Press Advisory
Contacts:
Ali Kronley 267 408 5582
Neil Herrmann 201 280 1060
James Thompson 501-952-3239

ACORN “Tale of Two Cities” Report & Rally

ACORN to release report documenting the public cost amount of Luxury Condo Development throughout Center City; call on City Council to pass Inclusionary Zoning Legislation & Mayoral Candidates to commit to PeopleFirst Platform for Housing, Heat, & Home Repair.

Thursday Feb 22nd, 5:30 PM
Rittenhouse Square Park

On Feb 22nd, Activists from across the city will gather in Rittenhouse Square at a Rally to highlight the public cost of luxury condo development in Philadelphia and dramatize the effect it has had on our city, especially in terms of lack of Affordable Housing, Home Repair Assistance, and Heating Assistance that has contributed to the 19 fire deaths so far this year. The Rally will be accompanied by a the release of a study documenting the amount of public funds that have gone into the pockets of luxury condo developers over the past 8 years, as well as the public trade-offs that could have been used with the same amount of money.

This event is part of ACORN’s PeopleFirst Campaign, calling on Mayoral Candidates to commit to:

- Invest in Rowhouse Philadelphia & Support Neighborhood Preservation by Creating a new City Funded Home Repair Grants Program.
- Keep our Utilities Safe & Affordable by Increasing resources for Weatherization & Increasing enrollment in PGW Affordable Programs.
- Close the Gap in Affordable Housing by Creating 8000 new units of Affordable Housing in the next four years and Creating Inclusionary Zoning to require developers to build for all.

The PeopleFirst Platform has a broad degree of support from a diverse and growing body of organizations, including the Philadelphia NAACP, Philadelphia AFL-CIO Public Sector Committee, Pennsylvania PIRG and more. Most recently, Congressman & Mayoral Candidate Chaka Fattah included the creation of home repair grants in his housing platform.

ACORN is also part of the Philadelphia Campaign for Housing Justice, which has been organizing to bring Inclusionary Zoning to Philadelphia, which would require any developer benefiting from public dollars to also contribute to the development of Affordable Housing.

For more information about ACORN’s PeopleFirst platform, or City Council’s proposed Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, Please call Ali Kronley at 267-408-5582

ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is the nation's largest community organization of low-and moderate-income families, with more than 230,000 member families participating in neighborhood chapters in 103 cities. Learn more at www.acorn.org and www.raisewages.org

Last Updated: February 17, 2007