Even if we bring new business investment and jobs to Philadelphia it does us no good if many are left behind in poverty or displaced through gentrification.

We must find ways to support equitable development. LISC has been at the table both nationally and locally in support of inclusionary housing that sets aside units or funds from larger market rate developments to help support the creation of affordable housing for moderate and low income residents. As real estate taxes rise for the elderly and those on fixed incomes we should abate those increases for those with moderate incomes until the property is sold. In addition, I would advocate for allocating a significant share of funds that will result from the end of the Ten Year Tax Abatements to go to the Housing Trust Fund, which supports affordable housing development.

Andy Toy's position on casinos in Philadelphia--March 2007

My position on the proposed casinos in Philadelphia is that I support Councilman DiCicco's lawsuit and the efforts to try to step back the siting process. I concur that casinos should not be plunked down in the middle of residential areas. I also signed the petition to allow a ballot proposition limiting the distance from a casino to residential areas.

Nevertheless, I do think that this is an uphill battle because of the vast amounts of money already invested by firms and individuals, many with local ties and the length of time that has already passed since casinos were proposed. I think that the proposal to put the casinos down in the Navy Yard is not very likely, given that no proposals were made for that location. I am concerned that the 1,500 foot limit might also push the Casinos back into another neighborhood, such as East Falls, which also had problems with Casinos.

I wish that we had addressed the problem a year ago when the public was being shut out of the process. Had I been in City Council at the time, I would have been pushing for local public input. As many can tell you, I am a supporter of neighborhood planning to determine the future of communities and respect the outcomes of those processes. Our government has failed us in this regard as each neighborhood has had to fend for itself with help from the Wachovia Regional Foundation, the William Penn Foundation or a mix and match of grants to create plans. I am currently helping my neighborhood to pull together funding for a planning process started last year just as the Barnes Tower was proposed, the River Park access was threatened and with other projects, such as New River City coming since.

Currently, and really too late in many cases, a good part of the Planning Commission's efforts are being directed at the Delaware riverfront. But we cannot turn back the clock now. We're stuck with the lack of planning from the past that allows Wal-Mart and new towers to block access to the River. I have been advocating for years that we do what other cities (see Vancouver and Jersey City) have been doing to preserve public open space along its waterways through easements. We have also found that corruption played into the choosing or not choosing of developers for the waterfront. We can all agree that this has to change. However, it is the case that the Penn Praxis project must deal with existing conditions that are poorly designed or integrated, but that is where we are.

I very much appreciate and support the grassroots effort to stop the planned casinos from taking place. The work that Casino-Free Philly and other are doing is what keeps the City on track and accountable to the people. Fortunately, there are those who will do the hard work that others neglect or forsake. I know what it's like to have something rammed into a community without a real process that includes those most affected. The Mayor tried to locate the proposed baseball stadium in Chinatown over 6 years ago. I was one of the leaders behind the successful fight to stop that effort, spending an incredible amount of time and effort fighting a bad idea. Most recently, in my neighborhood, we worked along with many neighbors and supporters to successfully stop CSX Railroad from closing off access to our Park along the Schuylkill River. So I do understand the need for a process that provides for local input, which did not happen with the Casino selection process.

Finally, I certainly also know about the negative aspects of gambling having seen it firsthand in my family, but our focus must be on the potential effects on neighborhoods and we must do everything we can to get the greatest benefits if our efforts to change the decisions aren't successful. Now may also be the best time to extract the maximum amount of concessions from the casinos. Because of concerns of what will happen outside the Casinos (traffic, prostitution, drunkenness, etc.), I think that the casinos should be responsible for and pay for policing, cleaning and traffic control out to a certain radius to be negotiated. This could be one positive outcome, if well negotiated.

Testimony of Andrew Toy on Height Restrictions, City Council Rules Committee, March 5, 2007

Good morning Council President Verna and Councilmen and women. I am Andrew Toy, a resident of Logan Square and a Board Member of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association. I am here in support of the proposed Ordinance that will complete the 125 foot height limitation that was passed a few months ago. This Ordinance will help to protect the community from unwanted out of scale projects and developers who do not respect the community and the need to work together. This is an important step in ensuring community input and participation in important decisions affecting our community. We have recently been witness to what happens when communities are not part of the process in the Chinatown Stadium struggle, in which I was one of the leaders, and now with the casino proposals. This is unacceptable. With the City’s assistance, we are finally moving towards a comprehensive neighborhood plan for the Logan Square community, which will serve as a roadmap for future development. As a member of our Long Range Planning Committee that is leading this effort, I realize it may not be completed until later this year. Therefore, it is imperative that we have this height restriction in place now so that another River City project is not just thrust upon us.

Testimony of Andrew Toy on Inclusionary Housing, City Council Rule Committee, November 15, 2006

Testimony delivered by Andy Toy for the Philadelphia Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) office regarding Bill # 060732 titled Inclusionary Affordable Housing:

LISC is the largest community development support organization in the nation. As such, much of our effort has been focused upon supporting the development of affordable housing and mixed-income neighborhoods. Because we work in cities such as Boston and San Francisco we have already witnessed rapidly rising housing prices that have pushed families of more modest means out of certain neighborhoods while promoting denser pockets of poverty with fewer choices. In these and other cities LISC and its partners have advocated for and gotten inclusionary zoning that preserves economically diverse neighborhoods. We support the intent of Bill #060732. However, the devil is in the details as our experience in other cities has shown. For example, if the minimum number of units is set at 20 we will tend to see more projects of 19 or less. Some other cities have set the number at 10 and some have set the set-aside to equal 15% rather than 10%. Boston sets affordability requirements for a part of its set-aside for families below 80% of median income. Finally, other cities have created additional flexibility in their programs by providing incentives to developers such as zoning density bonuses and allowing cash contributions toward affordable housing in lieu of units built. We would also like to see the language in the Bill clearly state that the Redevelopment Authority and its property be included in the provisions. In conclusion, LISC stands ready, willing and able to assist in the fine tuning of the provisions of Bill #060732 and will draw upon our national knowledge of best practices around the country.

Andy's Letter to the Editor of Philadelphia Magazine July 2004 read here