Spotted Lanternfly: PennState Extension

Spotted lanternfly (SLF) is an invasive insect that has spread throughout Pennsylvania since its discovery in Berks County in 2014. SLF feeds on the plant sap of many different plants including grapevines, maples, black walnut, and other important plants in PA. Read more here.

If you see SLF, help us stop it in its tracks!

To report a sighting, use our reporting tool
or call our hotline at 1-888-422-3359.

Philadelphia residents can now schedule doorstep pick-up of electronics and clothing

Francesca Furey, Grid Philly

Looking to dispose of old cell phone models that live in a drawer and collect dust? How about piles of outfits that no longer fit? The City of Philadelphia’s new partnership with Retrievr lets you do just that, all while abiding by social distancing guidelines. Retrievr is a pickup service that allows residents to safely and responsibly recycle unwanted clothing and electronics from the comfort of their own home. The initiative came about through the City of Philadelphia’s SmartCityPHL Roadmap program, designed to foster innovative solutions to city problems. On May 28, the partnership with Retrievr was announced via its Pitch & Pilot program, which encourages city workers and outside collaborators to brainstorm solutions to municipal challenges and test out various technologies.

Read more here.

SURVEYS: Childcare needs & Septa travel

Take the PHL Childcare Reopen Survey

Reinvestment Fund, the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Children and Families, Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey are conducting a city-wide survey to understand childcare needs as people head back to work and school.

Participants who complete the survey will be entered into a daily drawing for a $100 Visa gift card.

Take the survey today

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SEPTA Seeks Customer Feedback – COVID-19 Recovery Travel Survey

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, SEPTA has taken a purposeful approach to service, driven by employee and customer safety. As travel restrictions are lifted, and more customers return to SEPTA’s buses, trains and trolleys, our return-to-service plan remains focused on those same priorities.

To help SEPTA continue to respond to the region’s changing travel needs and adjust service as ridership increases, we have developed a customer survey seeking input from our customers on a host of topics, including: pre-COVID 19 SEPTA usage, current travel needs, anticipated future travel plans, factors influencing travel decisions, and feedback on the various health and safety measures SEPTA has implemented throughout the system.
Customer feedback is critical to helping SEPTA improve its services. We welcome input from all SEPTA customers and hope you will encourage the members of your organization to take the time to complete this brief SEPTA COVID-19 Recovery Survey:

• English – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NX2VX5N

• Spanish – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NX2VX5N?lang=es

• Chinese – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NX2VX5N?lang=zh

QUICK. EASY. FREE OF RED TAPE. FORGIVABLE LOANS FOR PENNSYLVANIA SMALL BUSINESSES

Are you a Pennsylvania small business with 3 to 30 employees? The PA 30 Day Fund promises a quick and easy application with rapid processing time. Best of all, repayment is completely optional! Any dollars returned to the fund will be passed on to other businesses in need.

Additionally, PA 30 Day Fund is making $100,000 (via $3,000 forgivable loans) available to small businesses affected by property damage and looting. Please spread the word!

APPLY NOW

LIHEAP Ends August 31….Don’t miss out on up to $800!

ONLY 6 WEEKS LEFT: DON'T MISS OUT ON THE LIHEAP RECOVERY CRISIS PROGRAM

Low-income customers who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and have a past-due bill may be eligible for up to $800 through LIHEAP’s (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) Recovery Crisis Program. Visit pgworks.com/crisis
The LIHEAP Recovery Crisis Program is open to renters and homeowners through August 31, 2020, and does not have to be repaid.

Apply Online. Download an Application – English / Spanish

Open Garden Hours!! @ La Esquina

The Justice Journal monthly sign up

Sign up to receive Philadelphia DA monthly Justice Journal

Check out our July 2020 issue of The Justice Journal newsletter. You can also subscribe for monthly updates.

FREE COVID-19 TESTING

STEPHEN AND SANDRA SHELLER 11TH STREET FAMILY HEALTH SERVICES
850 N. 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123

Stephen and Sandra Sheller Family Health Service Center is offering free COVID-19 testing in North Philadelphia for anyone with or without symptoms. Registration is encouraged. This site is open Tuesdays every week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and does not require any paperwork or appointments for walk-up or drive-thru testing.Tests will be administered until supply runs out. Results notification in 5-7 business days. Testing may be cancelled due to inclement weather. More here.

