Mayor Cherelle L. Parker says she is looking for answers after Philadelphia police arrested 15 people at a Pride celebration in the Gayborhood on Sunday that drew anger from community members over police use of force.
“I know that members of our LGBTQ+ community are hurting, frustrated, and looking for answers. … I want everyone to know that I hear you, I see you, and my Administration is taking your concerns seriously,” Parker said on social media Tuesday evening.
Images and videos spread across social media of police using crowd control tactics to disperse Pride-goers in the neighborhood, in what some considered to be an outsize and aggressive law enforcement presence.
In one image shared on X, a police officer on a motorcycle appears to push against a woman’s chest, and, in a separate photo, another officer pushes the same woman against a storefront security door while arresting her.
Other videosposted on social mediashowed police on horseback dispersing young people from a sidewalk, as well as officers physically struggling with a man outside the gay bar Woody’s. Another clip shows a row of police officers — two of them wearing face coverings — forming a line to clear a barricaded Gayborhood street while officers on motorbikes rode along the sidewalks.
On Wednesday, Sgt. Eric Gripp, a spokesperson for the police department, said that officials had identified five officers who wore face coverings during the enforcement, and that those officers had violated department policy by doing so.
The department is still working to determine what type of corrective action will be taken depending on the outcome of an internal investigation, he said.
On Tuesday, Parker said she and some of her top staff, Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs Tito Valdes, and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel had met to “review the information available to us and discuss next steps.”
“In the days ahead, we will meet with community leaders as part of that effort. As we move forward, we must reject the notion that public safety and accountability are mutually exclusive,” Parker said in the statement posted to social media.
Commanding officers at the scene gave orders to disperse crowds, according to Gripp, the police spokesperson.
The crowd control tactics used on Sunday drew ire from local elected officials like City Councilmember Rue Landau, who said she has been in talks with city departments and police to understand why PPD used this strategy. “Police brutality has no place at Pride,” Landau said.
People wait to enter the Philly Pride Festival at 21st Street on the Ben Franklin Parkway on Sunday.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
A different Pride this year
This year’s Pride looked different from that of earlier years. Usually, Philadelphia Pride celebrations and parades occur within the Gayborhood in Center City, east of Broad Street. But this year Philly Pride 365 and the city moved the parade and festival to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway because of security concerns over crowd sizes that had grown to more than 150,000 people, among other reasons, festival organizers said.
The festival portion of Pride also asked attendees to pay $10 to enter an event that for years had been free to attend.
Before and after the official celebrations ended, Pride-goers gathered in the Gayborhood, patronizing bars and spilling into the streets — a common practice during the celebration. But guests were surprised to find that several Gayborhood blocks around 13th and Walnut Streets were blocked with metal barricades, limiting crowds to sidewalks, said Joshua Stokem, a New Jersey resident who regularly attends the city’s Pride celebrations.
Stokem said the layout caused large groups to pack into the corridors outside bars and restaurants and, in his view, created confusion and exacerbated some of the issues attendees had with police.
On Sunday, police had 600 officers assigned to Pride celebrations with around 150 officers in the Gayborhood monitoring festivities, Bethel said.
“By all accounts, [it was] a successful event attended and enjoyed by thousands of people. As crowd sizes increased in the Gayborhood, officers responded to a growing number of public safety concerns, including fights, disorderly behavior, blocked roadways, and the challenges associated with safely managing large crowds in a confined area,” he saidin the statement.
Bethel said the department had expected the Parkway celebration to gradually transition to the Gayborhood event, but that did not happen.
Instead, he said, two separate gatherings were essentially happening at once, creating a situation that was “challenging to manage safely” and led to the decision to clear parts of the neighborhood.
“That decision was not made in any way, shape, or form because people were celebrating Pride,” he said.
Most of the arrests during Sunday’s event were for disorderly conduct, according to Bethel, while one person was charged with aggravated assault of a police officer.
To Ed Grose, the FIFA World Cup is not looking like a bust for Philly-area hotels.
Yet the president of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association said the matches, which start Sunday and end July 4, have not brought booming business.
“It hasn’t delivered what we thought it would in terms of hotel rooms,” Grose said Monday.
Some of Center City’s 14,500 hotel rooms remain available on game days and game-day eves, he said, though he declined to provide an estimated occupancy rate.
