Yearly Archives: 2015

Property owners near the City’s riverfronts will soon be receiving letters notifying them about the first step in an upgrade of the long out-dated zoning standards, which will protect current properties while making rules uniform for those seeking to develop or expand sites in the areas.

Congressman Brendan Boyle (PA-13) voted with many colleagues in the House to adopt, by a vote of 316 to 113, the FY 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill. This measure funds the government until October 2016.

Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced that the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) has been awarded $2.7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to offer new job training programs for PHA residents.

Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) Board of Commissioners meeting, HACP commissioners and staff formally recognized the efforts of five private security guards who provide service to HACP's low-income public housing communities.

Tomorrow, Mayor William Peduto and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro will discuss local and federal efforts to provide affordable housing and revitalize high poverty communities, in an event hosted in Washington D.C. by the Center for American Progress

Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02) joined with members of the Philadelphia community and the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) to celebrate the grand opening of the new Queen Lane Apartments in Germantown

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn today announced that improvements are being made to its Watershed Education program that is intended to give children in grades 6-12 a knowledge base on water-related issues in the hope they will become future community leaders

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) has prioritized resident homeownership as an agency-wide priority since 2004. Since that time, 134 Housing Authority residents – representing the traditional, low-income public housing (LIPH) and the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program – have closed on their homes. To date in 2015, ten program participants have closed on their homes, while an additional two are expected to close by year’s end.

Arthur P. Pasquarella, CRE, executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer, Equus Capital Partners, Ltd., Philadelphia, Pa., has received the 2015 James D. Landauer/John R. White Award from The Counselors of Real Estate® professional association. The honor was bestowed at The Counselors’ recent Annual Convention in Charlotte, N.C., in recognition of Pasquarella’s distinguished record of leadership in the real estate industry, and his impressive record of supporting civic causes.

Governor Tom Wolf and Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Ted Dallas today announced that the commonwealth has successfully transitioned the first Pennsylvanian into an apartment through the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA) program.

Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on today’s groundbreaking for the Centennial Village affordable housing project located in his district at 52nd and Columbia Avenue

Delays in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability benefits adversely affect veterans in Pennsylvania and across the nation. In the Pittsburgh regional office, the average wait for veterans filing their first claim is 185 days. The wait is 136 days in Philadelphia office. To help counter this widespread problem, the Veterans Homebuyer Accessibility Act would be immediately available to all eligible veterans (those who were not discharged dishonorably. The bill provides crucial help to veterans looking to purchase a home as they move back to our communities.

Congressman Keith Rothfus [PA-12] cosponsored the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Act of 2015 (H.R. 499) to allow local governments to more easily access private funds for waste water and water infrastructure projects. Specifically, the bill would provide parity for waste water and water infrastructure projects funded with Public Activity Bonds (PAB) by uncapping the amount that municipalities can issue.

Governor Tom Wolf today announced that the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) has approved nearly $8.1 million for 44 housing projects to improve the availability and affordability of housing in 28 counties. These projects are being supported by the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) Fund, which is administered by PHFA and funded by Act 13’s impact fee on natural gas producers.

Governor Tom Wolf today joined House Democratic Leadership in putting forth an amendment in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to fix the commonwealth’s structural budget deficit, fund K-12 education and provide expanded property tax relief to seniors and disabled households.

Mayor William Peduto is committing at least 10% of the city’s operating and capital budget spending to flood control, street and facility improvements, and other projects that will improve the City’s resilience against challenges it will face in future years

Residents of Penn Plaza worked with local government leaders and Action United to reach an agreement today with the owners of the East Liberty apartment complex to secure relocation help, and forge commitments to support construction of affordable housing across East End neighborhoods including East Liberty, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington and Homewood

Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced that Philadelphia has received $58 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a variety of programs that will serve Philadelphia’s homeless and low-income communities.

Governor Tom Wolf, along with officials from the Pennsylvania Departments of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), Labor and Industry (L&I), Community and Economic Development (DCED) and Human Services (DHS), today challenged all commonwealth agencies and communities to reduce veteran homelessness by 40 percent in the last 100 days of 2015. The challenge, which kicks off on September 22, means that 550 veterans will achieve housing stability by the end of the year.

Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02) announced that Philadelphia’s YouthBuild Charter School and Connection Training Services will each receive $1.1 million in YouthBuild funding from the U.S. Department of Labor.