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GENA JOINS UNITED S/SSW COALITION
June 12, 2021
In light of the decommissioning of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) refinery and its recent takeover and cleanup proposals by Hilco, the GENA board has joined a new Community Benefits Association, the United South/Southwest Coalition for healthy Communities. The purpose of the new CBA is to ensure that cleanup and redevelopment plans for the old PES site take into account the health, welfare and prosperity of the surrounding neighborhoods. At present, there are sixteen civic associations and neighborhood groups in "US", including West Passyunk Neighbors Association  and Packer Park Civic Association. The coalition's mission statement reads,

"Our Coalition’s mission is to develop and achieve a Community Benefits Agreement with Hilco Redevelopment Partners, the company redeveloping the former refinery land. We also seek to monitor and ensure enforcement of CBA terms, and to pursue accountability and transparency for surrounding neighborhoods at every stage of Hilco’s redevelopment."

Community Benefits Agreements are legally binding agreements between developers and coalitions of community organizations, addressing a broad range of community needs. They enable local residents to have a meaningful seat at the table with public agencies and developers, shaping large scale development projects in their neighborhoods, pressing for community benefits tailored to their needs, and holding developers accountable for their promises.

You can read more about "US" on their webpage,https://www.unitedsouthsw.org/

GENA will continue to update our community about progress with the CBA, but you can also get direct info by signing up at  https://www.unitedsouthsw.org/join-us

 

PHILADELPHIA CROSSTOWN COALITION EXTENDS GENA'S REACH

In 2017, GENA joined the Philadelphia Crosstown Coalition, a federation of civic associations which have united to advocate on a non partisan basis for quality of life issues and to share resources, best practices and economies of scale for the benefit of the Coalition and of its member organizations.

In recent meetings, The Philadelphia Crosstown Coalition, has supported City Council legislation providing for extending police confiscation powers to include ATVs and Dirt bikes. The legislation was proposed by Councilmember Domb, Councilmember Squilla, and Councilmember Green in response to the recent spate of dangerous activities in residential neighborhoods by owners of these vehicles, and was passed on June 12th  (Bill 210043)

PCC also asked council to tighten licensing requirements on air BnBs. The City will require those who offer their primary residences as short-term rentals to be either owners of the properties or tenants who have written permission from the owner to profit from the use of the properties by others. The city would treat them as businesses and require them to get free commercial activity licenses as well as proposed limited lodging operator licenses for $150 per year. City officials adapted the legislation from similar rules in New York and Boston. (Bill 210081)

GENA voted in support of both these measures. 

You can see what they PCC is all about at: http://www.philacrosstown.org/

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