Stated Meeting, March 1, 2001

COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA STATED MEETING Room 401, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, March 1, 2001 10:00 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN DAVID COHEN COUNCILMAN FRANK J. DI CICCO COUNCILMAN WILSON W. GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI COUNCILMAN W. THACHER LONGSTRETH COUNCILMAN RICHARD T. MARIANO COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILMAN ANGEL L. ORTIZ COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO PATRICIA RAFFERTY, CHIEF CLERK VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 INVOCATION

Good morning, everyone. I note that the hour has come and that a quorum of this Council is present. The Council will take their seats. Visitors will retire to the seats outside the rails. To give our invocation this morning, the Chair welcomes Father Timothy Sullivan, Pastor of Holy Innocence Roman Catholic Church. He is here today as the guest of Councilman Mariano. Members and guests will please rise.

Let us pray. Oh, mighty and eternal God, you have revealed your glory to all nations. God of power and might, wisdom and justice, through your authority work is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgments decreed. We pray today in this our City of Brotherly Love, the Members of our City Council who are entrusted to guard our political welfare, may they be enabled by your powerful protection to discharge their duties with honesty and ability. Please, God, let them recognize the awesome responsibility they have accepted by accepting the vote of citizens of Philadelphia. Those citizens, your sons and daughters who have place their trust INVOCATION in these men and women. In difficult times throughout the centuries, you have blessed your people with strong and courageous leaders. May these men and women be those leaders today. Give them your light and strength to know your will to make it their own and to live it first in their own lives. Give them by your wisdom. Support them by your power. We desire justice for all. Enable them to uphold the rights of others, to recognize the noble gift of human life as it exist in every moment of history. Let them protect, defend, and support that gift by their words, their actions and their legislative decisions. In all things good, deer Lord, do not allow them to be misled by ignorance or corrupted by or favor. Unite them to yourself and to your guidance. Keep them faithful to all that is truth. Today we pray for them. But we likewise commend to your mercy all the citizens of the City of Philadelphia that they, through these men and women, may be blessed in the knowledge that our City of Brotherly Love, our cradle of liberty, is not just our glorious history. It is by your favor, our constant reality. May we always be attentive to the APPROVAL OF THE JOURNAL consistent challenge of perpetuating this truth. Keep us all under your watchful eye and loving protection. Amen.

Amen. The Chair thanks Father Sullivan for his inspiring invocation. Council will be at ease. (Council at ease.)

The next order of business is the approval of the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, February 22, 2001. And the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.

Thank you, Madam President. I move that the Journal of Thursday, February 22, 2001, stand approved. (Duly seconded.)

It has been moved and properly seconded that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, February 22, 2001, stand approved. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed, nay. (No response.) LEAVES OF ABSENCE

The ayes have it, and the Journal of Thursday, February 22, 2001, has been approved. The next order of business is requests for leave of absence. And the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.

Thank you, Madam President. There are no questions for leaves of absence today on the part of the majority.

The Chair thanks the Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman O'Neill.

Madam President, on behalf of the Republicans, there are no requests for leave of absence.

Thank you. The Chair will dispense with the regular order of business to recognize the guests and visitors joining us in Chambers this morning. On behalf of all Members of City Council, I welcome you to our Council Session today. We certainly appreciate your taking the time to attend to the legislative affairs of our City. We welcome you to come again. At this time, the Chair recognizes WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS Councilwoman Blackwell.

Thank you, Madam President. This morning we want to introduce some of the families and agencies who have benefited from the Child Citizens Act of 2000. And Jim Kenney and I will be introducing a resolution today in honoring them, but immediately following City Council, we'll short press conference when they're here. But we would like to knowledge them here in Council this morning.

If they will stand, we would be very happy to recognize them. (Applause.)

Welcome. The Chair at this time recognizes Councilwoman Tasco who will present a resolution commemorating Save Your Vision Month. Will Mr. Eugene Wayne who is the vice president of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, and those accompanying him please join the Councilwoman at the podium. Councilwoman Tasco.

Thank you, Madam President. WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS We are pleased here as we've been here for many, many years to honor the Philadelphia College of Optometry in their efforts to save Philadelphians and their eyesight. So this is our resolution declaring March as Save Your Vision Month. Whereas, Save Your Vision Month is a national event sponsored annually in March by the American optometric Association; and Whereas, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry is a major sponsor of Save Your Vision Month in the Delaware Valley; and Whereas, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry is celebrating Save Your Vision Month with a vision health public awareness campaign with the theme "On the lookout, your profession and pastimes may be damaging to your ayes" and Whereas, the official 2001 Save Your Vision campaign kickoff in City Council will launch a series of free vision screenings at day care centers, regional library branches, senior citizens centers, and residential complexes; and Whereas, the College of Optometry hopes that the public awareness campaign will encourage WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS families and employers to develop a greater understanding of the important role vision plays in both the workplace and home; and Whereas, vision withstands varying degrees of stress and is placed at risk by certain daily activities, both in the home and the workplace; and Whereas, these stressors and hazards can be identified and minimized through education and regular aye screening and vision care service; and Whereas, resources are available for patients through the services of the Eye Institute of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry; and Whereas, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry is also participating in Vision USA, a national effort to provide free eye examinations for working persons with no health insurance who have not had an eye examination in the last 12 months. Therefore, resolved, that the Council of the City of Philadelphia declare and celebrate March as Save Your Vision Month and encourage support "On the lookout, your profession and pastime maybe damaging to your ayes." Resolved further, that an engrossed copy WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS of this resolution be presented to a representative of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry sincere expression of the Council's gratitude, appreciation, and commodation for sponsoring and organizing free vision screenings throughout Philadelphia during Save Your Vision Month. Certification that this is a true and correct copy of the original resolution adopted by the Council of the City of Philadelphia on the 1st day of February 2001. It is signed by Anna C. Verna, introduced by Marian B. Tasco and Richard Mariano and sponsored by all Members of City Council. (Applause.)

We want to thank the college for their efforts and their collaborative efforts with other community organizations.

At this time, the Chair recognizes Mr. Wayne for remarks.

Thank you. I'm Honored to be here today on behalf of the Eye Institute of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry to commence Save Your Vision Month. This year's theme is "On the WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS lookout, your profession and pastimes maybe damaging your eyes." This theme was chosen to educate the public about the role of vision and the stress it withstands on daily basis as people pursue their occupations and hobbies. During Save Your Vision Month, the Eye Institute will host free vision screenings throughout the Philadelphia area. As the clinical teaching facility for the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, the Eye Institute provides quality eye care through more than 70,000 patient visits each year. With its awareness campaign, we hope to make eye care the focus of the Philadelphia region. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank several people who have helped us build our public awareness for Save Your Vision Month. First, I would like to thank our many supportive friends at City Council, especially Councilwoman Marian Tasco. I would also like to thank NBC 10 for joining us again this year as our co-sponsor. At noon today, we will host a free vision screening here at City Hall and we hope to see all of you there. Thank you again.

Thank you. WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS (Applause.)

There will be free vision screening in the Council Caucus Room from 12:00 to 2:00, and everyone is invited for your free screening and I encourage you to do so. Thank you.

Thank you. Council will be at ease. (Council at ease.)

