Mayor Cherelle Parker signs Kensington business curfew and ban on casino-style games into law

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker signed three public safety-oriented bills into law Wednesday that aim to crack down on nuisance businesses and make it harder for people who have committed crimes to evade the police.

During a bill signing ceremony in City Hall, Parker said the legislation she approved in just her third month in office demonstrates her commitment to reducing crime rates and improving the quality of life.

“We are not going to tolerate chaos and disorder in our city. Period,” she said. “We will restore a sense of order and public safety.”

The bill signing Wednesday was Parker’s first as mayor — she’s signed other legislation, but has not held public events to celebrate — and reflects that public safety remains a key priority. Amid historic rates of gun violence, Parker ran in the Democratic primary last year with a tough-on-crime platform and vowed often to end what she described as a “sense of lawlessness” in the city.

The specifics of how she’ll accomplish that aren’t yet clear. On her first day in office, she directed Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel and Managing Director Adam Thiel to develop a comprehensive plan to tackle public safety, from retail theft to shootings to the open-air drug market that has plagued the city’s Kensington neighborhood for years. Their plan is due to be completed next week.

» READ MORE: Philly City Council advances bill requiring the city to collect more data on homelessness and overdose reversals

One of the bills Parker signed Wednesday applies only to parts of Kensington and requires that some businesses adhere to an 11 p.m. curfew.

City Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, who represents Kensington and was the prime backer of the legislation, said the idea is to cut down on nuisance activity taking place late at night in smoke shops, corner stores, and takeout restaurants along the Kensington Avenue corridor.

“Gone are the days when you can fuel disorder in Kensington by operating your business into the wee hours of the morning,” Parker said. “We will not allow nuisance businesses all day and all night to prey on people with substance use disorder.”

» READ MORE: Where the Kensington business curfew applies and how it will work

The second bill Parker signed bans casino-style “skill games” that have proliferated in convenience stores and bodegas across the city. Supporters of that legislation, including Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., who authored the bill, say they’re unregulated and attract crime.

Under the legislation, businesses with casino licenses and bars or restaurants with at least 30 seats are exempt.

The city is already facing litigation over it. Last week, Tariq Jalil, the owner of a South Philadelphia 7-Eleven, and G&B Amusements, a skill game operator, sued and argued that the bill is unconstitutional. That effort is being organized by Pace-O-Matic, a Georgia-based skill games manufacturer that isn’t a party to the suit.

On Wednesday, Parker also signed a bill, championed by City Councilmember Mike Driscoll, that institutes a $2,000 fine for people caught with “tag-flipping” devices, which rotate in a second license plate at the push of a button. Driscoll has said the devices, which are already illegal in Pennsylvania, are often used by people who commit crimes and want to evade identification by law enforcement.

And Parker had a stark warning for people who use the devices and for auto shops that install them: “We will find you.”