Philly lawmakers try again to establish independent oversight of the city’s distressed jails | City Council roundup
Also this week, one member introduced a bill to ban landlords from using certain types of software that he says can allow for rental “price-fixing.”
Philadelphia City Council members tried two years ago to establish an independent oversight board to monitor and investigate the city’s troubled jail system amid a crisis of violence and disorder.
But Council never considered that legislation, and its prime sponsor, former Councilmember Helen Gym, resigned to run for mayor. Since then, the situation in the jails has further deteriorated, with a severe staffing shortage, high-profile escapes, and inmate deaths.
Now, Council is trying again. Also this week, one member introduced a bill to ban landlords from using certain types of software that he says can allow for rental “price-fixing.” Here’s what happened during Thursday’s session, which came a day after Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s late-night public meeting unveiling the terms of the city’s deal with the Sixers to build a new arena.
What was this week’s highlight?
Prison oversight board, take two: Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, a Democrat who represents the city at large, introduced legislation Thursday that would establish a community oversight board and a companion Office of Prison Oversight.
In announcing the legislation, Thomas decried “human rights and civil rights violations being committed” at the jail complex and cited a recent decision by a federal judge to hold the city in contempt for violating an agreement in a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated people. The city was assessed a $25 million penalty.
The proposed oversight board would have nine members — four appointed by the mayor and five by the City Council president. The separate Office of Prison Oversight would be led by a director and be empowered to investigate Department of Prisons policies and practices.
Neither entity is explicitly granted subpoena power by the bill, but the measure allows for Council to confer additional powers through future legislation.
Thomas’ legislation is cosponsored by a supermajority of Council, including Council President Kenyatta Johnson, making passage all but certain.
However, officially creating the oversight board and the new office would require a change to the city’s Home Rule Charter, a document similar to a constitution. Charter changes must be approved by voters through a ballot question. The earliest the electorate could vote on the matter is May 2025, given absentee voting for this year’s November election has already begun.
What else happened this week?
Ban high-tech ‘price-fixing’? Philadelphia may become the second city in the country to ban landlords from using certain algorithmic software to set rental prices in what the bill’s author says is an anticompetitive practice.
Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke, a member of the progressive Working Families Party who represents the city at large, introduced legislation Thursday to ban the use of software that analyzes nonpublic rental data and recommends prices to property owners and management companies.
Landlords who violate the ban could face thousands of dollars in civil penalties under O’Rourke’s legislation.
The legislation has several exceptions, including:
Software that provides information to landlords to help them set rent in accordance with affordable housing program guidelines or recommends other restrictions meant to ensure housing affordability.
Publishing information that is generally accessible to the public, such as average or estimate rental prices and values.
San Francisco lawmakers passed a similar bill last month.
Who was there?
The newest arena opponents are drag queens: Before Council’s session got underway, members were greeted by a group opposing the proposed Sixers arena: advocates for the Gayborhood and a handful of drag queens, with petitions urging Council to reject the project.
About 25 people from the group No Arena Gayborhood rallied Thursday morning outside City Hall, just hours after Parker’s administration unveiled legislation that would authorize the project. It’s expected to be formally introduced in Council on Oct. 24.
The advocates said the arena threatens the neighborhood and could bring gentrification to a community already under stress. They also expressed concern about traffic congestion impeding access to LGBTQ health providers.
Drag performer Lasha Cristál expressed fears that an arena would make parking more expensive, hurting the ability of people to patronize the restaurants and stores in a neighborhood that was created “for us, by us.”
“We do not want to be pushed out again,” Cristál said.
Kenneth Wilson, also known as Shometha Monét, a Philadelphia-based drag artist, said that, as with Chinatown, the Gayborhood is crucial to the city’s identity and culture. She said Council and Parker are effectively “selling our city block by block to the highest bidder.”
Of course, not everyone agreed that an arena at 10th and Market Streets would hurt the Gayborhood, which sits south of Market.
Derek Deitsch, an onlooker who watched the news conference Thursday, said “there’s a lot of opposition that’s vocal, but there’s a lot of support” for the project. Some believe an arena can help strengthen businesses and move the city toward a greener, transit-oriented future, he said.
Quote of the week
That was Johnson, speaking after the Council session to a gaggle of news media who wanted to know his thoughts on the details of the mayor’s arena agreement with the Sixers. Johnson hasn’t taken a firm position either way on the legislation, which is set to be formally introduced in late October. But he seemed to acknowledge the obvious: It could be a hectic fall.