At this time, the Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo for a presentation and recognition of Philadelphia fire fighters, Philadelphia Gas Works engineers, and various City departments for their heroic actions during the recent fire at the PGW facility in South Philadelphia. Councilman Rizzo and those who are being honored, please join the Councilman at the podium, please.

Thank you, Madam President. And I would also like to invite the Managing Director Joe Martz. We are going to have representatives of PGW, Kumar Kishinchand, representatives of Local 686, Gas Workers Employees Union, their president Frank Reading, and Deputy WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS Commissioner Lloyd Aires (ph), the Deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Fire Department. And I'm going to ask the various commissioners and managers to introduce their folks a little bit later. After everyone gets up here, I'll read the resolution. Honoring Philadelphia Fire Fighters, Gas Works engineers, and employees and various other City departments and employees for their heroic actions during the explosion and fire at the Philadelphia Gas Works Passyunk facility in South Philadelphia. Whereas, on Friday December 22 at 10:00 p.m., an explosion rocked Philadelphia Gas Works Passyunk plant complex in South Philadelphia; and Whereas, one of the coldest nights of the year, a spectacular five-alarm blaze closed major roadways, forced nearby evacuations and left more than 5,000 homes in Southwest and West Philadelphia with little or no heat; and Whereas, the explosion and fire prompted heroic and well-trained Philadelphia Gas Work employees to redirect natural gas flow to prevent feeding the flames; and WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS Whereas, braving frigid temperatures, high winds and a potentially catastrophic situation, over 125 fire fighters took extraordinary measures into the early hours of the morning to prevent an enormous blaze from reaching a nearby liquid natural gas storage tank; and Whereas, through the well-orchestrated and concentrated effort, tragedy was avoided. Damage to the Philadelphia Gas Works facility and the surrounding structures and property were minimized and natural gas service quickly restored to those residents that were left without heat as a result of the blaze. Also I'd like to stop for a moment and remind everyone that a tremendous effort was made to restore -- and when natural gas flow is interrupted, as you know, everyone's pilot in their heaters, hot water heaters disrupted and there were over 5,000 customers without heat. And the operations people did just a tremendous effort. They brought in PECO Energy employees, Connective employees, you name it, if they knew how to light a pilot of a gas heater or a hot water heater, they were called into service. Resolved by the Council of the City of WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS Philadelphia that I hereby honor Philadelphia Fire Fighters, Philadelphia Gas Works engineers and employees and various other City departments and employees for their heroic actions during the explosion and fire at the Philadelphia Gas Works Passyunk facility in South Philadelphia. Resolved further that an engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the Philadelphia Fire Fighters, Philadelphia Gas Works engineers and employees, and other City departments and employees as evidence of the sincere gratitude of this legislative body for their valiant efforts during the natural Gas Works Passyunk plant explosion and fire and for the service that they provided the City of Philadelphia. I want to thank them all. (Applause.)

I'd like to present a copy of the first resolution to Kumar Kishinchand, we all know the chief executive at PGW. Kumar. (Applause.)

The Chair recognizes Mr. Kishinchand for a few remarks.

Thank you, President Verna, and thank you, Councilman Rizzo, for this WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS resolution, and to all of the City Council for honoring us on this particular occasion. As you know, this fire occurred at a time so close to Christmas on the 22nd of December and on a very cold day. All of the employees at the PGW were very concerned about Christmas approaching and the houses not being heated. They stepped forward. At the time that the fire occurred, we only had four employees over there. They ran around. One of the gentlemen who was there turned off the valves to control the fire. He's here. He hurt himself but continued to work over there. Many of the people who didn't work at that plant called up and said, "What can we do?" And they showed up through the back gates and the front gates, over the fences to come and help. This was a frigid night and many of the people did valiant efforts to control it. One of the gentlemen, in fact, climbed up a ladder and shut off the valve that ultimately cut out the gas that feeding it. And even the fire fighters who were there admired this individual for risking his life to control this fire. And as you know, the potential for actually getting that liquid natural gas to blow up WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS was very high. And it was the Fire Department with their help that we were able to cool it down and control it. And within about three days, we were able to get all of the people back into heat, hot water, their gas stoves working, etcetera. It was gas control people who ultimately controlled the area that could be affected. There was a potential for 80,000 people who would be out of heat, but they controlled it so that only about 5,000, a little more than 5,000 were out, and we took care of them before the Christmas that weekend. And I want to thank, of course, not only the management, but the union employees who were there, the rank and file and the non-union who helped out in this particular effort. The fire department, I want to thank Commissioner Hairston who helped out. And Joe Martz who stepped forward. He in fact provided us assistance through L & I. I'm not sure if Joe McLaughlin, but he provided a number of folks to supplement the people that you see over here get the people back into business. And in addition to that, of course, as Councilman Rizzo mentioned, PECO, PPNL and others also contributed. WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS So I thank all of you for recognizing this effort and thank all the employees and all the people that helped out. (Applause.)

I just want to word, if I may. Mr. Kishinchand, I want you to know that this occurred in my district, and I don't have to tell you the number of calls that I received during that time. And I would be remiss if I personally did not thank you and the employees who did such a fabulous job and all of the various departments who worked so diligently restoring gas to the people in that community. Thank you so very much. (Applause.)

Thank you, Madam President. That makes it even extra special, your comments. The young man that Commissioner -- and I still call you commissioner -- Kishinchand mentioned, why don't we all thank Abdul Niyack (ph) who's the young man that shut the flow of gas off during the fire. (Applause.) WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS

And we also have Dennis Dentson who's the vice president of operations and Jim McLaughlin who is the plant manager. And I'm sure, Jim, everything's, hopefully, getting back in place at your facility. Now a very important group that represents the work force at PGW, I'd like to introduce Frank Reading who's the president of Gas Workers Employees Union Local 686 to present a copy of this resolution and a few comments. Frank. (Applause.)

Good morning. I would like to thank City Council and especially Councilman Rizzo for this venue and the opportunity to say some kind things about the people that I represent. I'm especially pleased that this is being done in conjunction with the Fire Department because coming from a large Irish family that is from predominantly southwest and South Philadelphia, I've had a few of my own relatives that were fireman and I know the pride and the commitment that they put into their work. In contrast to the Fire Department, I think the people that I represent are sometimes WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS underestimated about their dedication to their job. I know that with the appropriate time I could speak volumes about the personal sacrifices some of my people have made over the years. But I think this latest incident with the Passyunk plant incident is probably the best example of how our people can react in a situation where they're desperately needed. The people who went out to light the pilots, my constituents, they'd fill out route sheets and they list the number of addresses that they visit where they do their service work or they investigation leaks. For every job that they recorded, there were two or three people on those streets who came up to them and asked them to come in for the gas leak or light the pilot and those addresses weren't recorded. So I think when you look at volume of work that was performed, you can multiply it by three. They had did an enormous amount of work that night, and as Kumar mentioned, they were very instrumental in making the Philadelphia public happy and satisfied over the Christmas holidays. Likewise, I think I'd like to introduce WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS Mike Duffy. Mike was at the plant that night. He was there when the explosion occurred. Mike was the employee who was injured. And even after he was injured, he hobbled around and he was instrumental in getting water cannons going and trying to shut the source of gas off. Likewise, I'd like to introduce George Trop. Abdul was the one who shut the valve off, George was the one who found it so I they he deserves some credit for that. (Applause.)

