Philly Mayor Cherelle Parker reflects on first year in State of the City speech

Cherelle Parker reflected on her first year as Philadelphia’s mayor and looked ahead to next year in her State of the City address at Temple University on Friday.

Léelo en español aquí

In front of a crowd of Parker administration and city employees at the Temple Performing Arts Center, Parker touted some of the positive trends in Philadelphia in 2024, including a 37 percent decrease in reported homicides compared to the same time last year, according to police data.

“We’re proud of where we are as Year One draws to a close,” Parker said. “Our city is becoming safer, our blocks are cleaner, and there is more educational opportunities in our schools. Let me be clear: We have a long way to go and much, much more work to do. But I’m proud of our administration and every official and city employee working for the people of Philadelphia.”

Parker also released her year-end report, highlighting her administration’s achievements in 2024.

Ahead of the 2 p.m. speech at Temple, Parker took the subway from City Hall to Cecil B. Moore Avenue. She then walked to the Temple Performing Arts Center.

Her speech took place a day after City Council approved the Philadelphia 76ers’ controversial plan to build an arena in Center City, which has sparked protests from groups in Philadelphia’s Chinatown community.

Parker addressed the arena plans during a speech Thursday afternoon and did so again during Friday’s address.

“This is an historic milestone for our City and let me say it again – we want a Chinatown that will not only survive, but thrive,” Parker said on Friday. “I’m proud of this deal – which compares favorably with any sports arena or stadium deal in Philadelphia history – and I am grateful for the incredibly hard work of my Administration team that worked on this deal, led by my terrific Chief of Staff Tiffany Thurman, as well as for the collaborative partnership with City Council that led 12 Members to vote for this deal.”

Read Parker’s entire State of the City address below:

Mayor Cherelle Parker’s State of the City address

Good afternoon everyone! Welcome to our first “State of the City” in the Parker administration!

I am very EXCITED to be here with all of you today –

Senior Leaders in our Parker administration, City employees, external stakeholders, Temple President Fry – and the many tremendous members of the incoming Parker administration’s Transition Committee who served even before I was sworn in as your 100^th Mayor —

In particular, our Transition Chair, Ryan Boyer and Vice-Chairs, Della Clark and Greg Segall, THANK YOU!

Elected officials at the City, State and Federal levels, and everyone in the City of Philadelphia!

I want to first say “thank you” to the Members of our Legislative Branch of City government who joined us today.

Councilmembers Quetcy Lozada, Cindy Bass, Jamie Gauthier, Rue Landau, Nicholas O’Rourke and Kendra Brooks, thank you for being here with us today, and for your service to our City.

From our STRONG Philadelphia delegation in Harrisburg, I want to thank House Appropriations Chairman Jordan Harris, and Representatives Jason Dawkins, Danilo Burgos, Anthony Bellmon, and Ben Waxman for joining us today.

And from our Senate delegation, Senators Anthony Williams, Sharif Street and Art Haywood, THANK YOU for being here and for ALL that you do in Harrisburg, fighting for Philadelphia.

To our many friends in the Labor movement, THANK YOU for your STRONG and UNWAVERING support for our agenda.

I know Omar Salaam and David Robinson from District Council 33 are here. We welcome TJ Lepara from IBEW Local 98, and Danny Bauder from the Philadelphia AFL-CIO.

THANK YOUR LABOR FOR YOUR STRONG SUPPORT OF THE PARKER ADMINISTRATION.

President John Fry, thank you so much for welcoming myself and our Parker Administration today to Temple University’s beautiful Performing Arts Center.

Our purpose today is to highlight our substantive efforts and accomplishments – working TOGETHER — during this First Year in Office of the Parker administration.

The People of Philadelphia elected me to this position – the 100^th Mayor in City History and the first Woman Mayor in Philly’s 341-year history – and I am INVIGORATED by the challenge every single day.

Before I begin my Remarks, I’d like to do two things.

