Money for Community Centers, Not Police

This post is part of Philly Power Research's “Beyond Policing” series. This series is continuing work that was previously led by Movement Alliance Project (MAP) over the past two years exploring how Philadelphia can invest in our communities to improve public safety instead of investing in policing. MAP's "Safety We Can Feel" campaign included a survey of 1300 Philadelphia residents and dozens of interviews on how to build strong, healthy, and safe communities.

Quilt from spring 2021 Mural Arts Philadelphia “Stitching Our Futures” project

A key part of any anti-violence strategy should be supporting thriving community centers where people of all ages can drop in to access resources, connect with other community members, and participate in activities that support their physical, mental, and emotional health. When Philadelphia continues to shamefully underfund our community centers—libraries, parks, and recreation centers—our government fails to keep us safe.

While Philadelphia has 54 libraries well spread out across the city, not a single one is open on the weekends, about 1 in 7 libraries can’t fully open each day, and many libraries, including Parkway Central, don’t stay open past 6pm.

Beyond their traditional roles in offering access to books and supporting literacy development, libraries increasingly play crucial roles in supporting people’s access to computer resources, career exploration and training, and connections to social services and material support.

The Library’s after school program, LEAP, historically offered drop-in homework help and activities to thousands of youth each year, but was shut down during COVID-19 and has struggled to fully relaunch without the resources required to do so (most LEAP staff were previously laid off in 2020). While many afterschool programs have registration requirements and/or fees, the LEAP program is unique in offering a free and safe space for any young person on any weekday to spend time during the 3pm-6pm hours, which are the hours when violence rates affecting youth are the highest.

Rec centers also play a critical role in offering safe and healthy activities for thousands of youth after school and during the summers, as well as serving as food distribution sites. Our parks offer vital green space, which when well-maintained, has been found to reduce gun violence and improve residents’ health and safety. Philly park use increased 50% during the pandemic, which has increased the needs for trash pick-up and park maintenance.

You would think that, given the violence crisis in Philadelphia, the City would be pouring resources into programs like LEAP and rec centers, yet many of the staff at these programs have historically been part-time, seasonal workers with low wages who are the first to get laid off in any budget crisis. The Free Library and Parks & Recreation experienced the largest amounts of layoffs of any departments during the summer 2020 COVID-driven City government layoff wave.

Even union-represented, full-time workers in our libraries and rec centers have had their salary raises lag far behind those of police officers over the past decade. The Fraternal Order of Police has been able to win higher raises than other public sector unions, thanks in part to the Act 111 arbitration process.

Despite larger increases in their proposed budgets this year compared to in recent past years, the Free Library and Parks & Recreation General Fund operating budgets have still not fully recovered to their pre-2008 recession levels - they are down 4% and 11% compared to FY2008, respectively, after adjusting for inflation.

Chronic underfunding has caused libraries to have to decrease purchases of books, movies, and programming materials and has allowed many of the buildings to deteriorate, with some branches’ HVAC systems needing major updates or replacements.

A fall day in the FDR Park Meadows, where the City wants to replace wild meadows and swampland with a driving range and astroturf fields for the World Cup

After decades of deliberate shrinkage of government funding for parks and recreation, communities have been forced to rely on “public-private partnerships” to drum up investment for their own neighborhoods that the City failed to prioritize. These types of partnerships cause the public to lose some of their control over decision-making, leading to situations like what occurred this year at Cobbs Creek Golf Course, where a private foundation clear cut 100 acres of land that they are renting from the City with a $1 lease.

In the FY23 capital budget, the City is offering $1.5 million toward the Cobbs Creek Golf Course project, even after this environmental travesty, and $20 million for rehauling FDR Park, including destroying the popular wild FDR Meadows and replacing them with a driving range and soccer fields that the City hopes to be able to use during the 2026 World Cup. These investments demonstrate the City’s inequitable distribution of resources - prioritizing the interests and preferences of wealthy people and private investment opportunities while passing over neighborhoods that are most affected by gun violence and closing the city’s only rec center designed for people with disabilities.

In interviews with Movement Alliance Project, community members called for the City to redirect funding away from police and toward libraries, rec centers, and other community centers.

What We Should Fund Instead of Policing:

• Increase funding for the Free Library of Philadelphia by at least $20 million beyond Mayor Kenney’s proposed $10 million increase - ensure libraries are open on weekends

• Increase funding for Philadelphia Parks & Recreation by $15 million beyond Mayor Kenney’s proposed $5.58 million increase - ensure each rec center has at least two full-time staff members, increase the numbers of maintenance workers, and add social workers and recreational therapists

• Increase community and worker involvement in funding priorities and programming planning at libraries, parks, and rec centers

• Make libraries and rec centers into true community hubs - expand resources available and range of programming - e.g. food, art, job training, community town halls

• Modernize library technology - fix printers that don’t work and upgrade outdated computers

• Hire young people (with competitive pay) to be escorts for older folks traveling to community centers and to do outreach for activities occurring at these centers

• Offer more financial support for block captains

• Fill staffing shortages by stopping the use of temporary/seasonal labor - hire all workers as permanent part-time or full-time positions, with benefits and union membership

A pleasant day in Fairmount Park