And everybody knows that the work that was required to get us back on-line. For several weeks, our distribution department and our gas supply department worked seven days a week, 12 hours a day to get us back on-line. So on behalf of the people I represent, on behalf of all PGW employees, I'd like to say thank you to Councilman Rizzo again, City Council for the opportunity to bring this to light. (Applause.)

I'd like to introduce our officers before I leave. I have Mike McDonough who's our vice president, Jim Dave is our treasurer; Keith Holmes, our financial secretary; and Tom WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS Kennerly, our recording secretary. Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you, Frank. And then the alarms come in, the sirens sound, the lights flash and the Philadelphia Fire Department is on the scene. And today, representing the Philadelphia Fire Department is Lloyd Aires, he's the Deputy Commissioner that was on the scene during the explosion and fire at the Passyunk plant. And there's also other representatives, and I'll let the commissioner take a minute to introduce some of the folks, but I'd like to also present Commissioner Lloyd Aires, the deputy commissioner that was on the site of the Passyunk fire. Commissioner. (Applause.)

First, giving praise and honor to my God and my Lord who strengthens us all, to the honorable President of City Council Anna Verna, to all the honorable members of this great and continuously supportive City Council, and to Councilman Rizzo for his initiating a sponsorship of this resolution. I'd like to thank you on behalf of the men and women of the Philadelphia Fire Department. And I'd also say that we humbly WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS acknowledge and accept this resolution. Before I go any further, I'd like to introduce some of our members that are present. First of all, we have Deputy Chief Matthew McCrory who is the former -(Applause.)

He's the former deputy commission of the Fire Department. And he was the initial incident commander on the scene. And next I'd like to introduce Edward Schwartz, Battalion Chief, Philadelphia Fire Department. (Applause.)

And he had the perilous north sector of the fire. Next I'd like to introduce Linda Long, Captain, fire paramedic. (Applause.)

Captain Long took care of all of our emergency medical services on the scene and coordinated that effort. I'd like to introduce Mike Brady, Lieutenant Brady. (Applause.) WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS

Lieutenant Brady works with our marine operation. And also fireboat pilot Concoluski (ph), Steve. We appreciate you. (Applause.)

And of course, that had to do with our fire boat coming up the river to give support to the other end of the plant so that the water operations would be complete and we wouldn't have problems as we attacked the fire. You have the opportunity to see the cameras and the clips and you also see the silhouettes of the fire fighters and workers as they go around through the different incident scenes, but more especially that night at PGW. What you didn't see and what you didn't hear is the little comments that go on and we encourage other. Some of things like "I might meet you on Broad Street if things go wrong," and the little comments that was noticeable because it was December 22nd and some of the fire fighters was kidding each other saying, "Well, we might have to cancel Christmas." So those are the little things that you don't hear. But through it all, you see nerves of steel. And those nerves of WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS steel come from praying and making sure that we are strong and supportive of each other as a team as we go in and fight the fire. So we get strengthened through each other and through our God so that we can show you nerves of steel. Setting up on that job was no easy task. The first companies on the scene, they found the PGW workers diligently trying to control the flow and to make sure everything that they could do was in control until we got our stream set up in the north sector, setting up the fire stream so that we could cool that tank so that there wouldn't be a castratory. Through all of this, the idea and the notion that some of those kiddings around and some of the those jokes could be true. So we just moved forward and did the job. And the coordination of the effort through Deputy Chief Matthew McCrory, making sure that all of those things were in place, and he had to stand face-to-face with that tank also and get that job done. We appreciate that you acknowledge that we go out and that we do a good job. And we'd like to thank you for recognizing us. WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS I'd like to thank the Philadelphia Gas Works for their membership that was there, and more especially for that brave young man who hung around with us in the face of danger while he was injured so that he could ensure that we weren't turning the wrong valves or we weren't setting up where we would get side-tracked or get blind-sided by the fire. So we do appreciate that. And more especially, all of the other coordination that went on with the City Services, Director Martz who was there. Inside that command post, there's a lot of things that go on. And sometimes that calming effect, making sure we get all of the agencies coordinated so that we can get the job done is a really harrowing experience, but we got it done. It was a really coordinated effort through all of the City agencies that participated that night. Some of the fire fighters that weren't on the scene, they out in the neighborhoods working with the gas workers and the other agencies that came out to, not only assess the situation in some of those properties in South Philadelphia, but also to make sure that there was a reassurance, that special reassurance to all of those citizens and WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS your neighbors that said "We're here, we're going to be here, we're going to get this straightened out and it will be under control." So we say to you thank you, and we accept it and this is, again, on behalf of all the men and women of the fire service here in the City of Philadelphia. Again, thank you. (Applause.)

The Chair at this time recognizes our very popular Managing Director Joe Martz. (Applause.)

Thank you, Madam President. Councilman Rizzo, Members of Council, I'll try to be brief because I know you have an awful lot of work ahead of you today. But I can't emphasize enough what that night was like and how difficult that night was. It was probably the coldest day of the year up to that point. I don't remember it ever being quite that frigid it the year 2000, but it was brutally cold. And the men and women that we hire to protect us everyday were just absolutely remarkable on those lines. I was standing out there at the fire WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS scene and talking to Deputy Commissioner Aires about what would happen, just what if something went wrong. I don't even want to repeat just how bad things could have gotten if that liquefied natural gas tank had exploded. And I think a great deal about what Controller Saidel says when he's at fire graduation services. He says that human nature is to run away from a terrible situation like that. Human nature has a fire fighter or anybody running from a fire. And to watch these men and women run to that fire knowing just how bad things could have gotten in the midst of that fire had it gotten any further out of control, and I mean we're talking a hundred fifty feet. A hundred and fifty feet was the difference between that tank going up and it not going up. And to see our men and women stand there pouring water on that fire all night is just absolutely remarkable and they are truly heros to us. The same goes with the men and women of the Philadelphia Gas Works who worked tirelessly with us that night. And I see Kevin Boyle and he's not able to be over here with us, but I just want acknowledge Kevin who was with us every step of the WELCOME AND PRESENTATIONS way, Kevin Boyle from PGW, a great guy. (Applause.)

But it didn't stop after the fire ended. That cooperation continued throughout the days and weeks that followed the fire, getting people service back on and getting us back to our normal lives. And that happens because we have a great group of trained people int his City that we pay a lot of not a money for but this is why you pay them a lot of money because they're the best at it around. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

Thank you Managing Director. And I want you all to know that when managing Martz knew that we were going to do this resolution this morning, he adjusted his schedule to make sure he was here to say thank you personally to all the people involved in this issue. And again, thank you very much. All Council, I'm sure, congratulate you. (Applause.)

Councilman DiCicco, your light on. Do you want to be recognized? COMMUNICATIONS

I have a guest I want to announce later. Thank you.

Council will be at ease. (Council at ease.)

The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco.

Thank you, Madam President. Later this morning I will be introducing a resolution proclaiming the month of March as American Red Cross month. With us this morning we have the Chief Executive Officer Mr. Frank Donahue from the American Red Cross and with him also is Brent Thompson, his Chief of Staff, and I'd like them to stand and be recognized. (Applause.)