Grose’s assessment — based on conversations with local hoteliers, he said — exemplifies the tourism uncertainty that remains just days before kickoff.
Philadelphia has raised about $140 million in public and private funding to host the World Cup, according to Front Office Sports, and officials are heavily marketing the six South Philly games and other fan events across the city.
A FIFA World Cup banner hangs from an entrance of Philadelphia City Hall, as seen on June 3.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that every U.S. host city except San Francisco was seeing hotel occupancy of 40% or less, citing a recent CoStar report. Host cities in Mexico and Canada saw slightly better hotel occupancy, though still under 50%, according to the Journal.
In Philadelphia, Google Travel searches show abundant hotel vacancies at prices under $300 or even $200 a night on some match days.
The region’s short-term rental market has seen some last-minute demand, with about 60% of local Airbnbs and Vrbos set to be occupied on game days and game-day eves, according to AirDNA, which analyzes the platforms’ booking data. In early May, fewer than half available rentals were booked on those days.
The inside of a South Philadelphia Airbnb was shown in early May, as its owner waited for last-minute World Cup bookings.Joe Lamberti / For The Inquirer
As of Monday, World Cup demand has helped drive a 15% year-over-year increase in the number of Philly-area bookings and an 8% increase in occupancy on game days and game-day eves, said Bram Gallagher, AirDNA’s director of economics and forecasting.
Those figures place Philly “right in the middle” of the World Cup markets, he said.
“Some places are doing very, very well and some places are seeing marginal benefits,” Gallagher said, noting that Mexican markets are doubling demand. “In Philly, Boston, Atlanta, we’re seeing respectable gains.”
Airbnb, which has partnered with FIFA, is still predicting that the World Cup will be “the biggest hosting event in Airbnb’s history — surpassing the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris,” according to a company statement, which noted “meaningful excitement for the tournament,” including among first-time guests.
Some Philly Airbnb hosts still wait for World Cup guests
Jenica Jones outside her South Philly Airbnb in early May. As of Tuesday, she said she has only gotten two World Cup bookings for a total of three nights.Joe Lamberti / For The Inquirer
A guest from the Dominican Republican reserved Jones’ South Philly rowhouse for two nights in June, Jones said, and the host was hopeful that World Cup demand would finally pick up.
It hasn’t.
The 42-year-old said she got just one other booking for a single night.
Her Airbnb has a perfect 5-star rating, sleeps seven people, and is less than three miles from Lincoln Financial Field, the site of Philly’s six World Cup matches.
The app’s dynamic-pricing tool had initially suggested she list the property for about $900 a night during the World Cup. Since then, she has dropped prices and offered discounts on some nights to entice soccer fans, she said.
“I was predicting being full the entire month of June,” Jones said Tuesday. “They’re just not coming in as I expected.”
Can World Cup fans get last-minute deals in Philly?
The Live! Casino Hotel Philadelphia (at left) is located in the stadium complex. As of Tuesday, it still had rooms available at high prices for some World Cup matches.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Despite the sluggish demand, last-minute planners shouldn’t count on scoring World Cup deals in the Philly region, according to hotel and short-term-rental experts.
Gallagher, of AirDNA, said the most affordable Airbnb and Vrbo properties were the first ones to book up during the tournament. But individual hosts like Jones may choose to lower prices if their homes remain unbooked.
Grose, of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, said guests will pay higher rates on average during the World Cup than they would on a normal summer day.
Yet on Sunday and three of the other five match days, many Center City hotels appeared to have rooms available for about $300 or less per night, as of Tuesday, according to Google Travel. Prices skewed higher and availability seemed more limited on the holiday nights of Friday, June 19, and Saturday, July 4, though rooms were still available across the city, including at the few hotels near the stadiums in South Philly.
Grose said he remains optimistic about the coming weeks, which includes not only the World Cup and America’s 250th birthday celebration, but also the MLB All-Star Game in July.
“Overall, the summer is still going to be a good summer for us,” he said.
Former City Councilmember Jannie Blackwell, who has been a fixture of Philadelphia politics for decades, is no longer a Democratic wardleader. State Sen. Sharif Street — weeks after losing the city’s heated congressional race — just became one.
And the Rev. Lewis Nash Sr., who in 2024 was removed as leader of the 47th Ward after The Inquirer reported he was recorded making anti-LGBTQ+ remarks, has returned to the post after being reelected in his North Philadelphia ward Monday night.
