A ‘disastrous’ shift in housing policy | Morning Newsletter

It’s a sunny start to the new week, Philly.

Philadelphia stands to lose tens of millions of dollars for housing as President Donald Trump’s administration changes the way aid goes to cities.

And two days before a West Philly apartment complex went up in flames in June, its owner, embattled city landlord Phil Pulley, transferred the vacant property to a New York investment firm. Read on for the latest in the suspected arson case.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development plan released earlier this month calls for cutting funds for permanent housing by two-thirds.

HUD’s new plan: The department will funnel most of the money for permanent housing into short-term housing programs with requirements for work and addiction treatment. HUD is also encouraging religious groups to apply for funding, and would limit funding to organizations that support “gender ideology extremism,” among other ideological preconditions.

Local impact: Philadelphia counts 2,330 units of permanent housing, many of them financed by $47 million the city received from HUD last year, according to city officials. Advocates say the lost funds could lead to a spike in homelessness by forcing people who were once homeless, but are now living in subsidized housing, back on the street.

Notable quote: “It’s a misguided approach that blames the victim and fails to address the lack of affordable housing,” one expert told The Inquirer, about the administration’s move toward transitional housing and required treatment.

Reporter Alfred Lubrano has the story.

In other government funding news: Rape crisis centers are finally getting funding from Pennsylvania’s budget, but advocates say it’s not enough to support survivors. Plus, SEPTA’s Zero Fare program for low-income riders could end next year. Some elected officials are pushing to save it.

New details are emerging about a vacant apartment complex destroyed in June by a four-alarm fire, the circumstances of which are now being investigated by federal authorities.

Property records show the notorious landlord of the decaying Admiral Court apartments at 48th and Locust streets, Phil Pulley, had signed a deed transfer two days before the blaze.

This month, the new owner of the building — which records show is linked to investors in South Korea and Saudi Arabia — obtained a permit to demolish it.

West Philadelphia Councilmember Jamie Gauthier on Friday blasted the deal: “The new owner appears to be a shell corporation with little transparency,” she said, “and I’m deeply concerned that demolishing Admiral Court will create new blight and safety hazards.”

Reporters Ryan Briggs and William Bender have more details.

Thousands of runners crossed the Philadelphia Marathon finish line Sunday after an at-times-brutal 26.2-mile run, including up the hills of Manayunk. Meet the race’s winners here.

Which homegrown celebrity has been tapped to deliver Temple University’s commencement speech in May?

A) Quinta Brunson

B) Kylie Kelce

C) Colman Domingo

D) Will Smith

Think you know? Check your answer.

🦃 Planning: How and where to watch Philly’s 2025 Thanksgiving Day Parade.

🪧 Watching: For a possible graduate student worker strike at the University of Pennsylvania.

🚨 Checking out: Cherry Hill’s Activate Gaming, which transforms childhood games into immersive arenas.

⚽ Noting: The Union’s 2026 MLS schedule, including when Lionel Messi might visit.

🗳️ Considering: Whether the Chester County poll book debacle is a prelude to 2026 elections.

Hint: Borders Philadelphia

CANDY BYLAW

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Patti Carr, who solved Monday’s anagram: Henri Rousseau. Albert C. Barnes acquired 18 of his paintings. Eleven are on display now in an ongoing show.

P.S. Here’s why Friday’s anagram was Plymouth Meeting: The Montgomery County mall is slated to be sold by owner PREIT to a Philly developer.

Add another entry to the “Wait, that’s a Philly(ish) thing?” list: The green bean casserole turns 70 this year, and its creator’s family is honoring the iconic Thanksgiving side dish with a six-foot inflatable green bean lawn decoration for their home in Haddonfield.

Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Ellen Pannell, who describes raising the next generation of Philadelphians:

I am a South Philly transplant who grew up near Valley Forge. During the ’70s, my immigrant mom would drag our family to every historic event in the city. When deciding where to plant my roots after college, Philly already felt familiar from all those bicentennial and civic events visited as a kid.

My husband and I bought our home between Broad Street and the Italian Market in 1996 when most friends gasped, “Below Washington?!” As transplants, we knew we had to get into good graces with the old Italian ladies on the block who would sit on their stoops in their house dresses and ask “So, whaddaya making for dinner tonight?” (I think four were named Mary.) We learned the lingo (“gravy” not “sauce”), planted trees, picked up trash, called the cops when things got out of hand — we made a go of it!

Those ladies asked whether we planned to fill “that big house” with kids, and with each pregnancy, they were the first to say “Gah-bless!”

Each kid was born at Jefferson, sometimes after we walked to the emergency room or took the subway after a recent street-closing snowstorm. Jefferson always took care of us, with old-timer nurses giving advice (“Don’t be a martyr for the pain, honey!”) to new, super-fit nurses aptly named Adrienne with a pep talk (“C’mon, you don’t need another epidural, you got this!”) to a novice sent to give me my IV (“The nurses said you won’t mind because you’re a pro”) to a room full of interns and residents there to be educated while Baby Four came into this world.

Fast forward through the child-rearing years of Moonstone Preschool, Palumbo Rec Center, Independence Charter, Central High, and eventually college, when I couldn’t convince even one member of my South Philly brood to leave the city they called home. (Thank you Temple, Drexel, and CCP!)

And now I am almost an empty nester and the old lady on the block, minus the house dress. All four kids have started their own lives in the city they love too much to leave, and where I am so proud to say they are true “born and raised South Philadelphians.”

Shout-out to the Marys among us. Have a good one.

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