We welcome you. Thank you very much. The next order of business is communications. The Chair requests that the Sergeant-at-Arms deliver the messages from the Mayor to the Clerk. The Clerk will please read the messages from the Mayor. COMMUNICATIONS

To the President and Members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia. I am pleased to advise you that on February 28, 2001, I signed Bill No. 010092 that was passed by Council at its Session on February 22, 2001. And I'm transmitting for the consideration of your honorable body a resolution approving the redevelopment contract and disposition supplement of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia for the redevelopment and urban renewal of portion of the Model Cities Urban Renewal Area. And a resolution approving the redevelopment contract and disposition supplement of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia which includes inter alia the redevelopment and urban renewal of a portion of South Central Urban Renewal Area. And a resolution approving the redevelopment contract and disposition supplement of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia for the redevelopment and urban renewal of a portion of Model Cities Urban Area. And a resolution approving the COMMUNICATIONS redevelopment contract and disposition supplement of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia which includes inter alia the redevelopment and urban renewal of a portion of the Jefferson Square Urban Renewal Area. And an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Redevelopment Authority for Industrial Development without consideration a deed conveying fee simple title to a certain tract of City-owned land with the buildings and improvements thereon situate at 1021 Chestnut Street. And an ordinance approving an assignment and assumption of certain rights under meter and regulator easement, as amended, between the City of Philadelphia and Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation concerning premises known as 6850 Essington Avenue. And an ordinance approving a license easement agreement between the City of Philadelphia and BBC Real Estate Corporation concerning premises known as 6740 Essington Avenue.

The messages will be printed in the Journal. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS The Clerk will read any other communications in her possession.

That's all I have, Madam President.

Thank you. The next order of business is introduction of bills and resolutions. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.

Thank you, Madam President. I move that the rules of Council be suspended in order to permit consideration of resolutions at their time of introduction. (Duly seconded.)

It has been moved and properly seconded that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit immediate consideration of resolutions at the time of introduction. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed, nay. (No response.)

The ayes have INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS it, and the motion is carried. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.

Thank you, Madam President. I offer one resolution which I ask to be referred to the appropriate committee.

The Clerk will please read the title of resolution.

A resolution authorizing City Council's Committee on Legislative Oversight and Committee on Education to hold joint hearings on how the School District of Philadelphia is cooperating with the City's charter schools and how the School District evaluates its charter school applications and to measure the effectiveness of our currently operating charter schools.

This resolution will be referred to the appropriate committee. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.

Thank you, Madam President. This morning I introduce one bill and resolution on your half, one resolution on behalf of Councilman Kenney and myself, and another INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS that certainly was co-signed by all Members of Council.

Thank you. The Clerk will please read the title of the bill.

An ordinance granting permission to MCI Metro Access Transmission Service, a Delaware Corporation, its successors and assigns to maintain, operate, replace and remove a telecommunication system over, under, and the public rights-of-way of the City streets.

This bill will be referred to the appropriate committee. The Clerk will please read the title of the first resolution.

And a resolution approving the redevelopment contract and disposition supplement of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia which includes, inter alia, the redevelopment and urban renewal of a portion of the South Central Urban Renewal Area.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.

Madam President, I move the adoption of the resolution. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS (Duly seconded.)

It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed, nay. (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution has been adopted. The Clerk will please read the title of the next resolution.

A resolution honoring the many foreign-born and internationally adopted children who automatically acquire American citizenship on February 27, 2001, as part of the Child Citizen Act of 2000.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.

Thank you, Madam President. I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.) INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution has been adopted. (Applause.)

The Clerk will please read the title of the next bill.

A resolution honoring the retirement of Almina Young, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority for her civic commitment and dedication to the City of Philadelphia.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.

Thank you, Madam President. I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It has been INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed, nay. (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution has been adopted. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.

Madam President, I have no bills or resolutions.

The Chair thanks the gentleman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Krajewski.

Madam President, I have no bills or resolutions.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Mariano.

Madam President, no bills or resolutions.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

Madam President, I offer two bills.

The Clerk will please read the title of the first bill.

An ordinance approving a lease easement agreement between the City of Philadelphia and BBC Real Estate Corporation concerning premises known as 6740 Essington Avenue.

The bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.

And an ordinance approving an assignment and assumption of certain rights under meter and regulator easement, as amended, between the City Philadelphia Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation concerning premises known as 6850 Essington Avenue.

This bill will also be referred to the appropriate committee. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller.

Thank you, Madam President. I offer one resolution.

The Clerk will please read the title of the resolution. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

A resolution calling on the General Assembly to repeal the provisions of the dog law that limits City power to legislate with respect to dangerous dogs and that prohibit the enactment of breed-specific ordinances.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller.

I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution has been adopted. The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.

Madam President, I have no bills or resolutions today.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

Thank you, Madam President. I have no bills or resolutions.

The Chair thanks the Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode.

Thank you, Madam President. I have no bills or resolutions.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.

Madam President, I have no bills or resolutions today.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco.

Thank you, Madam President. I offer two resolutions and three bills.

The Clerk will please read the title of the first bill.

An ordinance authorizing the Commission of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Authority of Industrial Development without consideration a deed conveying fee simple title to a certain tract of City-owned land with the buildings and improvements thereon situate 1021 Chestnut Street. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

The bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.

And an ordinance amending Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code entitled Zoning and Planning by amending Section 14-1610 entitled "Olde City Residential Area Special District Controls," by providing that fortune teller establishments and tattoo and body piercing establishments are prohibited uses within the district, all under certain terms and conditions.

The bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.

And an ordinance amending Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code entitled "Zoning and Planning," by amending Chapter 14-1600 entitled"miscellaneous," by adding a new section 14-1621 entitled "Passyunk Avenue Special Controls District," under certain terms and conditions.

The bill will also be referred to the appropriate committee. The Clerk will please read the title of the first resolution.

A resolution approving the redevelopment contract and disposition supplement of INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia which includes, inter alia, the redevelopment and urban renewal of a portion of the Jefferson Square Urban Renewal Area.

The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco.

Move for adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution has been adopted. The Clerk will please read the title of the second resolution.

A resolution proclaiming the month of March as the American Red Cross Month.

The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

Thank you, Madam President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution has been adopted. The Chair recognizes Councilman O'Neill.

Madam President, I offer three bills.

The Clerk will please read the title of the first bill.

An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of the following area of the City: Area generally bounded by Rhawn Street, Whittaker Street, and certain railroad right-of-way Kendrick Street extended to Dalkeith Street. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

The bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.

And an ordinance authorizing the revision of lines and grades on a portion of City Plan No. 319 of an area bounded by Rhawn Street, Dalkeith Street and the New York Short Line Railroad by striking from the City Plan and vacating portions of Stanwich Street, Pennway Street and Solly Avenue.

This bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.

And an ordinance authorizing the paving of Meadow Brook Drive, Peach Tree Lane, Apple Blossom Way, Cherry Blossom Way, Apple Blossom Drive, Rose Petal Way, and Rose Petal Drive, under certain terms and conditions.

The bill will also be referred to the appropriate committee. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.

Thank you, Madam President. I have two resolutions.

The Clerk will please read the title of the first resolution.

A resolution approving the INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS redevelopment contract and disposition supplement of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia for the redevelop and urban renewal of a portion of the Model Cities Urban Renewal Area.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.

Move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution has been adopted. The Clerk will please read the title of the second resolution.

A resolution approving the redevelopment contract and disposition supplement of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia for the redevelopment and urban renewal INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS of a portion of Model Cities Urban Renewal Area.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.

Move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution has been adopted. The Chair recognizes Councilman Longstreth.

