Since his 2023 election, 5th District Councilmember Jeffery “Jay” Young has earned a reputation as City Council’s quarrelsome contrarian. His penchant for swooping in and obstructing projects at the last minute has upset everyone from progressive community activists to affected developers.
Young is a single vote on Philadelphia’s 17-member legislative body, but thanks to the tradition of councilmanic prerogative — where the rest of Council yields to district representatives regarding land-use decisions — he wields absolute power over an area that includes Rittenhouse Square and City Hall to the south, Strawberry Mansion to the west, part of Northern Liberties and Fishtown to the east, and Hunting Park to the north.
Projects impacted by his objections include a long-standing proposal to build senior housing in Strawberry Mansion, a plan to protect students with speed cameras in school zones, and the renovation of the Cecil B. Moore Library.
Young’s latest disruptive gambit — ill-conceived and misguided — is a bill that targets the proposed redevelopment of the former Hahnemann University Hospital patient towers in Center City into hundreds of apartments.
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Established in 1885, the hospital healed generations of Philadelphians, and its south tower was the first skyscraper teaching hospital in America. Beyond the loss of medical services, when Hahnemann closed six years ago, it left a gaping hole in the heart of the city.
Located along a stretch of North Broad Street that is heavily underutilized, the vacant buildings are begging for a new lease. Dwight City Group has proposed refilling the campus with housing. The plan would add hundreds of new residents right next to Center City and the Broad Street Line, and within walking distance of Suburban Station.
To most housing, development, and planning experts, the idea is perfectly sound. Philadelphia would add workforce housing (around 1% of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s goal) in a location that already has the infrastructure and amenities residents require, and the city would not have to spend any taxpayer money to make it happen.
And yet, Young is opposed.
In a statement to the Editorial Board last year, Young defended the move as being motivated by a desire to grow jobs in the city by limiting development in the area to commercial use. That’s an admirable goal. But who is going to buy the goods and services these hypothetical new businesses would offer? The redevelopment of Hahnemann into an apartment building would only increase local entrepreneurial opportunities.
Thankfully, in this case, it looks like Young’s obstructive desires may be a moot point — at least when it comes to his proposed legislation.
Because Council adjourned for its winter break without voting Young’s bill out of committee, the developer was able to secure zoning permits to build 361 apartments, with space for commercial use in the building’s ground floor.
While the Dwight City Group did not want to comment, CEO Judah Angster earlier told Inquirer reporter Jake Blumgart they remain in negotiations with Young. Given the fact that the developer may have to deal with the councilmember in the future, there is a chance the Hahnemann project may be curtailed to avoid Young’s ire elsewhere.
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Were that to happen, it would mark another missed opportunity for positive growth in the city, thanks to councilmanic prerogative.
For decades, Philadelphia has trailed peer cities in job growth and economic activity. While high business taxes, deep poverty, and other factors play a role, prerogative stands out as an impediment that is entirely self-inflicted.
The practice — no matter how strongly it is defended by Young and his colleagues — is a constant detriment to the city. While there is merit in giving district representatives a strong voice to protect their constituents from unwanted development, councilmanic prerogative too often allows the whims of a single person to override the will of the people.
The only thing Philadelphia would lose by eliminating councilmanic prerogative is the opportunity for Council members to grandstand and feed their egos.