Don't You Know Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M.?
In a year that is already sparked by tremendous violence and crime and with the City of Philadelphia having the highest homicide rate in the Country, one of our City Council folks is proposing a bill that would let bars stay open an additional hour to help fund the ailing Philadelphia school district. Can you imagine Old City, Manayunk, Center City and Northern Liberties bars open another hour? What about those bars in the poorer neighborhoods? What do you think is going to happen in those neighborhoods? How is this proposal really going to impact the citizens of Philadelphia?
As I am writing this, there is a fundraiser for Kevin Neary at North Bowl who was shot in the back of the neck and paralyzed as he was walking back home around 2:00am from Monday Night Football and shot just a few feet from his doorsteps in Northern Liberties. The criminal was quoted as saying "I had nothing better to do." By having bars open an extra hour, that would only increase chaos, crime and murder in our City.
I find this proposal extremely insensitive by Councilwomen Blondell Reynolds Brown. This is the same Councilwomen who 
proposed and passed the "illegal and discriminatory" Lead Base Paint Bill and her main thrust behind that bill would be potentially saving just one life of one child from Lead Base Paint. Well, I can see easily more than one life lost with this bill in the first 30 days. The evidence is overwhelming.
And if the bill did pass, would Ms Brown experience any disruption where she lived? Of course not, because she lives at 2408 N 52nd St in a 5,168 square foot single home in Wynnefield where there are no bars in sight! She is relaxing in bed with no disruptions at 10:00 pm.
Last year, to aid the ailing school district, property taxes were raised along with bridge tolls and parking fees. We almost had the sugar tax. I think more importantly the question has to be what is going on internally with the Philadelphia School District? Why was Arlene Ackerman given so much money as a salary? And then even more money to leave? Why is this Institution being run into the ground?
For heavens sake Ms. Brown, there are many other ways to raise revenue. The focus has to be on the crime first before there is any sort of consideration of having bars stay open later. Don't you know nothing good happens after 2am? To be that insensitive to our community and our citizens is simply an outrage! Just last week there was another senseless murder when Kevin Kless was beat to death in Old City for hailing a taxi cab. Kevin was only 23 years old! And YOU, Ms. Brown, want to increase the risk to our youth by having bars stay open another hour? That sounds like hypocrisy to me! So listen up and listen good Ms. Brown. Instead of self righteously proclaiming that you are "for the children", you might want to remember that you are supposed to be a City Council person for all of the people in the City of Philadelphia. You are a civil servant!
Act like it.
Related:
Not-so-happy-hour: Proposal to keep Philly bars open to benefit schools draws fire
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