I have no bills or resolutions, Madam President.

The Chair thanks the gentleman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.

Madam President, I have one resolution today. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

The Clerk will please read the title of the resolution.

A resolution recognizing Jane G. Pheifer (ph) for her 20 years of excellent and inspired leadership as president of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and a show manager of the world-famous Philadelphia Flower Show.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.

Madam President, I move for the adoption of this resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution has been adopted. At this time the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco for a report from the Committee REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES of Health and Human Services.

Madam President, the Committee on Public Health and Human Services reports one bill out of committee with a favorable recommendation.

Thank you. The Clerk will please read the report.

To President and Members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, the Committee on Public Health to which was referred Bill No. 000063 entitled an ordinance amending Chapter 6-400 of the Philadelphia Code relating to miscellaneous standards and requirements of the health code by prohibiting tattooing, body piercing, and body art establishments from providing services to minors without parental consent and by requiring such establishments to operate in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Board of Health for the purpose of preventing injury and the spread of communicable disease, all under certain terms and conditions, respectfully reports it has considered the same and returns the attached bill to Council with a favorable recommendation.

Thank you. SPEECHES Bill No. 000063 will be placed on the First Reading Calendar for our next Session of Council. The next order of business is consideration of the Calendar. There are no bills on our First Reading Calendar and there are no bills on our Second Reading Calendar. It has been called to my attention that one of our colleagues will be celebrating a birthday on Monday, and I would like you all to join me in offering our congratulations to Councilman Rizzo and we'd like to say happy birthday and many, many more.

Thank you. Thank you.

This concludes our calendar for today. Are there any speeches on the part of the minority? Are there speeches on the part of the majority? The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.

Thank you, Madam President. Just some brief comments regarding a letter that we sent our colleagues yesterday. As you know, PGW is a City-owned asset, SPEECHES and the responsibilities for operating PGW rests with the Mayor and City Council. And through the agreement, we have participation from Council on the Philadelphia Gas Commission. The Gas Commission used to have the authority for setting rates and tariffs, but that authority went to the PUC in July of 2000. So right now, the Gas Commission has budget oversight as well as other provisions of the agreement that have not been given over to the Pennsylvania Utility Commission. And since we do not have that on-hand contact with PGW through the tariff and the regulation provision, communication, we believe, is very, very important and a must if the Council is going to be informed about the operations of PGW and the decisions that are made. We were called on to rescue PGW with a $45 million loan last January. And also with that loan, we required that there would be some accountability. And certainly, with your help, and I want to say thank you, I called you and offered a proposal what I thought would be a good way for Council to be kept informed about what was going on with PGW because PGW actually is managed by the Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation. We SPEECHES believe that we needed to have more information to know prior to decisions being made that we be informed since Council in the end would be called on to provide the funds in any emergency situation with PGW. You agreed to be part of a recovery team, which I thought was a mechanism that would help us keep abreast of what was going on. There were agreements going on in Harrisburg relative to orders issued by the PUC, and we believe that we should be a part of that discussion. The agreement with the recovery team was that the Mayor will speak for us in Harrisburg, but we also required that the message be developed by the three of us and that the recovery team would clearly understand what the message was going to be, although they spoke the message in Harrisburg. We found out that was not the case. We were not part of developing the message. Negotiations were made in Harrisburg. We were informed at the last minute of what they were going to be. When we challenged some of the agreement issues, we were ignored. And so rather than act in a collaborative way, there has been no collaboration. SPEECHES And so to my colleagues, Council President and I -- and I can't speak to for her; she can speak for herself. But we signed a letter that we circulated yesterday saying that we could not be part of the recovery team because the process is not working correctly and we will not be held accountable for decisions that are made about PGW and we're not part of that decision-making process. So that is how we came to our conclusion in terms of our participation. Our effort is to make PGW work. We honored some outstanding employees here this morning. They work very hard. PGW has a lot of problems, but it can't be solved alone and then have those people who are solving those problems come to us and ask us for us for the money when many issues should be discussed prior coming to us. And the experience of the Gas Commission is very important. We have employees who have worked with PGW for many, many years and know the right questions to ask about any issue relative to PGW, but they have been ignored. New people have been making decisions relative to PGW and we are made to feel like we're interfering when we ask the SPEECHES pertinent questions about what's going on over there. So I just wanted our colleagues to know why the president and I decided that we wanted to be part of a collaborative that is going to work. The collaborative is not working, will not work. So we'll just have to take each day as it comes relative to PGW. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco.

Thank you, Madam President. Before I make some comments about the incident that took place this past Tuesday on South Street, I do want to thank those colleagues who were about to introduce a resolution today calling for hearings on that situation. They respected my request to hold off until I get some opinions from the Law Department, so I want to publicly thank them for doing that. There's a lot of finger-pointing going on. As usual, Philadelphia Police Department takes the brunt of the finger-pointing when things go wrong in this town. I'd like to set the record SPEECHES straight, if I may. Just to give you a brief history of the events that were taking place for about a year in anticipation of the Mardi Gras celebration on South Street. For the better part of the year, Lieutenant Walker from the South Street detail unit and other members from the Philadelphia Police Department, members of the Sanitation Department, Managing Director's Office, and other City agencies worked with the South Street Head House District. South Street Head House District is the entity that basically is the non-profit group that oversee the commercial activities along South Street. And their primary purpose was to develop a plan based on the number of people who attended last year's Mardi Gras, which last year no one expected to be in the area 25,000, by the way, because for the three or four years leading up to last year, last year meaning February of 2000, the largest the crowds had ever been at a Mardi Gras celebration on South Street were somewhere between 5- and 7000 people. In February of 2,000, the crowd swelled to about 25,000. It was spring break, the weather was a balmy 70 degrees. No one expected it. So with that SPEECHES information, it was decided that the City would prepare for crowds in the area of 20- to 25,000 people. m. on that Tuesday morning. The crowds were well behaved. Traffic was moving. There were no incidences. I returned to South Street somewhere between 3:30 and 4:00 and stayed for the better part of an hour. Up until around 5:30 on Tuesday, there had only been three arrests that were made. In fact, one arrest was occurring while I was leaving South Street for someone who decided to use the wall of the Gap as a public toilet. So for all intents and purposes, the crowds were maintained, the police were doing their job, things were going along quite well. I read in today's "Daily News" and the front page says "They Blue It," B-L-U-E, meaning the police blew it. Nothing could be further from the truth. The media, I think, in addition to many other people, needs to take some responsibility for what occurred on South Street. There were reporters from every news station, two and three trucks from every news station. They even had cameras mounted SPEECHES on the second floor of one of the popular bars from 7:00 in the morning through 2:00 in the morning waiting for incidents to occur. The big gyrocam was in the air and kept up an entire community of South Philadelphia until 2:00 in the morning and then returned at 5:30 in the morning to take further pictures of what was going on on South Street. When you look at the size of the crowd that came to South Street after 7:00, the crowd had swelled to somewhere between 40- to 50,000 people. If we had the entire Philadelphia Police Department on South Street, given the nature of the people who were out there -- and they were fully intent on being disruptive and destroying property. These were drug-crazed kids full of alcohol that the bars -- the handful of bars who have to accept responsibility started pumping them full of booze at 7:00 in the morning and didn't stop in some cases until 2:00. Fat Tuesday, which was the primary location for the Mardi Gras celebration continued to serve alcohol until 2:00 in the morning after the rioting, after the destruction, after the mayhem. They have a responsibility. You can't blame the cops. The cops did their job. I was there.

