NEIGHBORHOODS RALLY AT CITY HALL TO DEMAND THAT MAYOR NUTTER ‘TURN ON THE TAP’!

DAY CAMPS FACE DISCRIMINATION AS THE CITY LOCKS THEM OUT OF LOCAL POOLS

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Over 100 Philadelphia residents converged on City Hall today, joined by over 10 other city organizations and labor unions, to demand restoration of 1.1 million dollars in funding to open all of the city’s 27 closed public swimming pools.

The closed pools, which serve over 500,000 residents, also provided hundreds of summer jobs for adolescents and served thousands of Philadelphia summer campers, who have had their programming canceled as pools and libraries receive cuts in funding.

“We are here today to demand that Mayor Nutter turn on the tap and restore the 1.1 million dollars taken from pools in our communities!” said Martha Jones-Smithey, a local leader and rally organizer from the Fairhill neighborhood.

Just last week the Creative Steps Day Camp was discriminated against by the Huntingdon Valley Pool + Club after their local swimming pool was closed by budget cuts.

“The discrimination faced by Creative Steps was just a more explicit version of the racism the campers faced when they were locked out of their neighborhood pool,” said Eric Braxton, an organizer with the Coalition to Save the Libraries.

In the weeks leading up to the rally, public outrage at pool closings has lead to five neighborhood demonstrations in the threatened communities of Grays Ferry (Stinger Pool), Point Breeze (Chew Pool), Girard Estate (Marion Anderson Pool), Fairhill (12^th+ Cambria Pool), and East Germantown (Lonnie Young Pool).

Many neighborhoods have felt the consequences of pool closings as youth violence spikes during the summer months and children are forced to make dangerous trips to swim in other areas.

“These pools are vital to our neighborhoods. They keep our kids safe. They provide jobs for young people. They bring our families together. That’s why we’re here – to fight for our community!” said Nadine Rykard, a resident and leader from Grays Ferry.

CONTACT: Zachary Hershman at 201.264.2200 and avrakedabra@gmail.com for more info + list of participant organizations.

Inquirer article, June 27: Under summer heat, some pools remain shuttered

Under summer heat, some pools remain shuttered

By Kia Gregory

Inquirer Staff Writer

On hazy, sun-soaked afternoons last summer, Andrew Christman, 35, regularly took his young son, Jozef, to the Fishtown neighborhood pool to splash in his water wings. But, because of city budget cuts, that recreation center pool is now closed. So is the Hancock pool, also a few blocks away. And so is the Cione pool, roughly a mile from his home.

read the rest at

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/49328362.html

Spirit Community Newspapers article June 24

Fishtown, Cione, Hancock and Northern Liberties Pools are closed for the summer!
24.JUN.09

Is there any method to the madness? How did the City decide which pools to open and which to keep closed? In some districts, all or nearly all of the pools are being reopened and in some, not even half of them will be opened this summer. District 6 (Lower NE-Northern Liberties, Fishtown and part of North Phila.) falls into the latter category with only 5 of their 14 pools reopening....

read the article here

Star article, June 18: A 'Splash' in the bucket

Thu, June 18, 2009

A 'Splash' in the bucket

by Hayden Mitman

Ask people who have grown up in Fishtown about their memories of summertime, and a common response might be the sight of an open fire hydrant spewing water into the street and the smiling faces of their young friends running through the spray.

It's a summertime memory of a bygone era but, thanks to Philadelphia's budget crunch, residents might see the sight returning to neighborhood streets.

That's because when Mayor Michael Nutter announced the results of the "Splash and Summer Fund" earlier this month, Fishtown's community pool wasn't on the list.

Read the rest at http://www.philly.com/community/pa/philadelphia/star/48526622.html

Philadelphia Weekly on Swimming Pool Closings

The Dead Pool
by Brendan Skwire
Does the closure of more than two dozen Philly pools presage a violent summer in the city?

Read this great Philly Weekly article at:
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/Pools-money-48729067.html

Here is just a snippet from the article:

...And what do you think will happen when kids in the 19125 zip code, who have lost ALL of their pools, go wandering into other neighborhoods seeking a cool dip? Does anyone in the city want to have a repeat of 2006?

And the crazy thing is, the city agrees there will be turf wars as a result of pool closings. Their solution? More cops in the affected neighborhoods!

June 14th Rally at LOVE Park for Programs Not Prisons!

Photos by Reverend Jesse Brown


























This is a rally against State Bill 850, which will

1. Eliminate Funding for Violence Prevention
2. Decrease Funding for the customized job training bt 50%
3. Decrease 50% of Funding for Early Childhood Programs (Head Start and Pre-K Counts)
4. Eliminate Funding for the Family Savings Account Program, Self Employment Assistance Program, and completely Elimainate the PA Community Development Bank.


Sponsoring Organizations include:

Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition (GPUAC), BluePrint for a Safer Philadelphia, Nu Sigma Youth Services, Philadelphia Anti-Drug?Anti-Violence Network (PAAN), Youth Outreach Adolescent Community Awareness Program (YOACAP), MEE Productions, the Offfice of State Rep. Dwight Evans, the Office of State Rep. Kenyatta Johnson and the Office of State Senator Anthony Williams