The latest news + events
Announcements
OHS Appletree intake center closing at 1 p.m., Friday, Dec. 19
Appletree Family Center, 1430 Cherry St., will close at 1 p.m. on Friday, December 19, 2025.
Roosevelt Darby Center, 804 N. Broad St., will remain open until 5 p.m. to help anyone who needs shelter placement.
Until both sites reopen on Monday, December 22, 2025, at 7 a.m., please visit an after-hours intake center.
Request for Release of Funds for Mt Airy – 6655 Germantown Avenue
Date of Notice: December 19, 2025
On or about January 14, 2026, the City of Philadelphia will submit a request to the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) for the release of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds under
Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, to undertake the following project:
Project Title: Mt Airy – 6655 Germantown Avenue
Purpose: Mt Airy will develop a 3-story mixed use building at 6655 Germantown Ave. with 1,931 square feet of commercial space and six accessible units. This new construction project is set on a 3,755 sq ft lot with 73 linear feet of frontage along the Germantown Avenue mixed-use corridor. The project replaces three attached mixed-use businesses demolished since 2022.
Estimated Cost: The total development cost is $4,000,000, including approximate CDBG: $450,000
POSTING INFORMATION
This Notice will be posted at the Lovett Memorial Library Library Branch located at 6945 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19119. View the full legal notice.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Any individual, group, or agency may submit written comments on the ERR to the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, 1515 Arch Street, 13th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102 or by emailing planning@phila.gov. All comments received by January 13, 2026, will be considered by the City prior to authorizing submission of a request for release of funds. Comments should specify which Notice they are addressing.
Expanded curfew hours for park areas through March 31, 2026
Bartram’s Garden
East Fairmount Park
Cobbs Creek Park
FDR Park
Pennypack Park
Tacony Creek Park
West Fairmount Park
Wissahickon Valley Park
New ID requirements to attend virtual visits with an incarcerated person
Starting on Monday, December 8, 2025, you will need to verify your identity before you can use ViaPath tablet services to attend a virtual visit with an incarcerated person. For immediate help, call ViaPath customer care at (856) 516-0115.
To verify your identity, you need to:
- Provide a state-issued ID (front and back)
- Provide a selfie image
You can upload these documents and complete the verification using:
- The GoVisits app
- The GTL GettingOut app
- GettingOut.com
If you do not complete the verification, the incarcerated person will receive a message that says, “Your visitor has not completed the verification process and must complete verification.”