SPEECHES What you saw on TV was not exactly accurate. The gyrocam was pointing in the direction of the South Street in the vicinity from Eighth Street to Seventh Street. And as the crowds were being moved west on South Street by the Philadelphia Police, there were police at 12th Street moving east. The crowds in the center, as they were trying to escape South Street began their destructive activities. You might have seen if you were watching the news where an individual was in his car trying to get off of South Street. He was attacked. His car was pummeled. He was taken out of his car and beaten. Is that the fault of the police? Could you have a cop at every location on South Street? It was impossible. m. They were wasted. The majority of these kids, by the way, were coming in from outside of the City of Philadelphia. It wouldn't have made it right if they were Philadelphians that were causing the damage; I'm not suggesting that. My comments to the media that I'm being criticized by people in South Jersey and they SPEECHES demand an apology from me, which is never coming because I think the citizens of Philadelphia deserve the apology for the behavior of their children who come to Philadelphia and think that it's okay to destroy it. That's not acceptable. I will never apologize to Washington Township, Deptford Township or any other township. The PATCO high speed line was packed with kids from 14 to 17 years old coming into the City. What about the responsibility that lies on their parents from the suburbs in South Jersey for allowing their kids to come to Philadelphia and be in the City at 10, 11, 12 o'clock at night? They have some responsibility. Don't point fingers to the Police Department. They did an excellent job. In fact, when I was listening to a radio station, a talk show on the way home last night, one of the ladies from one of the townships in South Jersey who was quite upset about my comments said "Couldn't have been the kids from our township. " So you can learn what those kids are learning at home from that comment. The only thing I will add is that I've SPEECHES given a lot of thought to this over the last 48 hours. The Mayor -- we had a press conference yesterday. I do understand first right amendment. People want to have a party. You have a business, you're entitled to advertise. I'm making a formal request this morning to the South Head House District they make a public statement that they will not promote and not encourage another Mardi Gras next year. It is not fair to the citizens in my district. It is not fair to the citizens of Philadelphia to have to support the resources that go into these activities. And these aren't City-sponsored events. We have to provide the police, the sanitation, and all the other infrastructure that goes into these activities for six or seven liquor establishments to earn a profit. It is not worth it. We shouldn't allow it. I don't think it's an infringement on anyone's rights. Other communities make these decisions. I think it's time for the City and it's time for the people in the South Street community, the business community, to make the statement, no more Mardi Gras on South Street. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you. SPEECHES The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.

Thank you, Madam President. I want to echo Councilman DiCicco's remarks. First of all, let me say to him personally that I've known him for a long, long time as a Councilmember and beforehand. I've always known him to attempt to try to mediate and to deal with people in a fair way. And I know through the course of the last year and even the year before he has tried every possible avenue, used all possible patience in trying to make this thing work. His nature is one of trying to deal with people in a way that tries to balance all the needs and wants of individuals, both the residents who live in that neighborhood, the retail business establishments and the bars and restaurants and the people who serve alcohol. And I know if anyone could do it, he could do it. The problem is that the people involved in organizing this event have one motive in mind, and that is to fill those cash registers as full as they can fill them with money that comes from the sale of alcohol to anybody who is willing to put the money up. I was out there myself for a few hours between 8 and 10:30 at night. I think the average SPEECHES age of the people out there had to be 18 or 19 years old. I saw young girls who were 14, 15, 16 years old being encouraged to bare themselves to this drunken mob. And I wondered to myself, when you dropped your kid off at the high speed line or you dropped your kid off at Front and South, did you not think of the possibility that one of your daughters may have been drug up an alley, up a side street, which there are many, many in those neighborhoods, and been raped and beaten? m. in the morning until late in the evening. It reminded me, frankly, of a British soccer riot. It was beer, testosterone, violence, and vandalism. Do you think about this stuff when you drop your kids off or you know that they're coming? I know you can't stop an 18- or 19-year-old kid from doing something. But when your kid's 14, 15 and you drop them off and sanction this kind of stuff, I wonder what's going on. I feel bad for Frank, Councilman DiCicco, because I know that with every fiber in his SPEECHES body he would love to have made this work and to have accommodated all of the interests. But it's just not possible when the main motivation of six or seven bar owners is greed and an uncaring attitude about what goes on in the City. I also believe and agree with him on his statements regarding the Philadelphia Police Department. And the other thing I recognized out there and then while watching television in horror later on that evening was these young people knew that nothing was going to be done to them. They assaulted police officers. They threw bottles at police officers. They taunted the police. They tried to turn over police cars and police wagons. And you know why they did it? Because they knew that nothing was going to happen to them. They weren't going to be hit. They weren't going to feel the physical result of that kind of activity. " There is no teeth to the law. " And if I had gotten in that officer's face and if I had said "F you, Officer. I'm not doing this and you can't make me do it this," I would have knew what was coming. Something was coming, and when it came, my parents would have been the last people to hire a lawyer and complain about the way in which their child was being treated. I think that we've come a long way in Philadelphia in matters of police abuse, in matters of violence, but I do think we have a long way to go. But I tell you what, those drunken hooligan vandal criminals that were doing the activities that they were doing, jumping on cars, beating people up -- I walked down the street and watched people just randomly punch people in the face, randomly punch people in the face, get into a mob fight, break it up, walk 30 feet away again and punch some other stranger in the face.

If you can't use a SPEECHES physical restraint or a little more aggressive physicality to deal with those people, they're never going to get the message. I watched our police officers roll in the street in the gutter with drunken pigs trying in vane to get their arms behind their back and get the handcuffs on them so that they weren't hurt and that some news camera in the sky wouldn't see them doing what they should have done, which was crack a couple heads open, and I think that the message would have gotten out. We give police officers billy clubs and then tell them not to use them. My point in this is that we should not approach every issue in a violent way, but when people begin to get violent and they begin to jeopardize the safety and health and well-being of others, then actions need to be taken quickly by our police, but they are more handcuffed than the criminals on the street. So I think we have to take a look at how we deal with these cretins in the future. The Mayor yesterday at the press conference talked about concern over Constitutional rights and the rights to celebrate. This is no celebration. This is an intentional effort on the SPEECHES part have a number of bars to sell as much beer as possible. The people who attend it for the most part are out there to get as drunk as possible and they can see what they can do to disrupt and hurt people and damage businesses and damage the City's reputation. This is not something that we need to be concerned about as a location for tourism in our City. This event has done more to hurt tourism in our City. I turned on the news the next day to watch the Today Show and saw this activity on the national news, and it was on every national news. We have to do all we can and use every legal avenue possibly, and I agree with Councilman DiCicco, to put every obstacle in the way of ever letting this event take place in Philadelphia ever again, not figure out a way to make it work, not figure out a way to meet with the organizers, not figure out a way to better deploy police. We won't have to worry about any of these things if we find a legal way to enjoin these bars and enjoin these businesses from ever sponsoring, promoting or having this event ever again. And as it relates to people from out of town, I have a suggestion for the organizers of SPEECHES this. If they would like to go to the Cherry Hill Mall or the Deptford Mall and have this event over in Glouster Township or in South Jersey or in some suburban community, we will help them organize that. And their own kids won't even have to take the high speed line or the bus in or the R5, they can have it right there and be able to walk home in their intoxicated stupor back into their nice cul-de-sacs where they belong. I want to thank the Police Department for their efforts. I want to thank Councilman DiCicco for his efforts. And I would urge this Administration and Mayor Street to figure out every legal avenue we possibly can to keep this from happening. And if Councilman DiCicco can find a way to sue these bars to recover the cost of this debacle, then I would happily join in that lawsuit and I would hope that Members of Council would also join with him. Thank you, Madam President.