Meanwhile, the upstart group Wards That Work, which was backed by progressive activists and sought to recruit hundreds of people to run for committee openings in the May 19 Democratic primary, claimed victories in six wards that were previously seen as aligned with the party establishment or more centrist Democrats.
Despite those notable gains,fewer than one-third of Philadelphia’s 69 Democratic ward leaders are seen as closely aligned with the party’s left wing.
That means Bob Brady, who has led the local Democratic Party since 1986 and is seen by many as the embodiment of the political old guard, will likely coast to victory in party leadership elections — decided by the ward leaders — next week, securing an 11th term as chair of the Democratic City Committee.
The party’s internal politics have become a key battleground in the fight between progressive upstarts and the Democratic establishment. There has also been a renewed push to grow the number of “open wards” — those that allow committeepeople to vote on political endorsements rather than allowing ward leaders to decide unilaterally.
Brady, a former U.S. representative, has over the last few weeks struck a conciliatory tone regarding the party’s left wing after clashing with activists in a series of elections, most notably when the party sought to punish committeepeople who endorsed the elections of Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke from the progressive Working Families Party.
“These labels — Working Families, Reclaim, socialist — the best labels they have that I love is they’re Democrats,” he said in an interview, referring in part to Reclaim Philadelphia, a group inspired by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential runs that organized the local progressive movement’s first successful ward takeovers in 2018.
Now, he said, he is focused on unity as Democrats hope to make gains in this year’s midterm elections and defeat candidates aligned with President Donald Trump in future elections.
“We can come together and beat that nut in the White House,” Brady said.
Philadelphia Democratic Party Chairman Bob Brady (left) and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (right) listen as Mayor Cherelle L. Parker speaks in support of State Sen. Sharif Street at a get-out-the-vote rally at the Church of Christian Compassion in West Philadelphia Monday, May 18, 2026 the day before Tuesday’s Democratic primary election for the 3rd Congressional District.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Earlier this year, however, Brady acknowledged that the Democratic City Committee funded mailers opposing some of the committeepeople backed by Wards That Work, and many on the left are still hoping for major changes in the local party.
District Attorney Larry Krasner, for instance, recently called on Brady to resign, and State Rep. Chris Rabb, a democratic socialist who last month won the Democratic primary for an open Philadelphia congressional seat, has emerged as a leading critic.
Rabb beat Street, the party’s endorsed candidate, in the 3rd Congressional District race, and has accused the city committee of neglecting the work of turning out the vote, instead concerning itself with backroom dealings among party insiders.
State Rep. Chris Rabb greets supporters on election day. He is arriving to his polling place to vote, Grace Epiphany Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Tuesday, May 19, 2026.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Rabb has not explicitly called for Brady to resign. But he is now calling for a dramatic overhaul of the party, from its leaders to its bylaws to the city’s antiquated ward boundaries.
“What I’m asking for is for the ward leaders — whatever candidate is running for chair, whether it’s Bob Brady or anyone else — that they demand that their first order of business is to overhaul the bylaws by Labor Day [to focus] on building a local party built on transparency integrity and inclusion,” Rabb said in an interview last week.
Progressives make gains
On paper, Philadelphia’s Democratic Party structure is bottom-up. Every four years, during the primaries of presidential midterm cycles, registered Democrats elect two committeepeople from their precincts, as they did this year on May 19. The committeepeople then elect neighborhood-level ward leaders, and the ward leaders in turn elect the top officials in the city party, including Brady.
But in practice, many critics of the city’s old guard see a top-down reality, with Brady and other high-ranking city officials controlling the party’s agenda.
Progressives are hoping to wrest control of the party from the establishment or to force reforms that make it more hospitable to left-leaning candidates. But it remains an uphill battle given the diffuse nature of the party system.
Among the notable progressive wins in Monday night’s ward elections:
5th Ward (Center City): Ryan Alsayegh, a political consultant currently working for State Reps. Tarik Khan and Joe Hohenstein, unseated Mike Boyle.
25th Ward (Port Richmond, Kensington): Alexandria Mercedes Murphy, a neurophysiologist and volunteer with Reclaim Philadelphia, succeeded Tommy Johnson.
31st Ward (Fishtown, East Kensington): Molly Hartman, a staffer for Councilmember Rue Landau, faced no opponents in her bid to succeed Margaret Rzepski.
