SKCP Community Virtual Meeting: Tenant Protection

Register in Advance here

Movie Night @ Benson Park

Property Tax Assessment Appeals October 4 deadline

In Philadelphia, the Office of Property Assessment sets your property value. If you feel that the assessed value of your property as of January 1, 2022, will be lower than the property’s actual value and that an appraiser will back this up, you should consider a tax assessment appeal. The Office of Property Assessment (OPA) handles abatement and exemption programs that may reduce a property’s real estate tax bill. If a property owner disagrees with an assessment or believes that an abatement or exemption has not been properly applied, they can request a First Level Review of their assessment. You can search and compare property values through the City’s online property search application.

The deadline for filing property tax assessment appeals in Philadelphia is October 4. No appeals can be filed for 2022 after those deadlines.

The deadline for filing property tax assessment appeals in Philadelphia is October 4. No appeals can be filed for 2022 after those deadlines.

Upcoming Elections && Students Vote 2021: A Leadership Handbook

November 2, 2021 is the Municipal Election

• Polls are open on election day from 7 A.M. - 8 P.M.

• Last day to register to vote: October 18, 2021

• Last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot: October 26, 2021

• Learn about municipal elections.

• Review the candidates and measures that are on the ballot and plan who you will vote for in advance. You can find a sample ballot from Philadelphia county election office website

• First Time Voters

Click here for Voting & Election Information

---

Students Vote 2021: A Leadership Handbook
ALL IN To Vote

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge encourages active and informed participation in American democracy. Through Students Vote 2021, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge provides institutions of higher education and their students with guidance and resources to promote nonpartisan voter registration and voting in 2021 elections. In addition to the college president, administrators, faculty, students, and community partners can be leaders in the effort to get all eligible students registered and voting this fall.
This handbook is written as an aid to college leaders who not only think that educating students about voting is an essential and worthwhile undertaking for an institution of higher learning, but who are also willing to be part of that effort. In this handbook, leaders will find important voting information to provide to students and ideas on how to communicate and to encourage their participation in 2021 elections. Together, college leaders across the country can remind, inform, and motivate a very large number of eligible students to vote in November 2021.

Download handbook here.

Philadelphia has a new law to prevent "We Buy Houses" scams!

Provide homeowners with a Homeowners Bill of Rights in advance, which you can find at tinyurl.com/HomeSaleRights

For more info, visit www.clsphila.org/home-scams

SKCP COMMUNITY ZONING MEETING (VIRTUAL)

SKCP's RCO will host a virtual Community Zoning Meeting [pdf] on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 6:30 PM.

We will review the following projects:

6.15pm 1425 N American (Clay Studio): The Clay Studio previews a new mural (View the proposed Mural here)

6.30pm 1210-12 N American (view here project plan)

7.00pm 1331 N 2nd Street (view here project plan)

7.30pm 150-80 W Berks St (view here project plan)

8.00pm 1736 N Mascher St (view here project plan)

We will have time for questions during the meeting but we ask that questions be submitted in advance, to rco@southkensingtoncommunity.org, so we can use our time well.

Please review the project, submit questions, and register here for the meeting.

If you prefer, you may also sign up by calling South Kensington Community Partners' office at215-427-3463 and leaving a message with your name and number. SKCP will provide reasonable accommodation to any neighbor that requests additional assistance with joining the meeting or otherwise submitting feedback on the projects.

InLiquid's Art for the Cash Poor public art sale

The 21st annual installment of InLiquid’s Art for the Cash Poor is a Philly-centric affordable art fair – a free and public art sale directly benefiting local artists and craftspeople. All artwork is sold for $200 or less. InLiquid’s signature affordable art fair returns to the American Street Corridor in Kensington. InLiquid is joining forces with NextFAB and the Clay Studio’s Clayfest for a multi-block artisan fair.
The event will span the length of North American Street on the west side of the street from Crane Arts on Master (1400 Block) to NextFAB’s home on Berks Street (1800 Block).

Click here for more details.

Disaster Assistance Update

Disaster assistance is now available for those who suffered property damage or loss caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
Impacted businesses and residents should register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) online at disasterassistance.gov, through the FEMA app, or by calling the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Helpline services are available seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has opened a Business Recovery Center at the Falls of the Schuylkill Library to provide businesses and residents with one-on-one assistance in submitting a disaster loan application. See the hours below:

SBA Business Recovery Center
Falls of the Schuylkill Library
3501 Midvale Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19129

Monday and Wednesday: 12 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Friday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: Closed

Make sure to regularly check the City's storm response page for important updates and information. You can also sign up for free alerts about recovery and relief efforts through the City's ReadyPhiladelphia notification system. To receive text alerts to your phone, text STORMPHL to 888-777.