Councilman DiCicco, I just want to say that I along with, I guess, just about every member of this Council will certainly be very supportive of whatever efforts you SPEECHES make regarding this issue and we'll work very diligently with you so that this can be addressed.

Thank you, Madam President.

At this time the Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank Councilman DiCicco for his efforts. And I believe that the police deserve definitely our support. I think they were really outnumbered during the period of time that I saw on TV. By the way, I was watching WPVI so the Nielson ratings should be counting me as part of their viewership; probably one of the last ones remaining there. But I don't think the media causes riots. The media does not cause those kids to go ahead and do the things that they did. I think they would have done it -- I think vigilance is one thing that we have to keep. I think by even intimating that we should censor the media so that cops can have a free reign should not be done. I think the cops have a job. I think we've got to give them the tools. I think we've got to be able to send a SPEECHES message. What happened on Tuesday was a bunch of vandals, bunch of individuals, bunch of drunkards came into the City. They probably have parents who work in the City. Thier parents come in during the day and go out, and they came in to get drunk and destroy property. And you saw the destruction of property. You saw aggravated assault happening. You saw vandalism to an nth degree I haven't seen since the Watts riots and the Detroit riots of the '60s and '70s. And Jim just stated about the young lady who showed the summons that they got from Seamus McCaffery. And you put that into the context of other young people who came to the City in June and July of this year for the Republican Convention. And they came to exercise truly their first amendment rights; and they got arrested, not for vandalism, they got arrested because they were puppet makers, puppeteers. And they got arrested and put away. And could you imagine what would happen to the parents of these kids from Washington Township and Deptford and so on if we had treated the vandals, the criminals, the individuals who SPEECHES stole, who beat up cops and other individuals on Tuesday, if we had treated them the way we treated those kids who came here to make a political statement, if we had thrown an incredible amount of charges on them on Tuesday, terroristic acts, aggravated assault, rioting, then giving them a billion dollar bail and forced their parents to come in. They came in, they destroyed property and they went home the same night. Other kids came in talking about poverty, oppression, and they stood in jail for a couple of weeks. And we lauded the effort at that time. We said, that's the way we should do it. Violate the first amendment and you get applauded. Violate criminal laws, aggravated assault, criminal destruction of property, and you get a summons and you go home the same night. And your parents are not put into any shame because they're not forced to come in and then put bail money of million dollars. That's the way we should have done with these individuals on Tuesday. If we are going to deal with political demonstrators who come to the home of independence and the Constitution the way we dealt with them during the Republican Convention, then let's deal with SPEECHES criminals that really destroy and abuse their right in the same manner. They went home to Washington Township, to Deptford the same night. Their parents were not forced to hock their property to put up a million dollar bail. And they were outsiders, the kids who came here because they were not from Philadelphia, the kids who were -- most of them who were doing the destruction of property. So let's give the police their due. They were outnumbered. They have the instruments. Also, let's give the media because the media observation of activities is what's keeping a lot of things from happening that can be abusive. No, the things that were to blame is alcohol, it is the inability to be able to control crowds and understand that people come in here for different things. Mardi Gras is supposed to have a religious basis to it.

Those kids, when you name it Fat Tuesday, they come in with a different intent. They come in with a different purpose. They were not celebrating the first amendment on Tuesday. Those kids were involved in criminal activity and they should have been treated as criminals and they SPEECHES should have been kept overnight and they should not have just been given summons. Let's treat the political demonstrators in the same way that we treat the criminals or let's treat the criminals the way we treat the political demonstrators. But do not set up a double standard. They should have been kept -- we want to send a message for next year, keep them in. Force their parents put up the money for a million dollar bail. Hire lawyers to defend yourself against criminal charges. You want to see a message along those lines? Send it that way. We treated kids who came in justly as terrorists in the summer. We didn't treat criminals like that on Tuesday. Thank you. )

Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.

Just to change the subject a little bit, but still it deals with the greed, maybe not the greed of the tavern owners, but it was intriguing to me to see these huge so-called Wawa adds in the "Inquirer" this week. The editorial policies favoring no smoking policies. The "Inquirer" always talks about morality and SPEECHES goodness and justice, but we note in those cigarette adds paid for, undoubtedly, by the tobacco lobby that the "Inquirer" doesn't let its judgements on the editorial page interfere with its money-making propensities. Just think of what those adds cost in the Sunday "Inquirer" and I think in yesterday's "Inquirer" urging the sale of cigarettes. In an effort to excuse themselves a little, in the left-hand corner at the bottom saying "This is only intended for adults who smoke." At a time when the country is doing everything it can to keep youngsters and even adults from indulging in smoking, I think this display of greed by the "Inquirer" in running these ads teach us that the "Inquirer" is not a good standard for morality. Thank you very much, Madam president.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.

Thank you, Madam President. I do for a moment want to go back to the earlier topic of discussion. Two points of observation and some comments. One, with regard to some comments made by my colleague Councilman Kenney, from this point on, I will not standing on SPEECHES any street corners with you. (Laughter.)

I don't anticipate having my head cracked when I stand on the street corner. Second, I want to reassure my mom who lives in New Jersey that my colleague was not talking about her and that she is a good citizen and comes to the City from time to time, although not on Fat Tuesday. I also want to express my support, one, for our colleague Councilman DiCicco, express my empathy toward him. He and I share another day in the course of the year, an event that kind of starts in my district and winds its way over to Councilman DiCicco's district and then Councilman Clarke has the pleasure of some of the activity as well in the middle of the summer.

You can add my district to that, too.

Madam President, I'm glad your sharing the pain. That event, though, while it has attracted a fair amount of attention over the years, good and bad, has certainly begun to SPEECHES clean up its act. We've not seen in the past year or so anywhere near some of the activities of the past. It is not perfect; it still has a ways to go. But the Councilman is absolutely correct when he talks about all the finger-pointing going on, it seems to me that the majority of the fingers that should be pointing anywhere should be pointing at the people who were engaged in the activity. Both Councilman DiCicco and Councilman Kenney talk about the business owners. I think that they obviously have to accept some responsibility for what would you expect if you're serving alcohol to young people, some of age, many apparently not, from 7:00 in the morning until late in the evening, if not into the next morning? What do you think might happen under those circumstances? It doesn't excuse the behavior, but it is all a part of this activity. Now, the City has demonstrated an ability, and I commend Police Commissioner Timoney for his honesty in critiquing at least initially the event. Could the Police Department have done things a little differently? Could they have deployed personnel in a different fashion? And rather than trying to make excuses, the Commissioner, as he has SPEECHES done many, many times in the past, stood up and said, yes, we could have done some things differently. But I think as the Councilman pointed out earlier, 40,000 people versus -- and I say this facetiously, why don't we just call in every police officer from all over the City and leave the rest of City unprotected? 40,000 people intent on creating destruction and mayhem versus 7,000 officers, there's still a 6 to 1 ratio, and I don't know if anyone around here has ever tried to keep track of six drunk people in the street; it's not a lot of fun. So we were out-personed, if you will, from the start. And we were never going to pull in that many officers, and we shouldn't have to. We've demonstrated an ability to have large events in this City, whether it's Welcome America, the Black Family Reunion, the Unity Day out on the Parkway, and a whole host of other events and activities that don't turn into this kind of crap and many, many more people involved. It is the people involved in many of these events who cause the problems. And whether they are Philadelphians or non-Philadelphians, the behavior is not excusable, it is not acceptable. If people want to SPEECHES engage in that kind of activity, they should stay in their houses, do whatever it is they're going to do and leave us alone. And lastly, let me say based on many of the comments that have come into my office, as best we can tell, there were no Greeks; there were only jerks. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Mariano.