First, I want to lift up a Gentleman who has served this great University so well for so many years.

Richard Englert served as President of Temple University during the current academic year while the University searched for its new president. It was not his first time serving in this role, and Dick Englert has served in almost every possible leadership role you can serve in at a great University like Temple – President, chancellor, provost, dean of several colleges and the graduate school here – Dick’s span of service to Temple University dates to 1976.

This was Dick Englert’s third term as Temple’s chief executive officer. He is the personification of service to Temple University and to our City.

So I would like to bestow on Dick a token of our appreciation from a grateful City. Dick, can you join me at the podium?

MAYOR GIVES DICK ENGLERT A LIBERTY BELL

[APPLAUSE]

Now, I’d like to take a minute and tell you about a moment I experienced just a week ago, as I was walking through the Municipal Services Building, the MSB, across from City Hall – a huge office building and the “Nerve Center” of City government.

I was walking through the basement level of the MSB – where a lot of city employees who do the hard work of helping residents with their water bills, their gas bills, their  problems at L & I – these are the workers who do the WORK every day to SERVE the citizens of our great City.

Being there took me back to my roots in City government. Handling EVERY kind of constituent service for Councilwoman Marian Tasco – my Political mother — it’s how I learned about city government, and what it can DO for people.

This work is not EASY. I know that, and you know it too.

But it is WORTHWHILE and I am honored to be leading our COLLECTIVE efforts to serve the 1.6 Million People of Philadelphia, as we work EVERY day to create the Safest, Cleanest and Greenest City in the United States, with Access to Economic Opportunity for All.

While my message today is one of the progress that we’ve made in the Parker administration during Year One – I want you to hear me say this out loud:

None of this progress would be possible without YOU.

NONE OF IT.

For 11 Months now, we have been recruiting the ‘Best and Brightest’ into this Administration.

To those who have chosen to serve our City and in my administration:

YOU are our Subject Matter Experts!

YOU make me stand TALLER as your Mayor, and I am profoundly grateful to you for that, and for your SERVICE to our City.

And I want you to know that this Mayor SUPPORTS YOU!

Today, we’re 11 months and 20 days into our Administration.

We’ve moving beyond the PROMISE now.  Let’s talk about what we’ve done – working TOGETHER.

Let’s start with PUBLIC SAFETY, my Number 1 Priority as your Mayor.

We are by no means resting, we know we have a long way to go, but the work of our Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel – the best Police Commissioner in the Country– and our Chief Public Safety Director, Adam Geer, is starting to show results for the People of Philadelphia.

Homicides are down 37 percent compared with one year ago, and shootings are down 36 percent.

[Pause for APPLAUSE]

A recent report from the Center for American Progress shows violent crime is down in big cities — with the steepest rate of decline in Philadelphia.

Let me be very clear about something: IT. IS. NOT. ENOUGH!

The numbers don’t mean a Damn Thing!

Last weekend, we had 24 people shot in Philadelphia. Four of them died. We had 3 young people shot – none fatally, thank God – outside an ice skating rink – a skating rink! — in our Christmas Village in Center City.

PAUSE

These are NOT statistics I am talking about. These are Human Beings! Someone’s brother, father or son. Someone’s sister, mother or daughter. A beloved family member.

IT SHOULD NOT GO DOWN THIS WAY.

We CANNOT and WILL NOT REST until every neighbor in every neighborhood feels safe in their homes and on their front steps …

Until EVERY child can walk to school safely, until EVERY Senior can sit on their porch on a Summer night and feel safe again.

WE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL WE ACHIEVE THAT FOR EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD IN PHILADELPHIA!

PIVOT

There is MORE we are doing on Public Safety.

On my first day in office, I signed an Executive Order directing Police Commissioner Bethel, Public Safety Director Geer, and Managing Director Adam Thiel to develop a comprehensive Public Safety Plan for Philadelphia. They delivered that Public Safety Plan to me in April – on our 100^th Day in Office.

