Philly City Council will consider blocking Mayor Parker’s triage center plan in Fairmount | Council roundup
And Councilmember Quetcy Lozada passionately defended the Parker administration's effort to clear an encampment in Kensington this week.
Philadelphia City Council will consider legislation that seeks to effectively block Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration from operating an addiction services facility in Fairmount.
Some lawmakers and residents were blindsided to learn from an Inquirer report last week that the administration had quietly opened an intake facility for people in addiction at 2100 W. Girard Ave.
Sources said the facility had been described as a triage center — one of several that the Parker administration has proposed borrowing $100 million to build across the city. Officials later called it a “wellness center,” and then described it as an expansion of existing city services as a homeless shelter that operated on the enclosed Fairmount campus.
Jeffery Young Jr., whose district includes the planned Fairmount site, introduced the legislation Thursday to halt those plans. He said the administration had not briefed him on any plans to repurpose or expand the state-owned, city-run facility in his district. He said his bill would prohibit the Department of Public Property from renewing or starting a new lease agreement at the building.
But Young said he had not yet run the proposal past city attorneys to see if that action fell within Council’s purview.
“If City Council has the authority to authorize leases, I think we have the authority to prohibit leases, as well,” Young said. “As an attorney myself … I believe it is something we can do.”
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said the administration is reviewing the bill. Young said he would not oppose the facility after enough feedback.
“I’m open to discussions, absolutely, but there has been no discussion yet,” Young said.
What was this week’s highlight?
Councilmember Quetcy Lozada made it known that she wasn’t happy about criticism of Wednesday’s encampment clearing in Kensington.
The scene did not unfold as planned on Kensington Avenue on Wednesday morning, where outreach workers arrived to find that the area had been already cleared and that officers had already displaced people onto streets nearby.
But Lozada, a Democrat whose district includes the area, disputed what she saw as a “false” emphasis from critics on the logistical mishaps.
“Yes, people were not there when the service providers arrived,” Lozada said, tearing up on the Council floor, “but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t get services.”
City outreach workers helped place 59 people in housing, detox, or treatment programs during the month-long outreach effort leading up to the encampment closure. City officials said 19 of those people were connected to services on Wednesday.
What else happened this week?
Councilmember Anthony Phillips introduced a bill that would ban most businesses along commercial corridors in West Oak Lane and parts of Mount Airy from operating after midnight.
Phillips represents the 9th District — which is largely composed of Black middle-class homeowners — where Parker served before she became mayor.
In recent years, he said, smoke shops, gambling machines, and 24-hour convenience stores have been popping up in his otherwise quiet district.
“Residents of our district were concerned about businesses that are just open to the wee hours of the night,” said Phillips. “Folks in the ninth district, they want serenity, they want cleanliness, and they just want an oasis of joy in their neighborhoods.”
Phillips said the bill as introduced is narrowly targeted to a few corridors where there have been complaints, but that he sees it as a test run for a midnight curfew for such businesses throughout the 9th District.
There are a few exceptions written into the bill, he says, essentially exempting those with restaurant or liquor licenses.
“A bar could still be open and we have a McDonald’s that can remain open, as well, because they have a drive-thru,” said Phillips.
The new bill was inspired by a similar legislation introduced by Lozada earlier this year, which ordered many businesses in Kensington to close by midnight.
While Phillips’ district doesn’t have much in common with Lozada’s corner of Kensington, he said it was inspiring to see a colleague take aggressive action.
“When I saw Councilwoman Lozada’s bill, I was excited that she was trying to take a stance on public nuisances in the city,” said Phillips. “As a result of that, I said, what can we do?”