Congressman Dwight Evans (D-PA-3rd) announced he has submitted 17 community project and transportation member-directed project requests for the 3rd District.
“House and Senate Democrats worked in a bipartisan way to restore members’ ability to make these requests, but in a much more open and transparent way than was done over 10 years ago. We are at the request stage, so these are not guarantees of funding, but I am proud to support these applications – I believe they would represent good uses of federal funding in our communities. This is one of many tools in the toolbox for Philadelphia, but it’s an important one,” Evans said.
“I was proud to vote for the big and bold American Rescue Plan that is bringing billions of dollars in federal aid to Philadelphia, and I’m also pushing for more funding through avenues like my $63 billion Housing Is Essential plan, as well as President Biden’s proposed American Jobs Plan,” Evans said.
After announcing in March that he was accepting applications for funding, Evans received 73 community project requests and 13 transportation project requests. He submitted the maximum of 10 allowed for community project requests, as well as 7 transportation project requests.
Evans’ 10 community project requests are (listed alphabetically):
52nd Street Initiative (The Enterprise Center)
Description: The Enterprise Center CDC’s (TEC-CDC) 52nd Street Initiative partners with the community to transform the disinvested 52nd Street commercial corridor through strategic property acquisition and rehabilitation.
Amount Requested: $1 million
Allegheny West Foundation
Description: The Allegheny West Foundation (AWF) is a nonprofit community development corporation with a mission to improve the quality of life in the Allegheny West community in North Philadelphia through affordable housing, business development, industrial revitalization and community services.
Amount Requested: $150,000
Black Doctors Consortium
Description: Under the leadership of Dr. Ala Stanford, the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, a program of It Takes Philly, Inc., a 501(c)(3), is committed to establishing health equity clinics that provide primary and preventive health care services to residents in the 3rd Congressional District – specifically those living in North Philadelphia and West Philadelphia.
Amount Requested: $1 million
Chinatown Pandemic Relief
Description: The Crane is a community center with community and commercial space in Philadelphia Chinatown and developed in response to urgent needs for affordable, high-quality space for small businesses, cultural events and community services.
Amount Requested: $915,000
Equipment & Technology Upgrades (MANNA)
Description: MANNA prepares and delivers medically tailored meals to seriously ill people across the greater Philadelphia area, with residents of the 3rd Congressional District making up one of their largest client populations. The families they serve are some of the most vulnerable in the region – overwhelmingly low-income, acutely sick, with limited access to support systems.
Amount Requested: $125,000
Improving Healthy Food Access (Share)
Description: Share Food Program is the largest independent food bank in Pennsylvania, and distributes nourishing food to hundreds of partner pantries in southeastern Pennsylvania, who serve individuals and families in greatest need. Share’s location is near major highways and convenient for volunteers, staff, and large truck deliveries.
Amount Requested: $1 million
Mann Center
Description: This project would allow the Mann Center for Performing Arts Center to continue to be a force for positive change in the Parkside community, and expand the reach of its arts education and workforce development programs for disadvantaged young people throughout the Philadelphia region.
Amount Requested: $1 million
Nicetown Sport Court
Description: The Nicetown Sport Court is an outdoor recreational sports facility project that brings economic development, arts and culture and storm water mitigation to underused open spaces beneath the Route 1 Roosevelt Boulevard highway that runs above and across Nicetown's commercial corridor.
Amount Requested: $1 million
Our Business, Our Neighborhoods (VestedIn)
Description: Through our proposed project, VestedIn (formerly WPFSI), Temple University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and ShopPhilly1st would create a promotional video campaign—Our Businesses, Our Neighborhoods, Our Stories—to support the 3rd Congressional District’s small businesses and neighborhoods. These videos would focus on the importance of supporting local small businesses at the city and neighborhood level. Comcast will potentially provide time for the videos created through the project.
Amount Requested: $149,324
Youth Development & Community Empowerment (Philadelphia Youth Basketball)
Description: Philadelphia Youth Basketball (PYB) was created to build a high-impact program, organization, and future Youth Development & Community Empowerment Center, motivated by the combined potential of basketball, academic enrichment, leadership and character development, family engagement, and skilled coaching and mentorship to have transformative power in the lives of kids and communities.
Amount Requested: $1 million
Congressman Evans also submitted seven project requests to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for review. These are also listed in alphabetical order:
Project Sponsor: City of Philadelphia
Project Name/Location: Chestnut Street Pedestrian Safety Islands, Chestnut Street from 33rd to 45th Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Requested Amount: $3 million
Project Sponsor: City of Philadelphia
Project Name/Location: Cobbs Creek Parkway Multimodal Safety Improvements: Larchwood Avenue to 67th Street, Philadelphia, PA
Requested Amount: $800,000
Project Sponsor: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Project Name/Location: Erie Station (Broad Street Line) Accessibility Improvements, Philadelphia, PA 19140
Requested Amount: $3.6 million
Project Sponsor: Delaware River Port Authority
Project Name/Location: Franklin Square Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvement - 7th and Race Specific, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Requested Amount: $240,000
Project Sponsor: City of Philadelphia
Project Name/Location: Mantua Neighborhood Traffic Safety Project (34th Street), Philadelphia, PA 19104
Requested Amount: $4 million
Project Sponsor: City of Philadelphia
Project Name/Location: Parkside Avenue – Safe Access to Parks, Parkside Avenue at 53rd Street and Bryn Mawr Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131
Requested Amount: $4 million
Project Sponsor: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Project Name/Location: Penn Center Transit Gateway, 1600 JFK Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19102, bike lanes from 15th to 20th on Market Street and JFK Boulevard
Requested Amount: $3.9 million
Evans said, “Both of these funding streams are proceeding with numerous reforms in place, including barring for-profit companies from receiving the grants. There are several rules to ensure transparency, accountability and good use of the funding,” Evans said.
Evans represents Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes Northwest and West Philadelphia and parts of North, South, Southwest and Center City Philadelphia. During Evans’ first four years in Congress, his office has helped to return to or save more than $6.5 million for Philadelphians from federal agencies such as the IRS, Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs. His website is evans.house.gov and his social media handle is @RepDwightEvans on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Original source can be found here.