We can already see its impact — progress in our efforts to combat gun violence, and targeted responses to persistent quality of life issues.

We now have more than 200 Police Officers walking the beat, riding bikes, getting to know the communities they are sworn to protect and serve again as our Community Policing model takes root.

Let me be clear: We cannot and will not police our way out of our problems. My public safety strategy is anchored by P.I.E. — Prevention. Intervention. and Enforcement – and it’s working.

Led by our Public Safety Director Adam Geer, we’re investing in proven anti-violence strategies and programs that WORK, particularly involving young people at risk of negative paths and negative outcomes.

We’re investing in Group Violence Intervention – GVI – with an emphasis on our Youth.

[NOTE: LIFTING UP GVI WORKERS & PARTICIPANTS]

I’d like to mention several individuals hard at work in our GVI programming today.

Stanley Brown was a gunshot victim and survivor who became a participant in our GVI program. He’s made a real change in his life, and GVI supported him with housing and work and apprenticeship opportunities and today, Stanley is a fulltime city employee.

Deion Sumpter is Deputy Director of our Office of Safe Neighborhoods who oversees all the violence intervention programs in that office.

Dr. Kareem Brown is Director of P3 – Pushing Progress Philly, another violence intervention program we support.

Stanley, Deion, Kareem, WOULD YOU ALL PLEASE RISE?

We approved $28 million in my first One Philly Budget passed with the strong support of City Council to spend on grass roots community violence prevention programs – and we will CONTINUE that innovative work because we know it WORKS.

Thank you, Council President Kenyatta Johnson! Thank you, Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr.! Thank you to every Member of Council who voted to support these essential programs.

Our work is starting to gain national and international attention. I was recently asked to speak about P.I.E. at Bloomberg’s CityLab in Mexico City to Mayors from all over the world. It was a privilege.

But we are not resting on these laurels! We understand the job is not done until every resident in every neighborhood feels safe again.

Public Safety as I’ve said is NOT just Policing or even Violence Intervention. Public Safety is also City agencies COLLABORATING to break up ILLEGAL auto shops that operate illicit towing and storage yards in residential neighborhoods.

Just this week, our Police Department, working together with the Philadelphia Parking Authority and our Licenses & Inspections Department, issued Cease & Desist Orders on four illegal auto shop businesses, towed away 45 unregistered cars and vehicles, and recovered four stolen vehicles too.

“It’s a new day,” Richie Lazer from the Parking Authority told the media. “We’re cleaning up these vehicles, cleaning up their pollution, and we’re gonna make this neighborhood what it SHOULD BE for residents.”

I COULD NOT HAVE SAID THIS BETTER MYSELF! IT’S A NEW DAY IN THE PARKER ADMINISTRATION. AND WORKING TOGETHER, WE WILL MAKE YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS SAFER AND CLEANER AGAIN.

One more important thing to say about Public Safety – our Prison system is SLOWLY but SURELY starting to show signs of improvement.

It started when I appointed Mike Resnick – a tested, serious law enforcement veteran – as Commissioner of the Philadelphia Prisons System.

It continued when we recently graduated 48 Cadets to become Correctional Officers – the largest class of cadets we’ve had in years. (and we will have 60 cadets in the next class!)

I spoke at the Cadet Class graduation ceremony recently and it was so inspiring. It’s a New Day in our Prisons system and we’re working EVERY day to make things better there and I asked the family and friends of these new Correctional Officers to give them as much love as they possibly can.

There are 2 graduated Cadets from Correctional Officer Class 24-05 who are here with us today – Dawn McCoy, who’s now assigned to Curran-Fromhold [CUR-in Fromhold] Correctional Facility, and Joseph Slevinski, who’s assigned to Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center.

CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS MCCOY AND SLEVINSKI, WOULD YOU PLEASE RISE?

