Letters to the Editor | June 10, 2025

The Inquirer article, “In rare move, City Council ‘effectively killed’ affordable housing project approved by the zoning board,” focuses on process but misses the greater purpose: building neighborhoods where people can live with dignity, security, and choice. As someone raised in North Philadelphia’s 5th District, I carry this responsibility personally. I serve as a Council member and real estate attorney with zoning expertise and a deep understanding of city systems. I know how essential affordable housing is, and how often its promise falls short when communities are left out.

My concerns about the York Street project are not about delay. They’re about accountability. Several zoning board members had to recuse themselves due to conflicts. The Diamond Street parcel wasn’t in the original request for proposal, nor has it been publicly discussed. Despite years of engagement, there has never been a public meeting where this project received full community support. Strawberry Mansion has absorbed density for decades without the services or investment to match. I remain ready to work with all stakeholders, but urgency can’t come at the cost of equity. The community deserves better, and I intend to hold that line.

Jeffery Young Jr., City Council member, 5th District

It was 1968, and I was among hundreds of students aboard the MS Aurelia, gliding past the Statue of Liberty as our boisterous cheers rang out. We were American students returning home from studying in Europe, and European students beginning their studies in the U.S. Tears ran down my cheeks as I thought of my grandparents, who had passed by the statue some 70 years earlier, finding refuge from deadly pogroms in Eastern Europe. They were poor but determined. If we now close our doors to refugees like my grandparents, our Statue of Liberty and all that she stands for will be a relic. If we refuse entry to students seeking to study at our universities, our own country’s intellectual life will deteriorate. And with less international understanding in our world, we will experience more warfare. Lady Liberty is surely crying.

Carol Fixman, Philadelphia

Before we focus on the entertainment value of a feud between the two most famous billionaires in the world, we might step back and look at the damage being done by a second Trump administration. Anyone who serves in the White House, as Elon Musk did, serves at the pleasure of the president. The Department of Government Efficiency only became official because Donald Trump said it was after he received $290 million in donations from Musk. We can already tally the deaths overseas from DOGE’s closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development. We can see the destruction here as lives are overturned while we diminish the value of science and research, and lay off entire departments of the federal government. The savings have been minimal and are more than wiped out by the budget bill crawling through Congress, which transfers wealth from the needy and the sick to the wealthy — all while increasing our already titanic debt. Yes, the Trump-Musk battle is fascinating, but their partnership’s fallout is sickening.

Elliott Miller, Bala Cynwyd

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 200 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.