27th Ward (University City): Benjamin Moss-Horwitz, a staffer for State Rep. Rick Krajewski, won a contested race to succeed retiring ward leader Carol Jenkins, a party stalwart.
46th Ward (Squirrel Hill, Cedar Park): James Bridgeforth, a University of Delaware professor, ran an uncontested race to succeed Blackwell, who retired this year after defeating a progressive challenger for her ward in a contentious election four years ago.
In West Philadelphia’s 60th Ward, State Rep. Amen Brown, a centrist Democrat, was unseated by Lorraine White-Johnson.
White-Johnson, who had the backing of Wards That Work, said in an interview that she is not aligned with one faction and welcomes all Democrats. She added that she plans to explore opening up the ward but has not made formal plans to do so yet.
Philadelphia City Councilmember Cindy Bass on Thursday, September 11, 2025.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
In Mount Airy’s 22nd Ward, Councilmember Cindy Bass declared herself reelected to a new term in a controversial move by saying she won a contested voice vote of committeepeople and denying motions for a roll-call vote that could have clarified the results. Her opponent, Octavius Price, was backed by progressive organizers and said he plans to challenge the election.
Some notable ward election results did not involve major ideological shifts.
Nash, who on Tuesday denied having made the anti-LGBTQ+ comments that previously cost him his seat, won a three-way race to reclaim the 47th Ward.
“I forgive everybody that was involved with those unforeseen circumstances,” Nash said in an interview Tuesday. “To anyone that was offended by the alleged comments, forgive me and the person who made those comments, allegedly and falsely, and let’s move forward.”
In a statement, Street said he would “take a back-to-basics approach, listening to my neighbors about their concerns and filling vacant committee member seats.”
“Last month’s election results galvanized my belief that we need to build the party from the ground up,” Street said in a statement. “We need to increase voter turnout in Black communities, like North Philadelphia, by demonstrating every day that Democrats are fighting for them.”
Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article.
The World Cup officially lands in Philly on June 14, when the Ivory Coast takes on Ecuador at the temporarily-renamed Philadelphia Stadium (aka Lincoln Financial Field) in South Philly, with five more games to follow.
But let’s be real: Getting into a match is going to be difficult. And besides, nothing screams Philly more than taking in a game at a local bar alongside strangers and Citywides that will give you the courage to cheer even louder.
Here are 19 bars in Philly and the suburbs that are going all-in on the World Cup, including four planning to be open until 4 a.m. for late-night matches.
🍺 Bars allowed to stay open until 4 a.m.
Earlier this year, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a bill into law permitting Philly bars to stay open until 4 a.m. for the duration of the World Cup. Just over 50 bars in the city thus far are eligible to apply for a permit to stay open that late, according to a list from the City of Philadelphia, and several told The Inquirer that extending their hours just wasn’t worth it.
On the eve of the World Cup, several bars were still waiting to get permit approval to stay open late.
These are four spots that plan to be open until 4 a.m. in Philly, from a bowling alley to a Latin American club-staurant.
The bar at Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse, 1941 Sansom St., on Aug. 31, 2022.MICHAEL KLEIN / Staff
While Cavanaugh’s Headhouse location has a rep among Newcastle United and Liverpool fans as a solid bar for soccer matches, the sports bar’s Rittenhouse location is the one that will be open until 4 a.m. during the World Cup. Cav’s will be serving daily drinks and food specials, and is one of more than 20 bars participating in the Crawl for the Cup, a citywide World Cup-themed bar crawl, including a scavenger hunt, on June 20.
The World Cup is practically a 24 / 7 event at Mamajuana. The Latin American Northern Liberties club-staurant will be staying open until 4 a.m. on match days while also hosting Sunday brunches and watch parties for 10 games from June 13 through July 19. The club’s World Cup special promises mascot appearances, daily food specials, and limited-edition cocktails, such as the Golden Cup, an old-fashioned served in a gold globe-shaped goblet. A full schedule can be found on Mamajuana’s Instagram.
This lively Hunting Park institution will be open until 4 a.m. during the World Cup to broadcast games in its downstairs bar and upstairs night club. Tierra Colombiana’s menu spans Latin America, which means you can have arepas while Colombia plays, ceviche during Ecuador’s matches, and extra large mojitos all tournament long.
