[March 19, 2025 Philadelphia, PA] – Today, Clean Air Council and Feet First Philly, in partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, announced the recipients of the fifth Public Space Enhancement Mini-Grant awards. These projects seek to improve walkability in 10 different neighborhoods in the Greater Philadelphia area.
More than 70 community-based organizations, businesses, and individuals submitted applications to this program, all with worthy project ideas to support walkability. A committee made up of past recipients, pedestrian advocates, professionals in public space improvements, and city officials, planners, and designers from multiple departments selected the 10 highest-scoring projects.
Our Public Space Enhancement Mini-grant program has grown over the past 5 years. During this round, the program received over 70 applications. “These projects help to bring communities together to create safer and healthier spaces,” said Titania Markland, Clean Air Council, Sustainable Transportation Program Manager. “Through the mini-grants, we can give Philadelphians the ability to build their communities in ways that benefit their neighbors.”
“It is a privilege to fund these community-identified projects to enhance our public space,” said Dr. Kinnari Chandriani, Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Director at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. “We are excited to see each of them come to life and make their sidewalks, gardens, lots, and parks healthier, safer, cleaner, greener, and more welcoming.”
The projects selected for funding are:
- ACHIEVEability – This organization will implement a project called Impact Day 2025. It will mobilize volunteers to engage in revitalization efforts in West Philadelphia. These efforts include porch painting, litter removal, storefront improvements, tree planting, community gardening, and more.
- Nicetown-Tioga Improvement Team RCO (NTIT) – This group will engage in phase three of the repair and revitalization process for their Healing and Unity Gardens. This project will include workshops on garden maintenance and stormwater management. It will also add raised planter beds to the gardens.
- Norris Square Tabletop Project – This project will create a regular community gathering for tabletop games at Norris Square Park. This project aims to help residents gather and build community with each other.
- LA21 – This project is called the Container Village Lighting Enhancement. It will add outdoor lighting to an outdoor retail, recreational, and community hub that was once a vacant and blighted lot in Parkside West Philadelphia.
- Face to Face – This project is called the Price Street Improvement project. It will improve a portion of the sidewalk by replacing broken sidewalk blocks and removing weeds and other debris.
- SEAMAAC – This project is called the Heat Reduction Project on S. 7th St. Commercial Corridor. The group will install trees along the entry of the commercial corridor and planter boxes to continue the beautification efforts along the corridor.
- Urban Creators – This project is called the UC Beautification and Safety Project. It aims to enhance the safety, accessibility, and overall experience of their urban farm. These improvements include signage, outdoor lighting, and additional irrigation equipment.
- Empowered CDC – This group aims to maintain their Cecil Street Garden by adding new planters along the sidewalk and fixing broken sidewalks along the garden.
- Mantua Civic Association – This is the third phase of their Pollinator and Tulip Planter Tribute Project. This project aims to add planters on Mantua Ave with the mantra “Bulbs Not Bullets” to add beauty to the area along with spreading an anti-violence message.
- Little Memorial Temple Church – This is another sidewalk repair project that aims to replace broken sidewalks on West Norris Street to improve safety.
Quotes from funding recipients:
“With the assistance of the Clean Air Council and the Feet First Philly Program, SEAMAAC aims to tackle the issues of heat and violence on the S. 7th St. Commercial Corridor. We plan to use the mini-grant funding to install 2 trees and 10 planters along the corridor” said Dominic Brennan, SEAMAAC’s Community Building Coordinator. “This, in addition to the 18 planters we have previously installed, will have both short- and long-term benefits for the neighborhood. This project will both beautify the corridor and help with stormwater management. It will also add much-needed shade to the corridor, which has been proven to reduce violence, and traffic injuries, and increase foot traffic to local businesses.”
“Face to Face is thrilled to be a recipient of a Feet First Philly grant through the Clean Air Council,” said Craig Heim, Face to Face. “As a community center providing daily meals and social services in Germantown for over forty years, we work to be a resource and respite for those in need. Support from Feet First Philly allows us to make much-needed sidewalk repairs at our Price Street building in East Germantown. This project will serve pedestrians and neighbors by providing safer walking surfaces and steps along with the installation of new public-facing planters, with brightly colored 3-season flower displays that send the message of beauty and hope. We are grateful to the Council for this partnership and invite members of the public to visit us at Face to Face.”