Thank you, Madam President. Pretty much what Councilman DiCicco spoke about and the rest of the Councilpeople that spoke. But sometimes in 1997, we passed an ordinance here and it's only a City Council ordinance, it was a called parental responsibility bill. Now, the way that bill was supposed to work was it left it up to the particular municipal court judge at the time of the arraignment of that particular individual to decide if he wanted to put some kind of community service on the individual child, in this case, a 14, 15 year old or Mr. and Mrs. Deptford or Cherry Hill or whereever. Now, we're encumbered sometimes by the parameters of the Philadelphia City Charter. It's SPEECHES my understanding, if I have this right, we can only charge $300 or Judge McCaffery in this case can only fine them $300. $300 is a pair a sneakers now. When they did these ordinances in the '50s when we started the City Charter, $300 is a big amount of money. So $300 isn't a big deal from Mr. and Mrs. Cherry Hill or Deptford or wherever we're going to put this blame on to pay. Maybe Judge McCaffery and the rest of the judges should bring some of them parents over here on a Saturday, let them clean up for Councilman DiCicco and Councilman Kenney and the rest of the Councilpeople that live with all the time on South Street. And it would be a good idea where the judge under his individual ideas can decide where -- you know, it might not be a good case, that may be a case for this. And the only other thing about this is we, as elected officials, we tend to stick up for the Philadelphia Police Department. In this case, a lot of different kind of political views here are sticking up for the Philadelphia Police Department. We cannot mistaken the individual patrolman with the command here. Something went wrong here, and a lot of people haven't said that. This is professional SPEECHES police department, and we handled the Greek picnic and there was problems there at first. They settled that in the next year. This can never happen again. Whatever they decide down there -- I'm going to leave that up to Councilman DiCicco. The command, whoever's in charge down there, you know, this is a professional military structure organization, it flows down from the commissioner down. Someone between that poor lieutenant that I saw on TV that did a great job, by the way, and those people that Councilman Kenney talked about that tried to subdue drunken people in the gutter that were getting spit on and told them that they were jerks in high school and didn't have the nerve to do anything to them, someone there is to blame. And we're going to have to find out who that is, no matter who we like, no matter who the commissioner is and what we think about any of the people in the command structure here. This has been handled before. We had a convention here in the summer and things happened. We weren't prepared for this. Somebody grossly underestimated what was going happen here Tuesday night and they have to answer to this. This can never happen again. Thank you, Madam President. SPEECHES

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.

Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, I was not going to speak on this issue, although I had some thoughts on this particular issue. I sat home the evening of the event and watched TV along with many of us in Philadelphia, and I received a number of phone calls from friends of mine and they wanted to know "Are you looking at this?" I actually got a call from my little brother because he had heard somebody who was apparently looking at this over the internet, he lives in Florida, about what was going on. And I was kind of disturbed about the calls because they were along a racial nature. And you know, a lot of us don't want to talk about it. But I can't sit here and not talk about it because I would be contributing to what I think is a growing problem in the City of Philadelphia. It's called the quiet racial divide. In the old days, there was this problem and it was right out there. I mean, I used to be a kid and I used to go swimming down at Gustine Pool. I hd to walk almost to Broad Street because I SPEECHES couldn't walk through Fairmount because there was this issue about race and the kids down there didn't allow you to walk through their community. But now we've gone much beyond that and we're working together in public. But in private, we still have a problem. My concern is that as we talk about dealing with this particular issue on South Street that we don't confront it truly and we don't talk about this growing concern about certain members in the community thinking that there isn't in fact a disparity in the treatment of certain function versus others. And there has a response by the Police Department, and I believe a large segment of the community believes it and I believe a large segment of the community do not believe it. So I think as we talk about this issue, we need to be honest with ourselves and talk about the increasing concerns that I have about this quiet racial divide, because in my year and a half here in this Council, the one thing I feel real good about is the fact that we've been able to talk about issues. We are a body and we sometimes talk about that behind closed doors as we've been reminded by the press. But I think we need to be honest with ourselves and honest SPEECHES with the citizens of the City of Philadelphia and talk about these issues because I just don't want us to be contributing to that issue. So today, I'd like to say as we talk about resolving this issue that look in this in the context of the Greek picnic, as Councilman Nutter had referenced earlier. And as Odunde because there are people who think that for years there has been an effort to move Odunde off of South Street. And we talk about it as a City and as one people. So I just want to say I agree with my colleagues, all the things that they have brought up today, but I just wanted to add that and I hope that will be a part of the discussion. So I want to thank you, Madam President.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Goode.

Thank you, Madam President. Let me first echo the comments of Councilman Clarke. I'm glad that we are able to have a little bit of a talk today. I was disturbed by a number of things the other night. I think that it is time that we begin this type of conversation to bridge the gap. SPEECHES But I did see the other night the bridging of a gap, whether people thought that it was symbolic, whether people thought that it was orchestrated, whatever people thought, I watched the President of the United States reach across race and party lines and embrace the Mayor of this City who worked very hard to defeat him and begin to look at faith-based solutions to many things that we discuss here today. I, on the other hand, am not willing to let the media off the hook, not only because I think that even one publication in particular hyped this event before it happened, but then they gave major play to it. I think the "Philadelphia Inquirer" did the right thing. The front page the next day showed the Bush and Street bridging the gap. It essentially showed the beginning of a debate on the national policy agenda that will include how we embrace faith-based solutions or we don't. The other publication, which I won't even mention to even give them any type of highlight at all, did something very different with that story. But it's not a matter of how much you cover one issue or the other. What we're faced with today, because of the way the media does certain things, is that they never SPEECHES connected the issues. They never connected the fact that there was a President of the United States embracing the Mayor of a large City to look at faith-based solutions to very real problems. What they did was separate the stories and give play to the one that was more sensational. I believe that we all have a lot of work to do. We all share the blame here. Some of that blame needs to be put on the media and we need to begin the type of discussion that Councilman Clarke talked about today and we need to begin discussion probably also about faith-based solutions to these very real problems in Philadelphia. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Does anyone else want to be recognized? Seeing none, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco for a motion.

Thank you, Madam President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday March the 8th at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)

It has been moved and properly seconded that Council stand SPEECHES adjourned until Thursday, March 8, 2001 at 10:00 a.m. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. Council will be adjourned until Thursday, March the 8th. Thank you all very much. (Council adjourned at 11:40 a.m.) C E R T I F I C A T I O N I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of March 1, 2001, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. RE: STATED MEETING ___________________________ Lisa C. Bradley, RPR and Notary Public