Weekly Newsletter, Issue 94
ACTION
Join 5th Square as a Member TODAY and you can help us shape our endorsements for the general election in the coming weeks. Membership costs as little as $5 a month and comes with the ability to vote in our endorsement process!
Voting for better politicians isn't enough. When you support 5th Square, you send an added message to candidates and elected officials that Philadelphia deserves better transportation choices, safer streets, and affordable living, and you expect them to deliver.
The November 5th Election is coming up! Visit Our Election Center, now updated for the 2019 General Election.
Need to brush up on where local candidates stand on transit, streets, planning, and public space issues?
Read questionnaire responses from City Council candidates on the ballot this November, including most of the Democratic Council primary winners; Working Families Party's Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O'Rourke; and Independent candidate Joe Cox.
EVENTS
Friday, September 27th, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
W/T/F Cycling Mixer 2.0
Hosted by the Bicycle Coalition, this event brings together trans, femme, women and/or nonbinary members of the Philly cycling community. Come learn about race teams, nonprofit programs, and beginner-friendly events in the region while enjoying some light food and beverages.
Saturday, September 28th, 10 am - 3 pm
Media Open Streets
Come and experience the fun of strolling or biking the streets of Media, PA without cars—it’s healthy fun for the whole family! Anything non-motorized is allowed—bicycles, strollers, wheelchairs, skateboards, roller skates, or just your own two feet! There will be vendor and information tables, food trucks, fun activities, and music along the way.
Sunday, September 29th, 11 am - 3 pm
Cargo & Family Bike Day
September 29th is Cargo & Family Bike Day so let's celebrate! It's not really an official holiday yet, but hey, somebody has to get the party started. Firth & Wilson Transport Cycles will have their cargo bikes out for test rides.
Sunday, September 29th, 4:30 pm
*** 5th Square Hosted Event: Motherload Community Screening ***
Join 5th Square and partners as we present a screening of Motherload at the Bok in South Philly. Searching for freedom and connection in a gas-powered, digital and divided world. MOTHERLOAD is a crowdsourced documentary about a new mother’s quest to understand the increasing isolation and disconnection of the digital age, its planetary impact, and how cargo bikes could be an antidote.
Thursday, October 3rd, 8 - 9:30 am
Design Advocacy Group: Transit-oriented Redevelopment Opportunity along North Broad Street
People for People, Inc. (PFP) is looking for a development partner to create and implement an integrated redevelopment plan for 14 of its parcels along North Broad Street and Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The properties are located in a Qualified Opportunity Zone in the heart of Philadelphia’s North Broad Street revitalization.
Thursday, October 3rd, 5 - 7 pm
Pop Up Happy Hour on 9th Street
Join Bella Vista Neighbors Association on the Italian Market for a Pop Up Happy Hour to meet and gather with friends and neighbors in a fun, casual setting. Live Music, Children and pets are welcome. The event is free, but space is limited—register to reserve your spot.
NEWS
Kendra Brooks, candidate for Philly's City Council at-Large, was profiled by PlanPhilly talking about the need for affordable transit, and referencing several 5th Square platform issues like free fares for kids, expanded bus-only lanes, and affordable fares that she discussed in our questionnaire. "As a councilperson, we can have deeper conversations about investments that the city makes into SEPTA and what that looks like in terms of supporting working-class folks, as well as students and children in providing free to low-cost transit fares."
The Pew Charitable Trusts published the results of a survey revealing why people leave Philadelphia. The first-of-its-kind survey provides hard numbers to a topic Philadelphia officials often debate: how to best keep people (and taxpayers) in the city.
The prospect of having shared electric scooters in Philly is looking less and less likely. These mobility devices are not yet legal for road use in PA and the City has come out in opposition to legalization due to safety concerns. While we appreciate the City's policy of putting safety first in this case, we also wish they would apply the exact same stringent standards to automobiles, which have a very long and gory record of causing injuries and fatalities, and yet are still allow to operate everywhere with minimal consequences.
A recent Streetsblog op-ed by Open New York does a great job of spelling out how 5th Square's issue coalition fits together. "Density is the friend of transit, cyclists, and pedestrians. Building more housing in rich neighborhoods that are well-served by transit helps both transportation and housing."