[APPLAUSE]

PUBLIC HEALTH

Let’s turn to Public Health.

We have built out a comprehensive Public Safety and Public Health Strategy to provide long-term care, treatment, and housing for those individuals who are unhoused and are suffering from substance use disorder, addictions and/or mental health challenges. 

In my One Philly budget signed into law in June, working together with City Council we invested $100 Million in capital funds for our rehabilitating and building of Riverview Wellness Village – a facility with up to 640 beds that will be a refuge for people living on the streets, a place to get the treatment they need, and a state of the art, dignified place to get themselves on a path to being self sufficient again.

As our first step we’re rehabbing existing cottages and buildings at Riverview. Then, we plan to issue an RFP to build a new state-of-the-art building on the campus.

We are excited to announce we will be opening the rehabbed facility early next year.

In fact, we’re going to hold our first Cabinet Meeting of the New Year at Riverview Village!

I cannot emphasize enough that what we are doing has never been done before. 

Our city workers, led by Managing Director Adam Thiel and Deputy Managing Director Crystal Yates-Gale, are working literally around the clock on this project and I am so very proud of EVERY worker working on this critical public health initiative for our city.

[APPLAUSE]

I’m also delighted to note that we’ve just named our new Commissioner of the Department of Public Health, Dr. Palak Raval [Rah-VALL] -Nelson, PhD/MPH – a career veteran of the Health Department, with deep experience, and cannot wait for her to get started (SHE STARTS ON MONDAY DEC. 23^rd)

With public health and public safety in mind, our team has made incredible strides in another one of my top priorities:

CLEAN AND GREEN

Under our new Office of Clean & Green Initiatives, run by Director Carlton Williams, we are DELIVERING on our promise to create “One Philly, A United Citywide Cleaning and Greening Program” – a proactive strategy to address chronic quality-of-life issues: litter, illegal dumping, graffiti, abandoned automobiles, vacant lots, and nuisance properties. 

After the first citywide cleaning program over the Summer, 20,517 neighborhood blocks and commercial corridors were cleaned.

Talk about a government you can see, touch, and feel!

That is how you do it! Thank you, Director Williams, thank you Sanitation Commissioner Crystal Jacobs Shipman, and EVERY City Department involved in this collaborative and important work!

The Office of Clean & Green Initiatives has also led our Citywide Cleanup Program, our Residential District-by- District Cleaning Program, and now our pilot twice-a-week trash collection program that we unveiled just a few weeks ago, with Council President Johnson and our House Appropriations Chair Jordan Harris in South Philadelphia.

Through all of these Clean and Green programs – we’ve cleaned OVER 40,000 City Blocks and Commercial Corridors! And that number goes up EVERY DAY!

[APPLAUSE]

We are done with the phrase, ‘Filthadelphia’ and we won’t stop until we END that terrible nickname once and for ALL!

That’s the CLEAN part of our agenda and work. Let me talk for a minute about the GREEN part of our work.

It is not enough to be CLEANING blocks and neighborhoods. We need to be GREENING communities – and we’re making progress there too.

Our Office of Sustainability released an Energy Poverty Alleviation Strategy over the Summer as a Roadmap to reduce our city’s emissions and achieve our Administration’s vision of a city where all Philadelphians can access and afford energy that is clean, healthy and safe.

Our Southwest Philadelphia community of Eastwick has long faced flooding from nearby creeks, damaging homes and increasing insurance premiums.

Creating an undue burden for too many people in Eastwick.

Our Sustainability Office is leading an Intergovernmental effort – ‘Eastwick from Recovery to Resilience’ – giving residents a seat at the table in strategic planning for THEIR community. We’ve secured nearly $3 Million to build community capacity and planning and install flood barriers as well.

There’s MORE we’re doing on GREENING –

We’re using MORE Renewable Electricity, and we’re GROWING and protecting the City’s Tree Canopy, and you can read a lot more about it in our Year-End Report that you’ve received a copy of today!