Soccer at a bowling alley? That’s literally the vibe at Oregon Avenue’s South Bowl, a bowling alley and bar (with an outdoor lounge) that is staying open until 4 a.m. to broadcast the following matches: Australia vs. Turkey on June 14, Austria vs. Jordan on June 17, and Tunisia vs. Japan on June 21. Games will play on the screens above each lane, which means there’s the potential to land a strike while watching pro athletes score goals.
If the 4 a.m. crowd isn’t your speed, these 10 Philly bars are hosting World Cup watch parties that don’t skimp on the fun — even if they aren’t going all night long.
Scenes from the opening night of Bok Bar — initially called Le Bok Fin — in 2015.Michelle Gustafson
The Black Taxi
This Irish pub in Fairmount has long been a host for English Premier League matches, at one point even displaying the trophy for an afternoon of photo ops. Roughly a half-mile from the FIFA Fan Fest at Lemon Hill, this is the spot to take in a game with a perfect pour of Guinness.
📍 745-747 N. 25th St., 📞 215-232-1086, 🌐 theblacktaxi.com
All of Philly’s tournament matches will be simulcast on screen’s atop Philly’s most famous rooftop bar, which is hosting Puyero Venezulean Flavor for a monthlong food pop-up in June that includes arepas, empanadas, and bite-sized churros. Where else can you see the lights from the Linc — I mean, Philadelphia Stadium — twinkle in distance during a knockout game on July 4?
The crowd at Brauhaus Schmitz in Philadelphia cheers USA’s first goal against the Netherlands in the World Cup on Dec. 3, 2022.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Bella Vista’s sprawling German biergarten is taking the party to the streets, closing down the block for free outdoor watch parties for matches on June 25, June 27, July 3, July 4, and July 19. Games will be broadcast on 20-foot-tall TVs in the middle of South Street, while indoors will feature 34 beers on tap, surprise giveaways, and burgers with novelty soccer ball pretzel buns. And on non-block party days, Brauhaus Schmitz will be still be airing World Cup matches indoors.
This Brazilian sports bar in Northeast Philly is the place to be for fans of team Brazil and is hosting not one, but two lively watch parties during the team’s match against Morocco on June 13 and Haiti on June 19. And if you’re only there for the vibes, Guanabara has a rooftop, three types of caipirinhas, and Brazilian-style cheesesteaks.
Known for its supremely satisfying smashburger, this neighborhood bar with a French twist has big plans for the Group Stage. Good King Tavern will open daily starting at 3 p.m. with an extended happy hour that features mini cocktails and street food-style snacks. Its upstairs wine bar, Le Caveau, will also be getting in on the action, which means you can sip a draft negroni and nosh on a fancy hot dog while watching your team of choice.
A bar where you can play 18-holes of mini golf between matches? Sign us up. Libertee Grounds will be gamifying its World Cup watch parties with the Pitch Passport, a punch card that rewards guest for watching every game at the bar-slash-indoor-mini-golf-course. How it works: Earn a punch for each nation when you a watch a match, which are redeemable for rewards such as a free beer, mini golf passes, or a lifetime membership. Drink specials will also be available.
This Chinatown sports bar is committed to soccer year-round, airing everything from Premier League matches to La Liga games on its 35 TVs. Expect the World Cup to be no different. Lion Sports Bar will be airing all matches at its original location and taking over Yamitsuki Ramen across the street for a ticketed open bar and buffet. Also available at both locations: a signature World Cup pink margarita garnished with collectible Lionel Messi stickers.
This longstanding Irish Pub in Center City is the official home of Philly’s Chelsea FC and Manchester City FC clubs, so you can expect that it will be a hub for World Cup games. The bar will air all 104 matches (with the sound on!) across 14 TVs and two projectors. Weeks one and two of the tournament are bringing specials on Michelob Ultra and Stella Artois, plus a ticket giveaway on June 13 for a future match.
The real fun at this rowdy, double-decker sports bar comes during the USMNT’s matches against Paraguay on June 12, Australia on June 19, and Turkey on June 25. The American Outlaws — the official support group for Team USA — will be taking over Top Tomato during those games for block parties with a live DJ that are open to all, no RSVP required.
The newly renovated (and re-christened) Stateside Live! now includes a rooftop bar and beer garden. Just steps away from the action at Philadelphia Stadium, what will it offer soccer fans? The entertainment complex is hosting the official World Cup pregame for ticketholders. A match ticket and $50 will get you expedited entry and access to a tailgate with a food voucher, while $175 buys a spot at a prematch buffet with cheesesteaks, roast pork sandwiches, and open bar.
