Mayor Parker’s New Website Has Us Feeling … Optimistic?

Philly Stat 360. Numbers-wise we’re doing pretty well.

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Mayor Parker’s New Website Has Us Feeling … Optimistic?

Mayor Cherelle Parker unveiled a new website this week — Philly Stat 360 — that encourages residents to see the city’s issues not as insurmountable or abstract, but as a numbers game. “Her vision is for a safer, cleaner, greener, and more equitable city, ensuring that economic opportunities are accessible to all Philadelphians,” says the site.

Philly Stat 360 offers stats and figures on things like homicides, overdoses, potholes, on-time trash pickup, build permits issued, and lots more. While not all of the categories are up to date it’s still an interesting way to keep track of the city’s ongoing issues from big to small to weird.

Of course vibes are important, and we’ll always find something to complain about, but it’s fun and eye-opening to root through all these numbers. The site tells the story of a city that’s working on itself. Which is… good. And makes me feel… happy? Or at least kind of positive. Borderline optimistic, even.

Here are some randomly selected numbers in categories we don’t talk about enough.

By The Numbers — All Philly Stat 360 Edition

328:  affordable housing units built or preserved this year

89: businesses awarded funding for security cameras next year

49%: percentage of 3111 complaints resolved this year

$76.1 million: amount paid in lawsuits last year

3,724: trees planted this year

16 days: average time to resolve illegal dumping complaints

7.4 miles: new/repaved bike lanes this year

Beloved Bookshop Owner Debuts Her First Novel Tonight

Molly Russakoff celebrates the release Red Tape tonight at Molly’s Books and Music. / Book cover painted and designed by Jacy Webster

Molly Russakoff is already a favorite figure in the local book scene, thanks to her busy book shop in the Italian Market. For decades, Molly’s Books and Music has been a reliable and cozy place to pick up used books and records. (The pulpy sci-fi and cookbook sections are especially impressive.) Now, Philly readers can find a little bit of Molly on the shelves as well, as the longtime poet is celebrating the release of her first novel Red Tape with a “short and sweet” reading and reception at the shop tonight. I caught up with Molly on the phone last night.

When did you start writing Red Tape? And is there anything that inspired you?

Oh gosh, I started writing it about 10 years ago. I used to write poetry. I had a kind of a solid local career as a poet, and we did a lot of readings in the shop and everything. But I always wanted to write novels. I just kind of found my way through this. Nobody knew I was writing it.

Why write it in secret?

You never know where a novel is going to go. There was always a caveat that if it ran into the ground, I would get off and walk away. But it just kept being interesting to me. When I began it, I knew the beginning and I knew the end, but got a little mucky in the in the middle. It took a long time to figure out what to do to make the two ends meet. But you know, it was all part of learning the process of writing a novel, without going to school.

Well, I imagine running a bookstore is an education.

Right, I should say without actually going back to school. It was fun to figure out. I hope you’re not going to ask me what it’s about. Were you going to ask me that?

I mean, it’s usually the question, but…

It starts — it is about a woman, it’s the near-future, she has a teenage daughter. Her husband disappears and becomes this pop culture phenomenon. Things are just changing really rapidly, and she is having a hard time keeping up.

I read your chapbook The Story of the Dowager by Helen Goldberg, which was a preview of Red Tape. It was very emotionally astute and engaging, but it’s also very it’s also fun.

Oh, good. I hope it’s fun. You know, it was fun to write.

I know we were both at a reading at the Free Library last weekend, in which writers discussed their novels-in-progress, and Lauren Holguin showed off this amazingly dense chart of her novel on a white board, with notes upon notes about characters and plot points. Did you go through that?

It can be very confusing, figuring out timelines. My heart went out to her, because I know it gets that way, where everything has to connect and you want to say more and more. I can definitely relate to it. But I felt like you have to bring it back in a little bit or you’ll drive yourself nuts. My stories, are complicated like that too, so I understand that conundrum.

Free, doors at 7 p.m., reading at 8 p.m., Molly’s Books & Records, 1010 South 9th Street.

By The Numbers — Regular Edition

6 p.m.: Approximate closing time for most Philly coffeeshops, according to the Inky. Damn I remember when Last Drop was open ’til midnight, and at least one dude from Man Man was doing the pouring.

5:  Number of regional rail train stations in Northwest Philly SEPTA says it will lease to a private developer. According to WHYY: “Philly Office Retail would pay SEPTA $1 per year for up to 99 years to lease the five stations.” Too rich for my blood. I’m out.

1:  The Eagles are number one in The Athletic’s power rankings.

0: Number of drone stories on this page. Boss told me no more drone stories.

South Philly Sign Language [NSFW!]

According to the internet, there are only 16 Boston Markets left on planet Earth — and five of them are in the city of Philadelphia for some reason. The one at 20th and Oregon is closed, sadly, but it still has something to offer passersby in the form of their signage — the letters of which have been rearranged to display some whimsically crude messages.

Was this place ever really a Boston Market? Google Maps remembers it as a Checkers. / Photograph by Patrick Rapa (and what does that say about me?)

It’s been like this for months, and will probably stay this way until Sal comes to claim what is rightfully his. Knowing Philly, if this sign sticks around long enough, somebody will petition to have it declared it an historic landmark.