Let’s talk about ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.

What does that mean exactly and how can the City play an active role?

I made it clear before I took the oath of office that all Philadelphians must have access to the path of self sufficiency that includes access to 21^st century, world-class education; affordable, luxury housing; and the opportunity to do business in Philadelphia.

In October, we launched one of my top initiatives – the City College for Municipal Employment – at the Community College of Philadelphia. 

CCME is a first-in-the-nation program that will be a pipeline for Philadelphia residents to obtain family-sustaining, stable municipal government jobs.

What does that mean?

That means competitive salaries, health benefits, and pensions. The kind of stuff that strengthens the middle class!

And filling vacancies in City Government positions to make Philly run better for everyone who lives here.

CCME would not be possible without the cooperation and coordination of the City, the School District, Community College, and Philadelphia Works.

Dr. Watlington, President Generals, Pat Clancy – we are grateful for the partnership!

Our first class of 59 CCME students are enrolled right now at CCP.  Our next class of incoming students will begin early in the new year.

I am SO excited about the promise of this program, and we are grateful to Chief Administrative Officer Camille Duchaussee and her team (Carol DeFries and Candi Jones) for ALL their work thus far.

[NOTE: LIFTING UP CCME STUDENTS]

In fact, 2 students in our first CCME class are HERE with us today.

Ms. Aleena Chandy (who’s studying to become a Computer Support Specialist) and Ms. Karen Abney (who’s studying Administration) are both enrolled in CCME and they’re working towards brighter economic futures for themselves.

ALEENA AND KAREN, WOULD YOU PLEASE RISE?

[APPLAUSE MOMENT]

 
MORE on ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
 

During our first year in office, this Administration has focused on breaking down traditional barriers to access economic opportunities for everyone, no matter what you look like, where you are from, or how big or small your business is.

That is why I signed the PHL Open For Business Executive Order in the Spring. My administration is committed to making it more welcoming and easier to do business in Philadelphia, to locate a business here, and expand and grow businesses in the City.

We have continued to grow and expand PHL TCB to support our business corridors and beyond into our neighborhoods. This program has created hundreds of jobs that preserve the “curb-side appeal” and value of our business corridors.

A shout out this morning not only to Carlton Williams at Clean and Green and Crystal Jacobs Shipman at Sanitation – but to Alba Martinez our great Commerce Director for her leadership as we grow and expand PHL TCB – one of my babies.

[NOTE: LIFTING UP A TCB AMBASSADOR & a BUSINESS]

Taking Care of Business is not just about cleaning Neighborhood Corridors – as important as that is.

TCB is about Creating Jobs that Pay an Individual a Living Wage. People like Hosea “Hassan” Austin.

Hassan works with TCB through the Frankford CDC.  He’s a Frankford resident for 35 years. He retired from Laborers Local 332, and suffered through some personal challenges.

But he heard about TCB and applied for a job. It gave him a renewed sense of Purpose. He’s worked with TCB now for 6 years, and he is a Goodwill Ambassador to everyone who comes in contact with him. He leads by example.

THAT’S WHAT TCB IS ALL ABOUT – Cleaning and Community and Opportunity. [APPLAUSE]

TCB is also about people like Yvette Watts, who owns Watts Facility Solutions and performs cleaning services under TCB in South and West Philadelphia. She’s excited to create job opportunities for others through TCB and with partners like our city’s Future Track program and the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

HASSAN AND YVETTE, WOULD YOU PLEASE RISE?

[APPLAUSE]

There are many ways the Parker administration is creating and supporting Opportunity.

We also support the Future Track workforce development program in the Streets Department, where individuals accepted into this program learn valuable jobs skills that put them on pathways towards good-paying city jobs with benefits in the Department.

My administration STRONGLY SUPPORTS the Future Track program!

[NOTE: LIFTING UP FUTURE TRACK WORKERS

Several of our Future Track program workers are here with us today.