Stateside Live! will also be open to the general public during all six of Philly’s World Cup games. Matches will be simulcast on the venue’s new outdoor stage alongside a selection of food trucks.
But if you’re looking to keep it extra local during the World Cup, these bars in the Philly suburbs are going above and beyond for the World Cup, from erecting a pop-up beer garden to brewing a special IPA.
The Landing Kitchen, an all-day cafe created by Nicholas Elmi and Fia Berisha at the riverside redevelopment of the Pencoyd Ironworks on July 10, 2021.CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer
Located in Bala Cynwyd, just across the Pencoyd Bridge from Manayunk, this all-day riverside cafe with a family friendly vibe will be broadcasting all quarterfinal, semifinal, and finals matches outdoors on a 164-inch screen. Chef Nicholas Elmi will be firing up a smoker for barbecue specials during the games, and guests are strongly encouraged to play bocce or relax at a fire pit during halftime.
Named one of the 10 best bars for watching soccer in the U.S. by the Men in Blazers, Bucks County’s Villa Capri is one of the only bars in the Philadelphia suburbs that has committed to airing all 104 World Cup matches — with the sound on. The Doylestown bar is also rolling a limited-edition cocktail menu for the tournament that includes drinks such as the $14 Equalizer margarita, which comes in passionfruit, pineapple, strawberry, or pomegranate.
This haunt for West Chester University students already has a reputation in Chester County as a Liverpool bar that airs Philadelphia Union games. During the World Cup, Kildare’s is going all in on USMNT. The bar will be shutting down a portion of Gay Street for a free, 21+ watch party during Team USA’s matchup against Paraguay on June 12. Kildare’s will also be showing a selection of other games starting at noon daily, with to-be-announced drink and food specials on offer.
Malvern’s Locust Lane Craft Brewery is hosting a pop-up World Cup beer garden in Upper Merion’s Nor-View Farm Park with free entry from June 11 through July 19. Games will be broadcast on TVs under the park’s pavilion, where attendees can bring their own chairs and enjoy a selection of $8 beers on tap, plus food from the Epicurian Garage Truck. The beer garden will open one hour before the first broadcast game and close before midnight; schedule can be found here.
A former New Jersey Brewery of the Year, Zed’s Beer takes the World Cup as seriously as it takes its brews. The Marlton bar will be airing all Team USA matches, alongside several other key games as designated on the bar’s digital calendar. Also on offer: Soccer-themed quizzo and a new limited-edition IPA called the “48 hops for 48 teams.” Made with hops from each country with a qualifying FIFA team, this beer will be available for the duration of the tournament.
📍19 N. Maple Ave., Ste. A, Marlton, N.J. 📞 856-872-7632, 🌐 drinkzeds.com
District Attorney Larry Krasner said Monday that, in the more than two years since Mayor Cherelle L. Parker was sworn in, he has only met with her three times.
And despite his visit to her City Hall office on Monday in what Krasner described as “the spirit of hopeful collaboration,” that number did not grow to four.
The district attorney, along with a phalanx of staff and television cameras, walked across the street from his downtown office to the mayor’s suite on the second floor of City Hall, armed with a letter lamenting his budget as inadequate. In it, Krasner wrote that he needs an additional $5.6 million from the city to bolster shootings investigations, domestic violence prosecutions, and victim services.
Asked why he was delivering a letter to Parker in person, Krasner said: “There is nothing new and nothing inappropriate about civil rights leaders, activists, and politicians getting the word out.”
The mayor did not open her door. Krasner pushed his letter through a mail slot.
District Attorney Larry Krasner delivers a letter to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s office after hosting a news conference to ask the mayor to consider allocating millions more dollars to his office this year.Anna Orso
The public plea came just days after City Council gave the green light to a city budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, including a record-high $62.4 million allocation to the District Attorney’s Office, which is about $3 million more than it received last year.
Krasner, who called a news conference at the district attorney’s office before his trip to City Hall, said his office needs additional funding to “prevent potential layoffs,” but he did not specify the number of jobs on the line. The city budget will be up for a final vote in Council on Thursday, and it is unlikely to substantially change before then.
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the mayor shared data showing that the District Attorney’s Office budget has increased by 55% over the last five years.
