Philadelphia, December 9 – Mayor Michael A. Nutter was joined by community leaders, neighborhood groups, business owners, non-profit leaders and City officials today in a discussion at City Hall - co-hosted by Sharmain Matlock-Turner of the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition and Jeremy Nowak of The Reinvestment Fund – centered on how we can get Philadelphians back to work. Mayor Nutter reported back on what President Obama’s jobs announcement yesterday means for Philadelphia while Ms. Matlock-Turner and Mr. Nowak led a discussion following up on last week’s jobs summit at the Convention Center.
“Putting Philadelphians back to work is our number one job,” said Mayor Nutter. “As the federal government turns its full attention to Main Street to create jobs in towns and cities across America, our message is clear: Philadelphia is ready to go – we’ve got the people and we’ve got the projects.”
Today’s event comes after last week’s summit on jobs and economic development convened by State Representative Dwight Evans and State Representative John Myers.
“Creating jobs is the single most important effort this nation can put forth if we are to move forward as a country and a world economy,” said Dwight Evans, D-Phila., who is chairman of the state House Appropriations Committee and whose background is rooted in education and job training. “I am encouraged so many civic leaders in our region have embraced the President’s call to action on this issue and who are determined to put people back to work. We can make Philadelphia and the region a model in this effort, not just for the state, but for the nation.”
“The aggressive involvement of the federal government as outlined by President Obama can be the trigger to reversing job losses, but we must not lose focus because of short-term gains,” said Representative Myers. “The programs and commitment on the local level that Mayor Nutter brought us today can give us that long-term focus we need to foster jobs, jobs created from within the city that will cover the spectrum of employment opportunity from entrepreneur to blue-collar and white-collar workers and technical specialties. But it's not going to be solely the responsibility of the movers and shakers to bring this about. The people in the potential employee pool must also make a commitment. The Great Frederick Douglass once said the key to future advancement was 'agitate, agitate, agitate'. For the people who believe in themselves and Philadelphia, I submit that the key today must be ‘learn, train, advance’.”
Sharmain Matlock-Turner, President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, and Jeremy Nowak, President of The Reinvestment Fund, moderated last week’s summit and led a discussion among community leaders today at City Hall.
“President Obama has called on cities across the nation to hold their own conversations on jobs and the economy and we are proud to be leading the way,” said Sharmain Matlock-Turner. “We all have a part to play in getting people back to work and turning our economy around. By engaging small business, community leaders, and neighborhood groups throughout this process we dramatically increase our chances of success.”
“We have the opportunity to partner with the federal government to align their priorities and plans with our efforts at a local level,” said Jeremy Nowak. “Federal investment needs to be translated at a local level to projects, training programs, and jobs as we move from talk and ideas to action and implementation.”
Mayor Nutter was in Washington, D.C., yesterday morning for President Obama’s speech on jobs at the Brookings Institution. The president addressed new incentives for small businesses, which have the potential of creating millions of jobs; new plans to invest in roads, bridges and related infrastructure; and new investments in clean energy and energy efficiency. On small business development, infrastructure renewal, clean energy the City of Philadelphia and its partners have already been very active and are willing to be a full partner with the Federal government in the next stage of our nation’s efforts to get America back to work.
Aside from the anchor segments of the Philadelphia economy – the EDS, the MEDS and the hospitality industry – small business is a major employer and a sector of our economy that we are committed to grow. The tax cuts and incentives that the Obama administration is proposing will mesh perfectly with the City’s many efforts:
Creation of an Office of Business Services to help people start a business and then grow. This Office has contacted 35,000 businesses, letting them know that the City is here to help. Launching the new Business Services Center on the web with a goal of knocking down the barriers to small business growth. Investment in commercial corridors to help small business present a better look to customers. Creation of a Gap Financing Program in partnership with The Reinvestment Fund that so far has helped 12 projects, creating or retaining more than 1,000 jobs. In the last year, PIDC has settled 101 grants and loans totaling $43 million to small businesses and cultural organizations.
President Obama spoke of new investments in infrastructure. In Philadelphia:
The City has been investing heavily in the development of the Airport and The Navy Yard as a Clean Energy Campus. New investments will spur construction investment in the next decade and power the regional economy for decades to come. At the Redevelopment Authority, we have a dynamic program that will take foreclosed homes, get them renovated and get them back on the market.
Mayor Nutter noted that there is no city in America which is in a better position to take advantage of President Obama’s call for more investment in energy efficiency and clean energy investments than Philadelphia.
Philadelphia has set out detailed five-year targets in the Greenworks Philadelphia strategy, to lower energy usage, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create fast growth in green-collar industries.
With the recently announced $30 million Recovery investment in weatherization, the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation and the Energy Coordinating Agency will double the size of the weatherization program in the city and create hundreds of new jobs, help residents save money on energy bills and reduce energy consumption. Furthermore the number of small and minority owned businesses in the weatherization program has already roughly doubled.
Last week, the Clean Energy Campus at the Navy Yard got a terrific boost from the announcement by Mayor Nutter and Governor Rendell and me that a solar panel manufacturing business will invest $500 million to build a factory employing 400 people. In addition the Campus has won $5 million in grants from the US Department of Energy and our partners are in the running for another $129 million in grants that will mean even more work for Philadelphians.
Finally Mayor Nutter, Sharmain Matlock-Turner and Jeremy Nowak spoke of the importance of preparing Philadelphians for the world of work and making sure that they are not just trained for one specific job, but that they gain the transferable skills necessary for long-term employment. Mayor Nutter noted that the City’s workforce development programs have been aligned to prepare Philadelphians with a range of flexible skills – computer competency, mathematics, and literacy, to meet the needs of employers. In the last year over 3,000 Philadelphians have taken part in training programs and more than 71,000 residents have visited CareerLink Centers to get the help they need.
Citizens and business owners wishing to take part in this discussion and provide their own suggestions on how to get Philadelphians back to work should email business@phila.gov and devans@hacd.net. More information can be found at www.phila.gov/business.
The Navy Yard is a 1,200-acre, mixed-use development in South Philadelphia, managed by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation with over 7,500 employees and 80 companies.
The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, a private, not-for-profit corporation, was created in 1958 by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Commerce Department of the City of Philadelphia to promote economic development and job creation throughout the City. PIDC provides financing programs and real estate products to business and developer client groups in all neighborhoods of Philadelphia and is managing the redevelopment of The Navy Yard.
For further information on PIDC's role in The Navy Yard, contact Peter S. Longstreth, President, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, 2600 Centre Square West, 1500 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19102-2126, phone (215) 496-8181.
