Weekly Newsletter, Issue 92
ACTION
Help win a protected bike lane for Lombard Street!
Lombard Street is being repaved and the City doesn't have any plans to protect this vital stretch that connects cyclists with the South Street Bridge.
Thank oTIS and Councilmember Mark Squilla for a safer South 11th Street!
Take the 2019 Philadelphia Resident Survey to weigh in on quality of life in the city, and what your priorities are for the Kenney administration. Completed entries are entered to win one of twenty $50 gift cards.
EVENTS
Sunday, September 8th, 10 am - 4 pm
2019 Greenfest Philly presented by Toyota Hybrids
Greenfest Philly is the largest environmental festival in the Philadelphia area. With over 100 exhibitors and vendors, Greenfest is the place to learn about living sustainably while having fun! This event has something for everyone: shopping for local green wares, great food, live music, live demonstrations, kid-friendly activities, and more.
Thursday, September 12th, 6 - 8 pm
*** 5th Square September Monthly Meet-up ***
Our regular monthly meet-up is on the second Thursday of each month. For this meeting, we will be in Old City, upstairs at Buffalo Billiards. We’ll be joined by special guest Lily Bernheimer, author of “The Shaping of Us: How Everyday Spaces Structure Our Lives, Behaviour, and Well-Being.” Come for a short book talk and Q&A, meet other 5th Square members and volunteers, and learn more about what we’re working on this fall and how to get involved.
Friday, September 20th, 8 - 10 am
PWD: Developer Right-of-Way Information Session
The Sustainable Business Network’s GSI Partners and Building Industry Association will be hosting an information session with The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD). PWD is looking to partner with developers to manage right‐of‐way runoff on development projects to achieve both cost and stormwater management efficiencies.
TRANSPORTATION NEWS
What's your take on Philadelphia's trolley system? Should we expand it or stick to what we have? Two of our friends from Philadelphia's local urban planning community, Jonas Maciunas and Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman, have a friendly debate about the future of our trolleys in the Inquirer's Point/Counterpoint column.
SEPTA officials confirmed that their General Manager, Jeff Knueppel will retire at the end of this year, and the next GM is likely to be PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards, whose background is in urban and regional planning.
Claire Sasko at Philly Mag implores drivers to stop parking in the new bike lanes Spruce and Pine Streets. She echoes what many of our members feel—that the City needs to start clamping down on illegal parking, standing, and stopping along this vital corridor for people who ride bicycles.
In welcome news, DA Larry Krasner is appealing the dismissal of charges against the trash truck driver who killed cyclist Emily Fredricks while she was using a bicycle lane on Spruce Street. We agree with the Bicycle Coalition’s Sarah Clark Stuart, who said “motorists who kill vulnerable road users” must be held accountable and that the district attorney’s announcement to appeal is “heartening news.”
HOUSING NEWS
In Philadelphia and across the country, many landlords don’t want to rent to Housing Choice voucher-using tenants. Rejecting voucher-holders is, in fact, illegal, but many landlords still choose to discriminate against these tenants. The Inquirer details how the Public Interest Law Center is fighting back against this illegal discrimination.
A large housing development proposed for East Lehigh Avenue in Kensington is being asked by the community to tear down a massive wall that currently serves to divide the neighborhood.
The Inquirer's new column "Brain Trust" details a new study that examines the impact of Black migration to Northern cities (Philly being one of them) during the second wave of the Great Migration (1940-70) and analyzed the outcomes for Black citizens today. “In response to millions of Black migrants moving North to improve economic outcomes, receiving northern cities changed in ways that eventually shuttered this pathway to Black economic progress.”
RCO OPPORTUNITY
Queen Village Neighbors Association is seeking Board of Directors candidates for 2020-2021.
Bella Vista Neighbors Association is looking to fill an interim board position
GRANTS / TRAINING OPPORTUNITY
Knight Foundation recently opened an opportunity for Philadelphia-based arts organizations to apply to participate in a workshop series focused on building capacity for innovation. (Due 9/11)
The New Leaders Council is holding their NLC Institute starting January 2020 and is seeking applicants. NLC equips its Fellows with the skills to run for office, manage campaigns, launch businesses, create starts ups and network with thought leaders. The NLC Institute is an intensive, five-month progressive entrepreneurship training program. (Due 10/1)
Women candidates of PA: In 2020 @Emerge_PA is running its traditional 6 month cohort program AND a shorter bootcamp for active 2020 candidates (who can't commit to a 6 month program).
oTIS posted an RFP to operate Indego bike share. This is an opportunity to build off of the successful launch & expansion of Indego over the past 5 years and to bring the program to the next level.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
The 9th St Business Association (Italian Market) is seeking an Executive Director
Sunrise Movement is looking for a Social Media Fellow. (Due 9/4)
The William Penn Foundation is seeking a Program Associate, Creative Communities
Fleisher Art Memorial is seeking a part-time Visitor Services Assistant
The Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia (SBN) is seeking a Communications Manager
Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson is seeking a Construction Manager / Resident Engineer
The Common Market seeks a Grower Relations Manager that will identify, on-board and manage their grower- producer relationships.
The Citizens Planning Institute (CPI) is seeking a Program Manager
The Arts + Business Council, a Council of The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, is seeking a Programs Assistant.
Juntos is hiring a full-time Community Organizer
Campus Philly is hiring a part-time office manager.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is seeking a Research Assistant
The Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians is seeking a Program Manager and a Director of Workforce Development Programs
University City District currently has two open positions: Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Communications -- and -- Manager, Training & Evaluation with the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative
PA Post is seeking a Journalist and an Events Manager
Community Legal Services of Philadelphia is hiring for a variety of positions, including: Attorneys, Paralegals, Social Workers, and Secretaries.
The Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership (TTF) is seeking a part-time Communications Associate.
Pennsylvania Voice is seeking a Data Manager
The William Penn Foundation is now hiring a Program Operations Assistant.
Character Lab is looking for a Research Partnerships Manager.
The GREEN Program Public Benefit Corporation is seeking a Sales Representative
5th Square is Philadelphia's urbanist political action committee. We're an all-volunteer grassroots organization advocating for safe and affordable transportation, abundant housing, and more and better public spaces. You’re receiving this email if you signed up via our website, attended one of our events, or supported one of our advocacy campaigns. Support our advocacy with a recurring monthly contribution of $5.