“Am I running for these offices today? No. Do I have a plan to run for these offices today? No,” Krasner said. “But if you’re asking me to say that I would never, under any circumstance, no matter what was going on locally or nationally, consider some other office, it would be foolish for me to completely rule out those possibilities.”
He is one of several people who progressive leaders in the city may look to next year to challenge Parker, who is backed by much of the city’s Democratic establishment and organized labor. She has been criticized by some on the left for her law enforcement-driven initiatives to address the Kensington drug market and her cautious approach to President Donald Trump.
The mayor’s race became even more attractive to Philadelphia’s left-wing faction of the Democratic Party last month after State Rep. Chris Rabb, a democratic socialist, won the party’s nomination for an open seat in Congress.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker is flanked by Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel and District Attorney Larry Krasner (left) on July 22, 2024.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Krasner’s public criticism of Parker this week is also notable because he and the mayor have, despite not meeting regularly, attempted to maintain a veneer of civility.
While Parker ran for office on a tough-on-crime message that could be seen as in tension with the district attorney’s progressive platform, she has not directly criticized Krasner. She also campaigned on a promise of close collaboration with other governmental entities after conflict between Krasner and former Mayor Jim Kenney spilled into public view on several occasions.
Krasner on Monday insisted that his trip across the street to Parker’s office was not intended to inflame hostilities. He cited his letter, which began with thanking the mayor for her “leadership, vision, and goals.”
The letter ended with Krasner saying that the city’s leaders should “truly model the peace and unity we hope to see within our communities.”
He added: “We can achieve more together!”
Staff writer Ellie Rushing contributed to this article.
Urban Outfitters Inc., the Philly-founded fashion company, is adding employees and business facilities in the region as it continues to grow.
The parent company of Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, and Nuuly plans to hire more than 1,000 employees in the Philadelphia region over the next seven years. Company cofounder Dick Hayne and Gov. Josh Shapiro gathered at the company’s Navy Yard headquarters Monday to announce the plans.
At least 450 new positions will be at the Navy Yard headquarters. And at least 600 hires are planned at a new distribution site in Bucks County for clothing rental brand Nuuly, over the five years after that building is completed in 2028.
“Urban Outfitters was built from the ground up in Philadelphia more than five decades ago — and we are proud that this company is continuing to grow and create jobs all across our Commonwealth,” said Shapiro in a statement on Monday.
The positions include creative and operational roles across the brands and the parent company, according to Meaghan Condon, Urban’s director of communications and impact.
The company has just over 2,500 employees based out of the Navy Yard headquarters. That number has grown significantly from 500 in 2004, when Urban announced it was moving its offices there from Center City. The company employs 6,300 across Pennsylvania, including those at its stores and its distribution sites.
At the time of the move, Urban had five buildings there. Today it has 15.
The most recent addition is a 117,000-square-foot site at the Navy Yard that houses the photo studios. Redeveloping the space, which Urban started using in the last couple of months, cost about $40 million. Previously, the company’s photos were taken at various headquarters buildings in the Navy Yard or off-site at rented studios in New York.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (left) with Urban Outfitters cofounder and CEO Dick Hayne during an event Monday to announce planned hires in the region.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
On Monday, Shapiro and Hayne spoke in the outdoor portion of the new building, which has been partially converted into pickleball courts, to announce the company’s continued growth. An American flag hung above them swaying in the breeze, and airplanes flew overhead periodically to and from the Philadelphia International Airport.
“When we started, we had a tiny, tiny store,” said Hayne on Monday, recalling the company’s first location near the University of Pennsylvania. “Today, we have over 800 stores across the world, including many in Europe, and our sales have grown extremely rapidly.”
Hayne said he attributes that growth in part to “the relationship that we’ve had with our governmental agencies, the City of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and even a little bit with the federal government.”
Hayne said Urban has invested millions in the state, calling Pennsylvania the company’s home and adding, “we intend to stay here. We have no thought of leaving.”
The announcement on Monday echoed a similar moment in 2011 when then Mayor Michael A. Nutter, alongside Hayne, announced that Urban would be adding 1,000 jobs at the Navy Yard over the course of three years, and moving into two additional buildings there. The company employed some 1,500 people at the time.