To make an Appointment-
Phone: 215.769.1100

For General Information-
Phone: 267.359.5929
Fax: 215.769.1119

Webinar: Tangled Title (on Zoom)

On July 21, the Stern Community Lawyering Clinic is hosting a webinar about tangled title at 1:00 PM. Without title to your residential property, you cannot rebuild in the event of a disaster or refinance to improve the quality of your home. If you inherited your property or have had trouble documenting your ownership of your residence, join this free conversation to understand your best next steps.

Join us to learn:
- What is tangled title?
- How do I transfer my property into my name?
- What are the benefits and challenges?

Zoom #ID: 984 1348 5649
Password: 616300
Dial-In: 1-267-831-0333
98413485649#
616300#

PPAC: We are Opening!!

PPAC New Hours:

Wednesday–Saturday

12 – 6PM

On July 9, PPAC will be open once again to the public with a few necessary changes.

We are excited to welcome everyone back into our space, and to ensure the safety of all, we are taking the recommended precautions outlined here..

Spraygrounds: a way to cool off

Spraygrounds a relatively safe way to cool off, experts say.
Meir Rinde, WHYY

With the public pools all closed this year, and reopening plans still unclear for senior centers, libraries, cinemas, and other diversions, the spraygrounds that opened yesterday are among the very few options residents have to get out of the house and cool off. Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell said the reopening follows lengthy consultations with the Health Department and the start of a limited green phase for the city last Friday that allows use of private pools. Read more here.

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There are spraygrounds (aka playgrounds with sprinklers) across Philadelphia city this year. Here's a map.

List of spraygrounds around the neighborhood:

- Benson Park 1477 N 4th St
- Thomas Hart Park 1315-21 N 4th St.
- East Poplar Playground 820 N 8th St

Tips to enjoy parks safely [pdf]

Things to do. Recreation center summer camps also started Monday, with reduced enrollment and new health protocols, and the city is beginning to reinstall basketball hoops that were removed from playgrounds earlier this year to discourage games. Park & Recreation Finder, use this app to search for activities, parks, rec centers, and more.

Rental & Mortgage Assistance

Apply ASAP, First come First served

Starting July 6 PHDC will accept applications for a new round of rental assistance. Renters and landlords may submit their application online, by fax, or by mail. Funds will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Click here for details and preview the application.

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CARES funding for Pennsylvanians
CARES Assistance for Renters & Homeowners

The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a law to help people hurt financially by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. CARES assistance is now available in Pennsylvania for rent relief and mortgage relief.

Applications are available now for people interested in requesting CARES rent or mortgage relief due to COVID-19. More information click the appropriate link:

The CARES Pandemic Mortgage Assistance Program (PMAP). The CARES funding for mortgage relief must be completely distributed by November 30, 2020. Fact sheet [pdf]

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Gov. Wolf Extends Eviction, Foreclosure Ban Through August
Rudy Chinchilla, NBCPhiladelphia

The moratorium, first enacted in March in order to protect people after massive job losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, was originally set to expire on Friday, July 10. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is extending his moratorium on evictions and foreclosures through Aug. 31, his press office announced Thursday. The executive order ensures people are not evicted or foreclosed upon if they have not been able to make payments and have not received aid from state or federal relief programs. More here.

The statewide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures because of nonpayment is scheduled to end July 10. Philadelphia City Council extended the eviction moratorium until Aug. 31 for residential renters and small businesses. The Federal Housing Administration has also extended its foreclosure moratorium through Aug. 31 for homeowners with federally backed mortgages.

FREE Boxes of Food every Saturday

MORE ON MASKS!!!

Is your COVID-19 mask working? If it’s a bandanna, maybe not much.
Tom Avril, Philadelphia Inquirer.

The shopper darts into a store, quickly tying on a bandanna or pulling up a shirt collar at the last minute. Enough to satisfy the overworked clerk who is tasked with enforcing COVID-19 mask requirements? Probably. But not so effective at preventing the spread of coronavirus, a new study suggests. The authors of the study did not use actual viruses or real people, but simulated coughing with a mannequin and a pump that sprayed a mixture of gelatin and water. The results, from engineers at Florida Atlantic University, were consistent with previous research, not to mention common sense: Not all masks are created equal.

