My name is Juanita Vega-DeJoseph, children's librarian at the Joseph E. Coleman Branch. I want to tell you about 17 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. Lillian Marrero, public librarian who did make a difference in her lifetime. " Lillian was a no-nonsense boss. She was 48 years young when she succumbed to cancer on February 14th, 2005. Lillian Marrero believed in a strong work ethic that got the job done. She was polished, professional, and she believed work validated her. Her meticulous attention to detail to her work led her to accomplish much in her time as a librarian for the Free Library of Philadelphia. She maintained active membership throughout her career as a librarian in the American Library Association and Public Library Association. These active memberships led her to participate in panel discussions about search engines and gateways that Mr. Rios had mentioned 18 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. before, and I won't go into detail, but I have copies of the archives from those workshops and panel discussions that she participated in. As he mentioned, Lillian wrote a chapter in 1998 for a book titled Poor People and Library Services. Her chapter 9 is called Access to Technology for Low-Income Groups. Just the year before this article was published in '97 she was awarded the Pride Award from the Governor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs. By '97, Lillian became Branch Manager for the Lehigh Branch located at 6th and Lehigh, and part of her responsibilities was to maintain the Spanish Book Collection there, but also she was also called on to attend the Guadalajara Book Fair in Mexico to purchase Spanish language materials for the library system, for the entire system, and two years before her death, she was one of ten, only ten, bilingual 19 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. librarians selected from across the country to attend the Biannual Spanish Book Fair in Spain. On these trips, Lillian would purchase Spanish books not only for the Lehigh Branch, which has the largest holdings of Spanish titles in our system, but she purchased books for the Spanish collections for four other branches. If you want a true measure of Lillian Marrero's life and work as a librarian for the community she worked in, you can still see it. I urge you to visit the 6th and Lehigh Avenue Branch and enter the majestic building funded by Andrew Carnegie which opened the doors to the public in 1906. Take a look inside and walk around the entire floor. Lillian's desk was located to the left, surrounded by huge potted plants, which she strategically placed around the entire library space so one can breathe cleaner air. The Spanish Book Collection is 20 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. located on the entire left side of the floor. The computer laboratory, which Lillian founded with a grant she wrote for funding through the Knight Ridder Foundation, is there on the left side, and as you walk in the lab, you will also see the Julio DeBurgos Rare Book Collection, a collection dedicated to the rich literature of Puerto Rico. This collection is a collaboration Lillian created with a neighborhood organization recognized for its commitment to the preservation of Puerto Rican culture, the Taller Puertorrigueno. Lillian believed the success of a public institution was measured by the work done for the public. The public. She served it and gave it the best that she could right up to two months before her death. She chose to go to work, to go to 6th and Lehigh Avenue, and pull that heavy metal gate upward and start the day and provide service to strangers who walk in seeking anything and everything. 21 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC.
In an age where structures are given names of the highest bidder or contributor, here is an opportunity for Philadelphia to rise to a level of grace and name a library after someone who worked for it, cleaned it, beautified it, filled it with a purpose for the community it stands in. Rename the Lehigh Branch after an employee, a librarian, a civil servant to our community. The Lillian Marrero Memorial Library. What's in a name, Shakespeare said? Your ability to honor Lillian and all the civil servants in the City of Philadelphia. Thank you. )
Thank you for your testimony. Anyone else who wishes to testify on this particular bill? (No response.)
There being none, we will now go into the public 22 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. meeting for purposes of voting this bill 3 out. Councilman Kelly, can I please ask for a motion on Bill No. 050744?
Yes. Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill No. 050744 be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation. (Duly seconded.)
Bill 12 050744, motioned and seconded, will be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation. Thank you very much. All in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Bill 050744 is reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation. We will now go back into the 23 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. public hearing. Will the Clerk please read the title of the next bill. (Applause.)
Bill No. 060087, an ordinance authorizing and directing the change of the McPherson Square Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, located at 601 East Indiana Avenue, to the Coretta Scott King Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Is there anyone to testify on this bill? We have a witness list that I have been given. It says Mark Segal, Linda Rhyme from DC 47, Mr. Shelkrot and Mr. Matthews. Why don't both of you come to the witness table, the union contingent. Gentlemen, please state your name for the record and please proceed.
Mike Walsh on 24 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. behalf on Tom Cronin, District Council 47.
