Neighborhood Chatter: Philly among 20 cities still in the hunt for Amazon HQ

By Bill Gelman

Philly is still in the running for Amazon’s second headquarters, with the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 4747 S. Broad St., being one of the areas under consideration should the city win the bid. Schuylkill Yards and uCity Square are the other areas being considered. Amazon reviewed 238 proposals from across North America, including Canada and Mexico. New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Newark, N.J., Denver, Dallas and Pittsburgh are some of the other cities Philadelphia is competing against.

Mayor Jim Kenney released a statement last week in response to Philadelphia being one of the remaining cities still under consideration.

“Philadelphia’s inclusion in Amazon’s Top 20 potential locations for HQ2 is an exciting milestone for the city. We are thrilled at today’s announcement, and look forward to working with Amazon’s team on the next steps of this process to further highlight all that Philadelphia has to offer,” he said.

Amazon, of course, has been extremely busy considering all of the potential bidders.

“Thank you to all 238 communities that submitted proposals. Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough — all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity,” Holly Sullivan of Amazon Public Policy said in a statement. “Through this process we learned about many new communities across North America that we will consider as locations for future infrastructure investment and job creation.”

In terms of the next phase, according to the release, Amazon will work with each of the candidate locations to dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate the company’s hiring plans as well as benefit its employees and the local community. Amazon expects to make a decision in 2018.

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The Philadelphia Police Department sent out a Tweet last week advising residents not to make it easy for car thieves. “Shut off your car and take your keys with you!” According to PPD, approximately 40 percent of the cars recently stolen in Philly were taken after being left running by the operator.

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Boy Scouts of America Troop 147 is having its annual Super Bowl hoagie sale on Sunday, Feb. 4. Pre-order Italian or turkey and cheese hoagies, with additional hoagies available onsite. Pick-up locations are Trinity Lutheran Church, 2300 S. 18th St., from 7 to 11 a.m., or Broad Street and Oregon Avenue from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost is $5 per hoagie. Orders must be placed by Sunday, Jan. 28. Call Felicia, 215–806–0946.

The East Passyunk Community Center, 1025 Mifflin St., is hosting a family movie night on Friday, Feb. 9, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” will be the feature presentation. There is a $5 donation. Refreshments will be served. Visit facebook.com/EastPassyunkCRC.

Billy Joel is signing with the Philadelphia Phillies. Yep, in a franchise first, the Phillies will sign the legendary artist to a contract. Don’t worry, he is not going to be replacing Rhys Hoskins in the outfield. It’s simply an added bonus that comes with Joel being the first artist ever to perform for a record-breaking five consecutive years at Citizens Bank Park, 1 Citizens Bank Way. He will receive an honorary contract from Phillies Vice President and General Manager Matt Klentak and Manager Gabe Kapler when he performs on Friday, July 27. Tickets will be available for purchase by the general public beginning Friday at 10 a.m. via ticketmaster.com or by phone, 800–745–3000.

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