“I’m excited to bring tabletop games like chess and dominoes to the local park, creating a space for more connections and outdoor fun,” said Giovannie Vilomar, Norris Square Tabletop Project. “Thanks to the Norris Square Neighborhood Project, Kensington Library, and the local Senior Community Center for their support. Lastly, I’m grateful to the Citizens Planning Institute for empowering me to help shape the neighborhood and to the park’s friends for their dedication to its care and improvement.”
“The Healing Garden (est. 2007) and The Unity Garden (est. 2013) are the only public green spaces in our neighborhood,” said GVGK Tang, Nicetown-Tioga Improvement Team RCO (NTIT). “They help keep residents of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds safe. This grant supports the revitalization of these Gardens as the sites of walkability, wheelability, and respite they were always meant to be. Restoring these sacred places of rest and gathering allows us to reclaim and maintain communal space; care for the environment and promote sustainable practices; and foster spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. Our free, family-friendly programming allows neighbors to connect with one another and work towards a shared goal of neighborhood renewal.”
PHILADELPHIA, PA (February 21, 2025) – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has declined to approve Philadelphia Parks and Recreation’s recent water obstruction and encroachment permit application related to the proposed redevelopment of FDR Park. Instead, DEP issued a deficiency letter which outlined several concerns with the current plan, including the failure to analyze alternatives to the destruction of trees and other natural resources. The proposal calls for the removal of 300 trees and fails to map many other trees that may be removed from FDR park. The deficiency letter also points out that the application did not demonstrate how the benefits of the project would outweigh the harms to the public and the environment.
“The public has been extremely strong and consistent in speaking out against this destructive plan, and DEP listened,” said Alex Bomstein, Clean Air Council Executive Director. “DEP recognizing the significant problems with this permit is a win for climate resilience, Philly’s tree canopy, the local ecosystem, and the many people who use the park.”
“They want to install 33 acres of toxic turf at the cost of destroying hundreds of trees and erasing 80 years of ecological growth and benefits—a do-over we can’t afford,” said Avigail Milder of Save The Meadows. “That’s the centerpiece of the Master Plan. The so-called Nature Phase is just a distraction. Thankfully, the DEP realized that.”
This permit was applied for under Pennsylvania’s Chapter 105 regulations which state that, “Work shall be conducted in a manner to minimize the destruction of or damage to trees and other vegetation on and adjacent to the construction site.” Parks and Rec’s proposal to destroy over 300 trees in FDR Park clearly did not meet that standard. Parks and Rec’s required “alternatives analysis” did not consider protecting the 300 existing trees in the proposed project area.
If Parks and Rec seek to continue with its proposal, it must respond to DEP’s deficiency letter within 60 days addressing the concerns or completely reapply for its proposed Chapter 105 water obstruction and encroachment permit.
(JUNE 25, 2020 – PHILADELPHIA, PA) — Clean Air Council and Feet First Philly applaud City Council for passing bills 200351 and 200352. Expanding outdoor dining for Philly’s restaurants and permitting right of way closures including street parking is key to preventing the spread of COVID19 while businesses begin to open.
Both bills are extremely important. However, we strongly support bill 200352, permitting right of way closures. Without this bill, restaurants and businesses wouldn’t have access to extra space to ensure customers and pedestrians are able to maintain safe social distancing. Converting parking spaces and permitting expanded use of the parking lane will allow safe passage for pedestrians and ample room for outdoor seating.
Clean Air Council and Feet First Philly support these bills and other measures to use public space effectively to aid in the safe reopening of the region’s businesses. Read more about our Recovery Streets platform put together with 5th Square and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.
We are aware that the city’s hospitality industry suffered tremendously from closures due to the public health emergency. Clean Air Council and Feet First Philly applaud the creative efforts restaurants have utilized to ensure that people are able to safely walk up to establishments they wish to patronize. We hope that the City of Philadelphia continues to match this creativity, and adopt new measures to rethink how our public space is used to benefit everyone.
Jennifer Dougherty, Chair of Feet First Philly – “These bills support both the economic and personal health of Philadelphians. Now is the time to reimagine our street space to allow for a healthier, more vibrant, and safer Philadelphia today and in the future.”
Joseph Otis Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council – “Allowing expanded outdoor dining is key to helping Philly’s diverse restaurant scene survive during the public health emergency. Bill 200352 is a big step in the right direction for better use of the city’s public space. These bills ensure that restaurants can use the public right of way to keep their staff and diners safe as the city begins to reopen.”
CONTACT: Ptah Gabrie pgabrie@cleanair.org 215-567-4004 x 127 for more information
