Your Daily Guide

Mayor Parker Announces New Program To Assist Potential Homeowners

One of Parker’s biggest priorities since swearing into office in 2024 has been addressing the city’s housing crisis. Since then, she’s secured $800 million in bonds to support her $2 billion Housing Opportunities Made Easy initiative and proposed plans to build a modular home factory in the city’s Logan neighborhood. Now, her next order of business is helping Philadelphians get approved for a mortgage.

• Model for the nation. The One Philly Mortgage Program is expected to roll out this fall and be the first of its kind in the U.S., according to Parker.
• Who usually gets a mortgage? In 2023, the Reinvestment Fund found that 7.5% of Philadelphians were denied a mortgage, with Black and Hispanic applicants twice as likely as their white counterparts to be rejected. Approximately 60% of homeowners in the city have a mortgage.
• New program, old methods. The Philadelphia Neighborhood Home Preservation Program, also known as Restore, Repair, Renew, will serve as a model for the mortgage program. Under RRR, residents can apply for low-interest loans to fix their homes. This program is intended to fill the gaps for homeowners who did not qualify for grant programs and have been denied loans by major banks. Parker championed RRR during her time in City Council.
• Parker stresses the importance of home ownership. “ I want a mortgage program where our people can apply, and even if you have less than perfect credit, you'll still be able to get approval as long as you have a job,” Parker told City Cast Philly. “You have to have the ability to repay.”
• HO.M.E. initiative keeps up momentum. The mortgage program is among several projects Parker is spearheading to grow and preserve Philadelphia’s housing stock. Parker says she is committed to 30,000 units and that, so far, 14,000 units have seen activity as part of the H.O.M.E. plan.
• Keep Philly accountable. You can track H.O.M.E.’s progress on the Philly Stat 360 dashboard.

To learn more about Mayor Parker’s priorities, tune into today’s episode of City Cast Philly.

PPD’s Five-Year Plan? Act Like a Business

The police department’s new strategic plan focuses on improving “customer service.” Proposed initiatives include new quality-of-life officers who would tackle issues such as nuisance businesses, the ability to report low-level crimes online and via video calls, and the use of AI to screen 911 calls. [🔒 The Inquirer]

New Map Pinpoints Which Neighborhoods See Most Illegal Dumping

The anti-dumping group Trash Academy launched a crowdsourced online map that tracks prohibited trash dumping sites and plans to use the data to advocate for policy solutions. Current submissions are concentrated in North and Northwest Philadelphia. Submit a dumpsite in your community to add to the map. [WHYY, Trash Academy]

Trump Admin No Longer Requests List of Penn’s Jewish Staff

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission settled with the University of Pennsylvania, dropping its demand for the names. The commission issued a subpoena last year ordering the release of personal contact information of those involved in the school’s Jewish Studies program and Jewish-affiliated organizations as part of an investigation into the allegations of antisemitism on campus. [Politico]

Philly Has Highest Rate of Deadly Crashes in U.S.

Philadelphia had 9.04 fatalities per 100,000 residents in 2024, according to a new analysis from the City Controller’s office. This stat outpaces other major cities such as Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York City. Although Philly’s numbers are still high, its traffic fatality rate has declined since 2020. [NBC10]

• Related: Here’s how the city plans to reduce traffic deaths. [City Cast Philly]

Shapiro Joins Lawsuit Against Trump Admin Over Disaster Funding

Gov. Shapiro joined more than 24 states in suing the federal government over its plan to withhold disaster response and homeland security grant funding if states fail to meet certain conditions. The demands require states to turn over voter registration lists and poll worker names. The federal government could withhold nearly $6 million from the commonwealth. [Pennsylvania Capital-Star]