More here.

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A user’s guide to masks: What’s best at protecting others (and yourself)
Maria Godoy, WHYY

So you want to wear a face mask? Good call.
A growing body of evidence supports the idea that wearing face masks in public, even when you feel well, can help curb the spread of the coronavirus — since people can spread the virus even without showing symptoms. That’s the main reason to wear a mask: to protect other people from you. Face masks can also offer the wearer some protection — though how much varies greatly, depending on the type of mask. No mask will offer full protection, and they should not be viewed as a replacement for physical distancing of at least 6 feet from others, frequent hand-washing and avoiding crowds. When you combine masks with those measures, they can make a big difference.

But what kind of mask is best? Read here.

FREE COVID-19 TESTING

STEPHEN AND SANDRA SHELLER 11TH STREET FAMILY HEALTH SERVICES
850 N. 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123

Stephen and Sandra Sheller Family Health Service Center is offering free COVID-19 testing in North Philadelphia for anyone with or without symptoms. Registration is encouraged. This site is open Tuesdays every week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and does not require any paperwork or appointments for walk-up or drive-thru testing.Tests will be administered until supply runs out. Results notification in 5-7 business days. Testing may be cancelled due to inclement weather. More here.

To make an Appointment-
Phone: 215.769.1100

For General Information-
Phone: 267.359.5929
Fax: 215.769.1119

Recycling Collections Resume

Starting July 6th, the Streets Department will resume collecting recycling every week along with trash. Residents should place both trash and recycling out on their normal collection day at their regular pick up location. Regular trash and recycling collections will continue on or as close to its normal schedule as possible. To help smooth the transition back to every week collection, the Sanitation Convenience Centers will remain open under a modified schedule for residents to dispose of items from Tuesday through Saturday, between 8 am and 8 pm.
The Streets Department thanks residents for their understanding during this time and as adjustments were made to provide essential services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

To learn more about your recycling schedule, please call 311 or visit philadelphiastreets.com/recycling.

Summer resources for Philadelphia families

Philadelphia has over 1600 PHLpreK students getting ready to go to kindergarten in the fall, find free food and meals this summer, register for summer camps, early childhood resources for the summer and a guide on what reopening means for children.

Click here for more information.

Pennsylvania makes masks mandatory in all public spaces.

Rob Tornoe, Philadelphia Inquirer.

The new order, signed by Secretary of Health Rachel Levine, mandates that masks must be worn in public whenever anyone leaves home and can’t maintain a proper social distance from others. Children under the age of two are exempt from the mandate, as are people who cannot wear a mask due to a medical condition.
More details here.

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Philly is in a modified ‘green’ phase now. Here’s what you can and can’t do
Emily Scott, WHYY

As coronavirus cases rise across the country, they’re rising in Philly too: the city is averaging more than 100 new cases a day, and about one-third of new cases reported are in people under the age of 30. Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said on Thursday that the city is now experiencing a “second wave” of the coronavirus. The soonest Philly can now enter the unrestricted green phase is August 1, Farley said. And if cases continue to rise, it’s possible certain activities that are currently allowed may be off-limits.
More here.

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What the green phase means for Parks & Rec sites
Darren Fava, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation.

Philadelphia begins the green phase of reopening in early July. COVID-19 is not gone, so we must reopen with care. Read more about our progress on the Reopening With Care site.

Here’s what the reopening guidance means for Philadelphia Parks & Recreation services and sites:

Philadelphia Eviction Prevention Program

No eviction hearings until after September 2nd, 2020.

If you had a court date scheduled between July 6th and August 31st you do NOT need to go to court on that date. You will get a new court date in the fall. Call the Philly Tenant Hotline 267-443-2500 now for possible legal representation!

Register for the webinar on Zoom: https://bit.ly/2KU9cns

Or join us live on Facebook: www.facebook.com/clsphila

Send us your question ahead of time at: bit.ly/TenantTuesdayCLS

We will not answer anyone’s personal legal questions live.

Composting @ La Esquina Garden