The recent re-opening of the Gallery Mall -- rebranded as Fashion District Philadelphia -- has garnered attention. Specifically whether the redesign adequately atones for the sins of the original mall that largely ignored the surrounding streetscape.
RCO OPPORTUNITIES
Fitler Square Neighborhood Association is seeking Board Members.
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 / PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES
The Equitable Public Space Fund will award 2-year grants of $10,000 to $25,000 per year to groups that use community organizing to promote equitable public space in Philadelphia and Camden.
The Office of Arts, Culture and The Creative Economy (OACCE) Culture in Neighborhoods program transforms Philadelphia’s public indoor spaces into neighborhood hubs of creativity. Proposals will be accepted until January 3, 2020 for events that will take place between August 2019 – February 2020.
The Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) invites bids for the construction of the Delaware River Trail -- On-Road Section (the "trail") to be constructed along the eastern side of Columbus Boulevard from Washington Avenue to Spring Garden Streets, in Philadelphia, PA.
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).
Rebuild is seeking a team that will assist with carrying out community engagement, outreach, and communications efforts that advance Rebuild’s engagement goals and help raise the overall visibility of the initiative and its programs. Successful Applicants may be a single entity or a team comprised of multiple partners.
Rebuild is also posting its Contract Opportunities
The Penn Community Scholars Program is a 12-session training series being offered to representatives of community-based organizations interested in learning more about the research process and building community-academic partnerships. Program components include: an introduction to community-academic partnerships, challenges and opportunities partnering with academics, building a logic model, evaluating impact, developing a winning pitch, and more. The program concludes in a culminating symposium where Scholars pitch their ideas to a panel of funders and academics.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
The City of Philadelphia's Department of Commerce is seeking a Digital Communications Manager
Fair Share Housing Center, Inc. (FSHC) seeks a full-time Director of Racial Justice Policy and a full-time Housing Access Organizer
StreetsblogUSA, the nation’s essential transit-, cycling- and pedestrian-advocacy news site, needs a hard-working reporter to cover the full range of transportation (and transportation-adjacent) issues: urban planning, transportation equity, housing, zoning, design, public space, inequitable law enforcement, climate change, the politics of our nation’s failure to fund transit, and the future of sustainable logistics.
Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (PPR) is seeking a FDR Park Executive Director
Tiny WPA seeks a strong designer with considerable analog and digital fabrication experience to help grow its participatory design and fabrication capacity.
The Managing Director’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (oTIS) of the City of Philadelphia is seeking a Vision Zero Communications Manager and a Deputy Director of Complete Streets
The Jamie for West Philly campaign seeks talented and diverse team of candidates interested in staffing the 3rd District Council office beginning January 2020
The Office of Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson (2nd District) seeks a motivated individual who is committed to public service to serve as Communications Liaison.
Center City District is hiring a Vice President for Operations: Parks & Public Spaces, a Director of Research, Community Service Representatives, and Part-time Staff
The Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia (SBN) is seeking a Communications Manager
Pennsylvania Land Trust Association is seeking a Director of Advocacy
Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (PPR) is seeking a Director of Program Design and Development
Brandywine Realty Trust is seeking a Business Development Representative
Defender Association of Philadelphia is seeking a Communications Director
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is seeking a Research Analyst for its Office of Community and Economic Development and a Back End Developer to plan, develop, and maintain data APIs for web and intranet applications.
The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC) is searching for a Site Director to manage its Out-of-School Time (OST) program for High School Youth.
Cohere is seeking a Studio Coordinator, Digital Marketing Coordinator, Interns
Conservation Voters of PA, a pro-environment political organization seeking to elect environmental champions this November, seeks to hire dynamic, effective, and energetic Field Canvassers.
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is seeking a Communications & Digital Media Associate
Philadelphia's Office of Property Assessment is seeking Real Property Evaluators
Comcast is hiring a Director, Data & Analytics
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is hiring a Manager, Creative Solutions
The Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange, a start-up, member-based non-profit initiative seeking to transform water infrastructure throughout North America, is seeking a Communications & Partnerships Specialist
WSP is currently initiating a search for a Planning and Environment Manager
The William Penn Foundation is seeking a Program Officer. As a member of the Great Learning team, the Program Officer’s primary responsibility will be to lead grantmaking focused on instructional improvement to increase the number of children in Philadelphia reading on grade level by the end of third grade.
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.