Meet your representatives @ Al-Aqsa

Al-Aqsa Islamic Society
1501 Germantown Ave
September 24th, 1-4 pm

Meet State Senator Nakil Savil
and representatives of Congressman Dwight Evans.

Staffers from Federal, State, and Local offices can answer questions and assist you with a variety of issues including Immigration, local business regulations, benefits, etc

Masks required to protect yourself and others.

Movie Night @ Benson Park

SKCP Virtual Community Meeting: Tenant Protection

SKCP Monthly Community Meeting: Philly 311 App

Plastic Bag ban is back

From July 31, 2021 to January 31, 2022, retail establishments are required to post clear and visible signage at all points of sale. These signs will tell customers that the establishment will no longer provide single-use plastic bags and non-recycled content paper bags as of the date the prohibition begins. You can download signs in multiple languages. Visit the city website for more information on the enforcement timeline.

Community First Fund: Affinity Group Lending Program

Philadelphia Public Bank Visioning Summit

September 18
1-4pm via Zoom

The Philadelphia Public Banking coalition invites you to the Philadelphia Public Banking Visioning Summit! This summit will gather leaders from the communities the bank will benefit to explore the question: what can the public bank do for you?
If you think private banks’ lending practices are unfair and your community can benefit from a public bank in this city, join us September 18th to learn more about the Philadelphia Public Bank and how to make it a reality. Philadelphia Councilmember Green and a majority of the City Council are in favor of the public bank. On September 18 from 1-4pm via Zoom, come learn how the public bank can put control of public dollars into communities and get involved in making this people’s bank happen now!

Click here to learn more and register!

SEPTA proposes renaming its city rail lines to help everyone get around

Thomas Fitzgerald, Philadelphia inquirer

Only longtime users can decipher the century-old labels to navigate the system. SEPTA thinks colors and simpler signs could help. SEPTA’s rail transit network makes for a sprawling map, and it’s a mouthful to say (take a deep breath): the Market-Frankford Line, the Broad Street Line, the Norristown High Speed Line, and the 10, 11, 13, 15, 34, 36, 101 and 102 Trolleys.

Why not just call the whole Hydra-headed lot of it the Metro? The SEPTA Metro.

That’s a big opening proposal in the transit agency’s wayfinding master plan, released Tuesday, to make rail transit easier to use in the Philadelphia region. The idea: Unify under one brand a system often thought of line by line, route by route because it’s been labeled that way for a century.

The agency plans a redo of the system’s maps and signs with the aim of making wayfinding images easier to see and understand quickly. Lines will be denoted by capital letters and color badges instead of pictographs of rail vehicles over colored backgrounds. Planners propose keeping the hues historically associated with them, such as orange for the Broad Street Line, blue for the Market-Frankford Line (the El), and green for trolley routes.
“Metro” is used around the world, Powers said, and it translates well into Spanish and Chinese, the second and third most spoken languages in the Philadelphia area.

Read more here.

---

SEPTA is testing out a new name for its rail network: the Metro
Michaela Winberg, BillyPenn

The Metro: Each line repped by just a letter and a color. Now, the routes will be identified by just one letter and plain background color:

• The Broad Street Line: B with an orange background

• The Market-Frankford Line: L with a blue background (since people usually call it the El or the L)

• The Center City trolleys: T with a green background

• The Route 15 trolley: G with a yellow background (because the route runs along Girard Avenue)

• The Norristown High Speed Line: M with a purple background (M for Montgomery lines)

• The Media-Sharon Hill Line: D with a pink background (D for Delaware lines)

To kick off the two-month feedback period, SEPTA is installing examples of the new signage at seven stations. You can peep the potential rebrand at 15th Street/City Hall Station, 69th Street Station, Allegheny Station, Olney Station, the 40th Street Trolley Portal, and the Norristown High Speed Line’s Gulph Mills stop.
All the new signs will feature QR codes, directing riders to a website where they can share their thoughts. SEPTA also promises to deploy crews to stations periodically to ask for feedback in person.

More here.

Enhanced federal unemployment benefits for the pandemic end.

Rob Tornoe, Philadelphia Inquirer

Enhanced federal unemployment insurance put in place during the pandemic and extended by the most recent COVID-19 relief bill expired over the weekend.
The three federal unemployment programs that expired over the weekend are:

• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance: Provided up to 79 weeks of unemployment benefits to freelancers and gig workers normally not eligible for traditional unemployment.

• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation: Provided up to 53 weeks of additional unemployment benefits.

• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation: Provided an additional $300 a week to unemployment payments.

Several state and federal programs will continue to provide aid, but most have specific requirements. Pennsylvania officials have compiled a list of resources for residents facing unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are the assistance programs that can still help.

Replacement SNAP Benefits

Click here to download form

Somerset Academy: Back to School Fun Day

Help Keep Your Neighborhood Clean!!!