🏳️🌈 Senior housing for the first “out” community | Morning Newsletter
And renters struggle with limited options
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Happy Friday. And congrats, you made it to the weekend. It’ll be mostly sunny with a chance of thunderstorms.
Heads up, we have a housing-filled newsletter today. Let’s dive in.
In today’s newsletter:
🏳️🌈 Inclusive housing: One of the first LGBTQ-friendly subsidized housing projects is in Philly. It’s thriving and has become a model for other cities.
🏠 Low vacancy rates: Renters here have fewer options than most other metro areas in the country.
💉 Monkeypox vaccines: Gov. Tom Wolf is looking for outside help to stretch low supply.
If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Since 2014, the John C. Anderson Apartments — named after the pathbreaking Black and gay City Council member who died in 1983 — has been home to nearly 100 people.
It’s one of the first LGBTQ-friendly senior housing facilities in the country and prides itself on its communal spirit. There’s even a monthly newsletter that often includes stories of historical events like the 1975 City Hall confrontation between Mayor Frank Rizzo’s police department and a group called Dyketactics.
Several of the residents are longtime activists with Radicalesbians, ACT-UP, and other groups. Some are veterans of Stonewall, the 1969 New York City uprising largely seen as the sparking incident of modern gay rights movement.
The scope of the need: The population of LGBTQ seniors in the United States will reach 7 million by 2030.
The oldest members are more likely than their younger peers to have experienced housing and employment discrimination.
In less than a decade, JCAA has become a model. There are about 30 LGBTQ-friendly affordable housing projects open or in some stage of development across the country.
Reporter Kevin Riordan uncovers the story of how this project came to be.
What you should know today
Democrats think it’s their best chance in a decade to take control of the Pennsylvania state House. 🔑
South Jersey landlords are accused of violating a new state housing discrimination law designed to help people with criminal records find housing and eliminate policies that disproportionately harm Black renters.
Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is pursuing federal money to help stretch the state’s limited monkeypox vaccine supply.
An oil slick spread on the Delaware River near the old Festival Pier in Philly, likely from oil that got into a city-owned combined sewer overflow pipe along the riverbank.
This guide of Atlantic City’s best happy hours.
Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp is going to University of Pennsylvania (and living in the dorms, too).
Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
The good news: Rent growth is slowing.
The bad news: The demand is high, the supply is low, and rents are still sky-high. Oh, and the Philadelphia metro area made the list of the top ten regions with the lowest rental vacancy rates at 2.8%.
It’s not easy for renters:
The Philly metro area needs to build 3,000 new apartments each year to keep up with demand. Roughly 3,600 units were built in Philadelphia over the past year.
On a national scale, the country needs to build 266,000 new apartments each year.
Nationally, landlords are less interested in expanding their rental portfolios compared to the beginning of the year, but most are not looking to sell.
Reporter Michaelle Bond spells out future signs of relief.
🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠
A high school student pranked Doug Mastriano with a fake poll showing him beating Josh Shapiro.
Question: What was the name of fake Twitter account?
A. Morrison Polling
B. Carlton Polling
C. Carleton Polling
D. None of the above
Find out if you know the answer.
What we’re...
📰 (Re)-reading: The Atlantic’s “Who Really Benefits From Student Loan Forgiveness?” in light of this week’s debt news.
🐷 Sharing: The Philly Zoo’s newest Ossabaw hogs, Pua and Maui.
🎤 Debating: Buying Made In America tickets to see Bad Bunny.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
Hint: This movie shot all of its tailgating scenes at the Wells Fargo Center (but primarily is set in Delaware County)
AILIS OBSERVINGLY PLONK
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shout-out to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shout-out goes to Charlene Wilshire from Northeast Philadelphia, who correctly guessed Monette Sudler as Thursday’s answer.
Photo of the day
Here’s hoping you get off work early and slip straight into the weekend. Thanks for reading The Inquirer 💯.