Members of City Council, my name is Pete Matthews, as I just said, President of AFSCME District Council 33, and I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of our union. I'm honored to be here today to testify in favor of naming the library on McPherson Square after Coretta Scott King. Naming this library branch after Coretta Scott King is a fitting tribute to her because her support for education for all people of races was an important part of the legacy she forged for herself after her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, was assassinated in 1968. The dedication of this library in her honor holds a special place in the hearts of all AFSCME members because her life was linked to the life of our union 25 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. in so many ways. I would like to tell all of you here today why we in AFSCME feel so strongly about her and why we appreciate the work that Councilman Mariano has done to make the proposal before you here possible. Coretta Scott King first became known to many AFSCME members as the wife of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After his assassination in 1968, she was identified then as his widow, as well as an outstanding advocate of his vision of racial peace and non-violent social change. She was a strong woman whose grace and dignity held up the image of her husband as a man of peace, of racial justice, of fairness. In 1953, Coretta Scott married Dr. King, then a young minister of a prominent Atlanta family, beginning a remarkable partnership that ended with Dr. King's assassination on April 4, 1968. 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. Mrs. King picked up his mission even before her husband was buried by marching at the head of the striking garbage workers he had come to Memphis to champion. These workers were AFSCME members that Dr. King had come to support in the struggle for justice. The Memphis garbage strike forever linked Dr. King and Coretta Scott King with AFSCME. Mrs. King went on to lead the effort for a national holiday in Dr. King's honor. The national holiday was approved by United States Congress in 1983, and that was reluctantly signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, who had opposed the legislation creating the holiday, saying it was too expensive and inappropriate. In spite of this reluctance on the part of conservatives in the federal government, the holiday was first observed on January 20th, 1986. Due to the leadership and dedication shown by Coretta Scott King, Dr. King's holiday has been observed on 27 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. the third Monday of January ever since. Mrs. King then went on to found the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change in Atlanta, dedicated to both scholarship and activism. In speaking engagements during the short time after his death, Mrs. King at first used his own words as much as possible, as her goals were simply to maintain his presence, but soon she developed her own language and her own causes. When she spoke of her husband's place at the Poor People's Campaign at the Lincoln Memorial on June 19th, 1968, she talked not just of his vision but also of hers. She spoke of gender and economic status, as well as race. She called upon American women to unite and form a solid block of women political power to fight the three great evils of racism, poverty and war. She joined the Board of 28 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. Directors of the National Organization for Women and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and she became widely identified with a broad array of international human rights issues rather than focusing primarily on race. She believed that the broad view of civil rights and human rights as being one and the same was completely in keeping with Dr. King's vision. Mrs. King was a woman who overcame tragedy, held her family together, and became an inspirational presence around the world.
Her journeys through the rest of her life, with all of its struggles, is very similar to the struggles that so many working families in the neighborhoods around McPherson Square continue to face even today. Those who knew her best said Coretta Scott King bore a special burden, carrying on her husband's work and teachings, with a sense of spirit and 29 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. purpose that made her more than a symbol. She was not only viewed as the wife of a martyr of the Civil Rights Movement, but as a leader and a symbol in her own right as a result of her own actions. The fact that we are proposing to recognize her here today for what she has accomplished on her own is a fitting tribute not only to the legacy she upheld but the life she led on her own. The proposal you are considering here today should also be seen as a tribute and an honor for the neighborhoods around the library in McPherson Square, because it was to helping exactly these kinds of racially diverse and economically struggling communities that Coretta Scott King devoted the rest of her life. Coretta Scott King richly deserves the honor we are proposing to bestow on her today, and I would again like to thank Councilman Mariano and everyone else who had a hand in making 30 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. this happen on behalf of the members of and retirees of AFSCME District Council 33 who hold Coretta Scott King in the highest regard. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman Clarke and distinguished members of City Council, for allowing me this opportunity to speak on behalf and support of the bill before us. The members of AFSCME District --
I'm sorry. My name is Mike Walsh. I'm President of AFSCME Local 2186, District Council 47. The members of AFSCME District Council 47 are in wholehearted support of the renaming of the McPherson Square Branch Library to the Coretta Scott King 31 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. Library. As we know, Mrs. King believed that education and learning would increase equality and create opportunities for people of all colors. She was an example of the quiet power that is represented by a library. Within the walls of this building are resources which can expand the minds of all those who enter. The trained librarians and staff can help both old and young to better understand the world around them and to be better prepared to deal with the possibilities and problems that are part of the 21st century. AFSCME District Council 47 also believes that this renaming will remind people that Mrs. King's husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, was killed in Memphis, Tennessee as he supported a strike by sanitation workers. Dr. King understood that working men and women deserved safe working conditions and the respect of the public whom they served. 32 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. It is with a great deal of pride that AFSCME District Council 47 stands in support of this bill and looks forward to the renaming of this library. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Anyone else to testify on this bill? Good afternoon.
