Mobile Services in Kensington Not Yet Banned
By E. Morten
Earlier this year, Mayor Cherelle Parker signed into law Councilmember Quetcy Lozada’s bill, effectively bannning most mobile services from operating in Kensington without permits. These mobile services provide water, first-aid, addiction treatment, clothing, and other basic necessities for people in Kensington (and surrounding neighborhoods). By contrast, Mayor Cherelle Parker’s so-called solutions for Kensington’s housing-insecure residents has amounted to not much more than sweeping away people’s attempts at shelter. Many believe that this legislation is born of the same impulse to criminalize homelessness.
With these new permits, mobile service vehicles will be required to stay in a limited area in the neighborhood, and also move no less than 1000 feet every forty-five minutes or risk shut-down. Besides the restrictions that seriously hinder the work these mobie services provide, the timeline and execution of the permits associated have been murky at best. Just days before the official “enforcement” date for this new bill— July 27— mobile service providers were still waiting for any guidance regarding how to apply for and obtain permits.
It was ultimately decided that enforcement against these mobile service providers would not begin on July 27; that was not communicated to anyone, either. Like every other part of this process, those who will be immediately affected are left to worry and question.
Despite repeated attempts, the city council has not given any clarity. Despite Lozada and Parker stressing the urgency of this bill, it still has been mired with delays. It was reported that the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections, as well as the Philadelphia Police Department, and others, would iron out the details and enforcement plans, so supporters will have to turn to them for answers about timeline. Maybe they only needed to focus on this bill for some political fodder and it will fall to the wayside. Maybe we’ll see something manifest in the fall, or next year. Regardless, perhaps this time the inefficiency is working in our neighbors’ favor.
Killer Cop Gets No Additional Time
By E. Morten
On Thursday, July 17, ex-police officer Mark Dial was officially given no extra prison time for the murder of Eddie Irizarry.
Mark Dial’s fist case was thrown out, refiled, reduced, and ultimately he received a conviction and sentence. This sentence, though, was completely waived for the 10 months of time served pre-trial. So essentially, he walked. The most recent trial was an attempt to make the killer face more time, as the previous sentence was well below the standard guidelines. Personally, as an abolitionist I don’t find that prison is a good place to seek justice, but I will never get worked up about a cop behind bars. Unfortunately, the PPD do get worked up over that, and they spared no expense (as usual) making sure one of their boys got the PR campaign of his life.
In case the details are hazy or unknown to you: Mark Dial and his partner stalked Irizarry in August 2023, claiming he was driving erratically, and down the wrong side of the street. Hardly a crime worth dying over, but not according to Mark Dial. He evetually pulled his victim over and within less than a minute fatally shot him. Did Dial already know that when he fired on Irizarry, his department would reverse victim and offender? Of course he did.
Immediately after the shooting, PPD lied to the public, claiming that their latest victim had “lunged” at Mark Dial. But a local Instagram account had record footage of Dial and his partner carrying their victim out of the car after the killing. This sparked susupiction, and eventually let to Irizarry’s family finding and releasing footage which proved he was seated in the car with his windows rolled up the entire time. There were knives found in his car, but no evidence that they could pass through glass, so that detail is hardly relevant in terms of “officer safety.”
Mark Dial was called a “great man” by his lawyer, who went on to sing Judge Glenn B. Bronson’s praises for “doing the right thing” and defending, if perhaps symbolically, the police’s right to state-sanctioned murder.
ICE Raids Continue
By Kevin Carlson
Since the demonstration held outside of the Philadelphia Federal Department of Corrections in June to protest ICE raids in the city, at least 14 more people have been kidnapped. Statewide the total now exceeds 1900 this year. While many Americans still choose to believe that undocumented workers don’t pay taxes, ICE is in kahoots with the IRS and using tax records to target these workers. It makes you wonder why Americans still support deporting undocumented workers when we could just provide them the means to become citizens instead.
Undocumented people are working to earn a living one moment, and in the next they’re being jumped by masked assailants and shipped off to a country they’ve never been to. The Trump Administration is not directing ICE or the DOJ to help undocumented people become citizens— because they don’t want black and brown people to be citizens. This is what the rise of white supremacy looks like.
Undocumented people are not a threat to you, me, or the working class. Yet, white supremacists would have you believe otherwise. They aim for federal immigration policy to exclude nonwhites from becoming naturalized citizens, as it did until the 1940s. White Americans seem happy to accept this even though it’s now costing them $75 billion a year and for every 500,000 immigrants deported, 44,000 U.S.-born workers lose their jobs.
The goals of white supremacists don’t end at deporting our undocumented community members. We will continue to see them target the lives of anyone who threatens their idea of whiteness and their dominance in society.
When ICE raided a food market near Norristown, a woman shouted at the agents, declaring “2025 Nazis! That’s what you are! Gestapo!” This is the energy Philly residents need to bring to take a stand against white supremacy and support our community members, documented or not. We must do more protect them and pressure city officials to do the same. To get started, consider finding ways to support Juntos, the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, or South Philly Action Coalition (SPAC).
The Philadelphia Partisan 