Brittany Reid started in the program in December 2023, and began her job with the City in the Sanitation Department in October of this year.

Lamar Barnes started in Future Track in January of this year, and started his City job in Sanitation in October.

By the way, both of our Future Track guests are now working on our Clean and Green Initiative!

WE ARE PROUD OF THEIR PROGRESS! BRITTANY AND LAMAR, WOULD YOU PLEASE RISE?

We’ve also established the Office of Minority Business Success to give EVERY Philadelphia business and entrepreneur a fair and equal chance to succeed.

This Office is VITAL to our Economic Opportunity plans in the Parker Administration. And if you want to know the Standard, just look at the Economic Opportunity plan that we just negotiated in the Sixers Arena deal that I’ll speak about later. Nichole Stokes from our Law Department helped craft a comprehensive plan to provide REAL OPPORTUNITY for small- and minority-owned businesses and individuals to participate in that massive economic development project and THAT IS OUR STANDARD now.

Rachel Branson is heading up our Office of Minority Business Success and we have big plans for this new Office heading into next year!

We’ve also created a Mayor’s Business Roundtables, led by Donavan West, that’s a place for business leaders – representing large, small and medium-sized businesses across our City – to have a direct line to me and my administration and to bring their expertise to make Philadelphia a better place to do business.

And if I can say one more thing about a model for Economic Opportunity in this City, we need look no further than our world-class Philadelphia International Airport, where CEO Atif Saaed and his team are developing and IMPLEMENTING contract opportunities for minority-owned businesses and businesses of every kind that create REAL economic growth and jobs for our residents.

Now, let’s talk about EDUCATION.

You know I may be your Mayor, but I’m also a Certified, Secondary English Teacher by Profession! Public Education means EVERYTHING to me!

This fall, we launched the Extended Day – Extended Year Program to create educational enrichment opportunities for our children in 25 schools — 20 traditional public schools and 5 charter schools.

Extended Day – Extended Year is a FREE City-sponsored program in partnership with the School District to offer parents early care services starting at 7:30AM and after school care that provides programs ranging from coding to computer sciences to girls’ rugby – and MUCH MORE.

We’ve already created over 7,355 educational enrichment opportunities for our children – and MORE MORE MORE are on the way.

Our newest Chief Deputy Mayor, Vanessa Garrett Harley, working with our Chief Education Officer, Dr. Deb Carrera, leads our efforts with Extended Day – Extended Year and we are PROUD of their work.

But like EVERYTHING we do in the Parker administration, we don’t accomplish from the Top Down – we lead from the Bottom up.  And we would not be building an effective Extended Day/Extended Year program without the participation of teachers, principals and staff at the 25 Schools where this program is now underway.

[NOTE: LIFT UP AN EXTENDED DAY/EXTENDED YEAR SCHOOL PRINCIPAL]

One of those educators is here with us today – Dr. Shauneille Taylor, the Principal of Edward Gideon Elementary School, one of our Extended Day/Extended Year schools.

Dr. Taylor and her staff’s vision is for ALL children, regardless of race or ethnicity, language or religion, disability or gender or socioeconomic status, to have a GREAT SCHOOL in their COMMUNITY – and Extended Day/Extended Year is a part of their vision now.

DOCTOR TAYLOR, WILL YOU PLEASE RISE?

[APPLAUSE MOMENT] [MORE on EDUCATION] …

In my first One Philly budget and throughout this year, we increased funding for children in Philadelphia schools by nearly $250 Million over the next 5 years. 

$129 Million by increasing the amount of property tax going to Schools (millage rate shift from 55 percent to 56 percent for Schools), and $120 Million more through our careful revaluation process this Summer. 

We will continue to push for more resources for our schools because our children deserve the whole loaf, not crumbs!

Our education plan does not stop at our young people. Our Administration has made incredible strides in supporting adult education and workforce development.

