Broad Street Brief: A Look Forward to City Council in the Fall; Kensington Sweep Results in 175 Arrests
June 30, 2023
June 30, 2023
City Council is officially on summer recess, but there are plenty of high-profile issues that are sure to be front and center when the legislative body reconvenes in the fall, including continued discussions about policies to address violence and improve public safety, potential decisions regarding the fate of the proposed Center City Sixers arena, and the race for council president.
Last week, Philadelphia police conducted a targeted sweep of the city’s Kensington neighborhood that resulted in 175 arrests for illegal gun and drug possession. The operation was, according to Mayor Jim Kenney, a “necessary step for accountability.”
On Monday, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced a new round of $175,000 in funding for Philadelphia violence prevention programs. The most recent funding — as well as previous rounds of funding distributed and audited by the Philadelphia Foundation and totaling more than a million dollars — is money that has been seized through asset forfeiture.
On Monday, SEPTA CEO Leslie Richards — along with several Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and local and federal elected officials — announced that the transit authority had been awarded $80 million to support upgrades to its bus facilities. SEPTA will be using the federal dollars to advance its goal of a zero-emission fleet.
Moms for Liberty — an organization behind many recent book bans and parental rights movements that has been deemed “antigovernment” and “extremist” by the Southern Poverty Law Center — is hosting its annual summit in Philadelphia this week, which will feature guests like former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The group has drummed up controversy in the leadup to the event, with several historian affinity groups among the most recent to denounce an upcoming welcome dinner to be hosted at the Museum of the American Revolution.
Despite a national trend that saw remote workers leaving major cities during the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent analysis of Census Bureau American Community Survey data by the New York Times shows that Philadelphia was impacted comparatively little, due in part to its lower cost of living.
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