Councilmember Quetcy Lozada’s bill that bans mobile service units from most of Kensington’s 7th District will not be enforced on the bill’s stated start date — Sunday, July 27— according to Mayor Cherelle Parker’s office and Lozada’s office.
The bill, passed in May, requires mobile providers who offer wound care, water, and other basic necessities to people in the neighborhood to have permits. But as of yesterday, outreach groups had still not received information about the permitting process and were worried about operating in violation of the new law.
The mayor's office confirmed Tuesday to Kensington Voice that the city will not enforce the law yet, because it is still finalizing the processes for providers to apply for and receive permits.
Once the regulations are complete, the city will open the permit application process, according to Leah Uko, Deputy Director of Communications for the mayor’s office.
“We fully intend to give providers ample time to apply for and receive permits prior to beginning enforcement. The city will announce, in advance, the date on which enforcement will be set to begin,” Uko said in an email.
At a Monday night East Kensington Neighbors Association (EKNA) meeting, resident Amanda Burch asked Neftali Ramos, who Parker hired to be the Director of Kensington Coordination, about the status of Lozada’s bill.
Ramos said the city was still working on that permit process. Lozada’s communications director, Adam Margolis, then stood up in the back of the room to confirm that the law would not be enforced on July 27.
The city did not share when the bill will be enforced or when the city will complete the permit procedures.
When Parker signed the bill into law in May, she said that the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections would establish the process. Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer added that other city departments, including the Philadelphia Police Department, would work on enforcement procedures.
According to the controversial legislation, mobile medical service providers will be able to apply for permits to operate between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. on a two-block stretch of Allegheny Avenue in Kensington.
The bill also states groups providing medical services can be permitted to offer services in another undetermined, city-designated location.
Non-medical groups will also have to apply for permits. The bill forbids these providers from staying in any one location within the 7th District for more than 45 minutes. While permitted groups will be able to operate anywhere, they will have to periodically move at least 1,000 feet away to be considered in a new location.
Other mobile outreach groups told Kensington Voice on Tuesday they had not received information on how to apply for permits. They are also criticizing the administration and Philadelphia City Council for approving a bill without clear parameters.
The bill has gone through many iterations since Lozada first introduced it in September, 2024. At first, the bill’s effect date was “immediately” after being signed into law, then it was changed to 90, to 70, and ultimately to 60 days after. It also never designated a specific department to create the permitting system.
“No one has heard anything about the permitting process or what the next steps are,” said Nicole Bixler, of Operation in My Backyard, on Tuesday afternoon.
Marisa Kosman, who runs Not Another Outreach and volunteers with other mutual aid groups in the neighborhood, said she’s been emailing all of the city’s council members, Mayor Parker, the Department of Public Health, and multiple staff members within Lozada’s office for answers about permits.
“I’ve got literally nothing,” Kosman said. She said Lozada responded once and said she would forward Kosman’s email to the health department. Lozada’s office staff also told Kosman last week that she’d soon receive an invitation for a meeting to discuss the permitting system with other outreach groups.
But on Tuesday, Kosman was not aware that the bill would not be enforced starting Sunday. Confusion around the bill’s enforcement date has created more tension between outreach groups and community members, she said.
“They need to make that public because there's people who think it's already in effect who bother us while we’re out there,” Kosman said.
As of Tuesday evening, the city had not officially announced a location for where permitted medical service providers will be able to operate, beyond the two-block stretch of Allegheny Avenue.
The bill lists the Kensington Wellness Center at B Street and Lehigh Avenue as a possible location, and does not specify service hours.
Geer said in May that mobile services will be permitted to operate outside the Kensington Wellness Center. That property is owned by Merakey, according to city records.
Merakey did not respond to requests for comment.
Geer said there would be medication-assisted treatment (MAT), wound care, showers, a housing specialist, legal counsel, and services provided by Temple University Hospital, Merakey, and Kensington Hospital.
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