Making all of these investments in education and workforce development will not have the desired impact without access to AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

HOUSING

Now, I have promised 30,000 units of housing through new construction, preservation, and repair of existing — with a focus on affordability.

We are focused on affordability, but our plan includes housing for all income levels: affordable, workforce, market rate and public.

We are building communities and neighborhoods contributing to a city everyone can be proud to live in. 

Working closely with our local, state, and federal partners through our new Director of Planning and Development, Jessie Lawrence, this Administration is developing a comprehensive Housing Plan which we’ll announce in the first quarter of 2025.

You can read a LOT more about the critically important housing programs we are investing in – like Turn the Key and Restore, Repair, Renew – in our Year-End Report.

I am PROUD to support a successful program like Turn the Key with Council President Johnson and his colleagues on City Council, who first funded this initiative under former Council President Darrell Clarke.

 
 
REFORMING GOVERNMENT TO WORK BETTER
 
I want to speak about something I’m enormously proud of.
 

Last month, leaders from across all City departments came together to address decades-old issues with the City’s procurement process.

In order to address the large backlog of unconformed contracts and unpaid invoices, I charged our Finance and Procurement leaders to come together and work through the silos and barriers and get our partners the money they deserve.

I want to praise Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson here for the excellent work that she and her staff have done on these issues involving non-profit providers, and ensuring they are being paid in a prompt and appropriate way by the City.

In just a little over a month, 550 contracts were conformed and over $221 Million were paid in outstanding invoices.

We’re NOT done yet but that is OUTSTANDING work. I want to lift up Cat Lamb from Finance, all of her colleagues in Finance, our Procurement leaders, especially LaShawnda Tompkins and T. David Williams, with clear direction from Chief Administrative Officer Duchaussee and her team for this critical work.

Anyone here who has ever done business with the City before, can understand what an amazing accomplishment that is!

It’s important to note WHY this reform work is so important. Many of the non-profit providers involved in these issues provide essential services to our residents. If their invoices are late getting paid or satisfied by the City, they might not make a payroll – leading to service interruptions and a real loss for residents.

[NOTE: LIFT UP 2 NON PROFIT CONTRACTORs]

Don’t take my word for it. Two hard-working non-profit leaders are here with us today, and they UNDERSTAND how important the work that our Administration has done to conform contracts, get organizations paid appropriately – enabling them to continue doing their vital work for our citizens.

OTIS BULLOCK WITH THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY ALLIANCE, and JOANNE OTERO FROM WOMEN AGAINST ABUSE, WILL YOU PLEASE RISE?

[APPLAUSE]

But we are not stopping there. This collaboration exercise has taught us valuable lessons for how we can better streamline our procurement processes to move at the speed of business.

 
 
SIXERS ARENA
 

Yesterday, City Council gave its final approval to an historic $1.3 Billion economic development project for Philadelphia with no City subsidy – a new Sixers basketball Arena in Center City, with $700 Million in projected tax revenues, the largest PILOT payments ever for a Philadelphia sports facility and a $60 Million Community Benefits Agreement – paid for by the Sixers to benefit nearby communities AND the city as a whole.

This is an historic milestone for our City and let me say it again – we want a Chinatown that will not only survive, but thrive.

I’m PROUD of this deal – which compares favorably with any sports arena or stadium deal in Philadelphia history – and I am GRATEFUL for the incredibly hard work of my Administration team that worked on this deal, led by my terrific Chief of Staff Tiffany Thurman, as well as for the collaborative partnership with City Council that led 12 Members to vote for this deal.

I’d like to lift EVERY single Member up who voted for this deal: Council President Johnson, Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose district will house the arena, Councilmembers Katherine Gilmore Richardson (Maj. Leader), Isaiah Thomas (Maj. Whip), Cindy Bass (Deputy Whip), Curtis Jones Jr., Mike Driscoll, Quetcy Lozada, Anthony Phillips, Brian O’Neill, Nina Ahmad and Jim Harrity.