Good afternoon. My name is Kristina D. Palmer, Director of Development for the African-American Museum in Philadelphia. The African-American Museum in Philadelphia's mission is dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting the material and intellectual culture of African-Americans in Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Americas. The African-American Museum in Philadelphia not only acknowledges Coretta Scott King as a civil rights leader, but also as an 33 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. artist who used her talents to engage the movement. During her lifetime, Mrs. King authored three books and was recognized by the American Library Association in 1969 with the establishment of an award in her name honoring her courage and determination to continue to work for peace and world brotherhood. This award is presented annually to an African-American author and to an African-American illustrator for outstandingly inspirational and educational contributions published the previous year. Some of the artists who have illustrations and have received this award and whose works have been exhibited at the Museum are Michele Wood, Tom Feelings, John Steptoe and Faith Ringgold. The mission of the Free Library of Philadelphia is to provide to all segments of Philadelphia's diverse population a comprehensive collection of 34 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. recorded knowledge, ideas, artistic expression, and information in a variety of media, including current technology, to assure ease of access to these materials and to provide programs to stimulate the awareness of the use of these resources. The parallel missions between Mrs. King's life and legacy, the African-American Museum in Philadelphia and the Free Library of Philadelphia is to create opportunities for all people. Coretta Scott King embodied and lived the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, and her name can and does invoke a sense of pride and responsibility within us. The Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Association for Non-Violent Change is the first and only affiliate in the United States to be commissioned by Mrs. King. This City held a special place in her heart, not just because it was the home of her dear friend, C. Delores Tucker, the founder of the 35 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. Association, but because our diversity and rich history reflected hers. The African-American Museum in Philadelphia is a strong advocate for the renaming of the McPherson Square Park Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia to the Coretta Scott King Branch, and thanks to Councilman Mariano for his efforts. This action will uphold not only the legacy of Mrs. King, but the values that have become synonymous with the Museum, the Library and the City. Thank you.
I don't want to ask a question specifically of the witness, but I read in the paper some of the issues surrounding this discussion. My recollection of the area is, McPherson Square is actually a public square in the City, and the Library is a 36 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. facility in the square. Does the Coretta Scott King Library at McPherson Square make any sense? I mean, to me it does. It doesn't remove the name of McPherson and the great work that he did as a soldier, but it also, I guess, brings a new evolution to the area by naming the library after someone so great and a recent contributor to her history in a park that memorializes the past contributor to our history. I mean, I don't really see a problem with it. I understand the concerns that people have about perhaps changing the name, but if it's the Coretta Scott King Library at McPherson Square, to me it seems quite fair to everybody.
Councilman, I had not read the news accounts, but I received some information via fax and actually handed out in the hallway about potential conflict as it relates to the naming. And I'm not personally familiar with the location, so I'm personally not 37 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. the one to be able to answer that question on any level of detail. I had some conversations with the sponsor of the bill and the staff members, and our thought was that we would probably recess the hearing today leaving the bill in the Committee, recessing to the call of the Chair so we can obviously quickly take up this action in the foreseeable future without holding the bill or without having had the bill 13 introduced again at another time. I'm kind of surprised, frankly speaking, that the individuals who had expressed some concerns about the naming are apparently not here today. That leaves me a little --
I think part of the news account framed the issue as if the McPherson name was being eliminated in replacement of Mrs. King. But I think Mrs. King's name on the library at McPherson Square serves both elements of history, both our modern 38 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. history and our past. And I guess if the name was given to the library, the sign on the library could say the Coretta Scott King Library at McPherson Square.
I personally don't have a problem, but we have this District Councilperson issue.
So I think the Councilman wanted to have further discussion with those individuals in his district that had expressed some issues. But I'm assuming that that can be resolved, particularly given the fact that you brought it to us today.
Thank you, Councilman. Mr. Shelkrot, you want to 39 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. testify again? I know in your earlier testimony you did reference your support for this particular bill also.
I did, but I did not realize that they were -- I just wanted, if I may.
I'm Elliot Shelkrot, the President of the Free Library of Philadelphia. And, yes, it is true, in my written testimony I mentioned our support for both, but I just want to make sure, for those of you who don't get a copy or may not have an opportunity to read the written support, that I also support the renaming of the branch for Coretta Scott King. What a wonderful woman, and her mission and her role is certainly, as was mentioned before, the mission and the role of the Free Library. So we are happy to have that. 40 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC.
Yes. Mr. Shelkrot, what is the name, the present name, of the library right now?
McPherson -- I believe it's McPherson Square Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, and as was indicated before, it was located right in the middle of McPherson Square Park, which is a park.
Yes. It's about a block long. Yes. I am very familiar with it. Okay. That's all I wanted to know, is just the square is named after McPherson and also the library.
Thank you, 41 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. Councilman Kelly. Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller.
Is there anything else besides the library that sits within that square? Like is there a playground? Is it a park?
Yeah, there is a playground. There's a statue. But I believe --
Because some of us, you know, are not familiar with every corner and nook and cranny of Philadelphia.
That's 42 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. why we have at-large members. Thank you. But I guess I kind of agree. I'm not familiar with all the issues, but I do agree with what Councilman Kenney said, that it seems as if it can serve both purposes. We're not changing the name of the square. The square can still be McPherson Square, and the Coretta Scott King Library that sits within McPherson Square. Didn't you say Coretta Scott King Library at McPherson Square?
Thank you, Councilwoman. Anyone else here to testify on this particular bill? (No response.)
There being none, we will now recess the Committee on 43 3/2/06 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 050744, ETC. Public Property and Public Works to the call of the Chair. Thank you all very much for your testimony today. (Committee on Public Property and Public Works adjourned at 3:20 p.m.) - - - 44 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 March 2, 2006, 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.)