LABOR AGREEMENTS

Anybody who knows me knows I am an unapologetic Pro-Worker and Pro-Union Mayor. I also believe – I know — we have the best Municipal Workforce in the Country!

So I’m proud to report that my Administration was able to obtain contract extensions with ALL Four of our city Municipal Unions – FOP Lodge 5, Firefighters Local 22, AFSCME District Council 47 and the most recent agreement was with District Council 33.

We negotiated historic wage increases, we avoided any work stoppages for the People of Philadelphia, and we valued our municipal workers in a substantive way.

A big shout out to Chief Deputy Mayor Sincere Harris and every Administration official who worked on these agreements.

Our Team is ALREADY hard at work laying the groundwork to reach fiscally responsible multi-year agreements with all of our municipal unions.

Philly Stat 360

Earlier this week, we unveiled another new project that I had promised the People of Philadelphia – a brand-new City website and program called Philly Stat 360 – an online portal where residents can go to learn about all different kinds of city services, how they’re working (or not), and how to apply to get a service delivered in their neighborhood.

This new website, developed by my Chief Legal Counsel and Director of Philly Stat 360, Kristin Bray, is so good, we’ve already been invited to the White House to brief on how we’re tracking and using data in the Parker administration. And we’ve designed this amazing new website IN HOUSE!

Speaking of the White House … I need to say a few things before I close here today.

 
FEDERAL FUNDING FROM BIDEN-HARRIS
 

First, I need to express our deep appreciation as a City for all that the Biden-Harris Administration has done for Philadelphia in just our first year in office.

How about $1 Billion in Federal funds – that’s $1 BILLION WITH A B! – coming to Philadelphia, thanks to President Biden, Vice President Harris, and our Federal Congressional Delegation – Senators Casey and Fetterman, and Congress Members Dwight Evans and Brendan Boyle and Mary Gay Scanlon.

That is the power of Intergovernmental Relationships and we UNDERSTAND their IMPORTANCE to Philadelphia.

Now, as for next year? …

As I said after the election in November, the People of Philadelphia elected me to do a job, and I am laser-focused on doing it – working every day to make Philadelphia the Safest, Cleanest, Greenest City in America, with Access to Economic Opportunity for All.

No election result will change my focus. PERIOD!

Anybody who knows me knows I have never been accused of being shy. But as Philadelphia’s CEO, I do not seek fights either. I seek, and my Administration seeks, to serve the People of Philadelphia and get things done to make their lives better. That is our Mission every day. I shall NOT be moved.

2025 promises to be an interesting year. And we are moving that much closer to 2026 and the 250^th Anniversary of our wonderful Country.

People from all over the World will be coming to see our City, the Birthplace of our Democracy.

And with all of you – every single one of YOU – working in concert with my Parker Administration, we plan to be ready.

Never forget: Tourism and Hospitality create JOBS and REVENUES for our City. It’s a giant economic engine in Philadelphia, generating and sustaining tens of thousands of jobs in our restaurant and hotel sectors, so we want EVERY VISITOR coming here in 2026 to have a great experience in Philadelphia.

CLOSE

Remember the words of James Baldwin, a lifelong inspiration to me:  ‘I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do.’

As Mayor, it is important to me that you watch what we do.

I want our residents to feel a sense of Hope and Pride in their City government again.

I do not promise perfection. But I DO promise that we will work hard every day, using the resources that we have, to deliver a government our residents can see, touch and feel.

And now, I’d like to ask all of my Cabinet Members, and every city government official – and every city employee here today – to STAND UP.

Stand with me, so that everyone can SEE their government, and understand what an honor it is for all of us to work for you.

Thank you all so very much for joining us here today. Stay on this Journey with us as we enter our Second Year.

May God bless each of you, your family and friends.

And may God bless the City of Philadelphia.

Put your Ones in the Air … One Philly! A United City!