The new Bucks County facility, which is expected to be completed by early 2028,is for the company’s growing clothing rental subscription business, Nuuly. Launched in 2019, Nuuly had over 450,000 active subscribers as of this spring — over double the amount the brand had in 2023.
Nuuly has a distribution center in Levittown which opened in 2019, and another in Missouri which opened in 2024.
At one Philadelphia restaurant, dinner isn’t finished without a bite — or several — of chocolate.
Vedge is home to what co-owners Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby believe to be the world’s first tasting course dedicated to bean-to-bar chocolate. That’s small-batch chocolate that uses the same producer throughout the candy-making process, from harvesting the cacao to molding the bars.
The sweets, which is offered as a supplement to the Center City vegan restaurant’s $79 six-course tasting menu, come plated in sets of three on a marble cutting board with notecards that describe each bar’s unique origins and flavor notes. Jacoby, who oversees the program, sources the chocolates from Bar & Cocoa Chocolatein Greensboro, N.C., or Washington’s the Chocolate House, rotating them every few weeks. (The course can also be purchased à la carte for $12.)
In late May, the platter featured bits of a 62% dark chocolate bar from BOHO Chocolates made with zesty shreds of lemongrass and slightly crispy bits of crystalized ginger, plus a 90% dark chocolate bar that tasted like really fancy soap (in a good way). Rounding out the trio was Fruition Chocolate Works’ Oko-Caribe, a relatively standard 68% Dominican dark chocolate bar with a smooth finish that Jacoby said reminded her of Sno Caps.
The goal of chocolate course is twofold, Landau and Jacoby said. It introduces customers to single-origin chocolate without the commitment of buying full-sized bars, many of which can cost more than Vedge’s $12 à la carte price. Plus, it has liberated the couple from feeling like they need to shoehorn chocolate into the tasting menu’s true dessert course, according to Jacoby. She used to consider chocolate an iron-clad dessert requirement.
Vedge co-owners Kate Jacoby and Rich Landau added a seventh course dedicated to bean-to-bar chocolate to the restaurant’s tasting menu in collaboration with Zeke Emanuel.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
“It’s like a little bow that wraps up the end of a meal,” said Jacoby, a three-time James Beard Awards semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef.
Vedge started offering the course in May 2025, Jacoby said, though it technically wasn’t their idea. It was Zeke Emanuel’s.
The renowned bioethicist, University of Pennsylvania professor, and healthcare adviser to Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden (Emanuel’s brothers are also pretty famous) pitched the idea to Landau and Jacoby during atalk at the university. Emanuel, who has committed his career to the study of what it means to live well, also moonlights as a professional chocolatier.
Emanuel told The Inquirer that he started his own line of single-origin chocolates — aptly named the Zeke Bar — in 2017 in partnership with Missouri-based Ashinosie Chocolates as part of a personal mission to take on new hobbies that “expand his mind.” The doctor has launched four limited-edition bars since the line’s founding, the most recent being a 65% dark chocolate bar made with Trinidadian cacao bean and tart cherries that earned him a Good Food Award in 2025.
Zeke Emanuel, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and former policy adviser to Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, has a line of single-origin dark chocolate bars.Sharon Gekoski-Kimmel / Staff Photographer
Chocolate making has taken Emanuel as far as Madagascar to scout cacao producers, he said, and reignited his interest in food. It’s also made him more discerning about what goes into good chocolate.
For Emanuel, growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Hershey’s milk chocolate bars were good enough for him and his dad, he said. “We thought good chocolate was Lindt,” said Emanuel. Now, it’s about texture and terroir, or how the environment food was forged in shapes the way it tastes.
Emanuel wants others to have that same appreciation, too, he said, even if they still walk away preferring a classic milk chocolate bar. It’s “not necessarily something we think about,” said Emanuel, “but learning is one of the great things about dinner.”
No milk chocolate allowed
Emanuel’s pitch was a perfect fit for Vedge from the get-go, said Landau. The vegan restaurant, which has stood at 1221 Locust St. since 2011, is known for inventive plant-based cuisine that lets vegetables shine as they are instead of relying on imitation meats. Sourcing also matters: Their kitchen makes nearly everything from scratch with local produce or vegetables grown on Landau and Jacoby’s Chester County farm.
“When [Emanuel] talks about chocolate, you’re just mesmerized,” said Landau. Jacoby, his wife, concurred: “I guess he’s like this with everyone, but the passion he had was just so palpable.”
Kate Jacoby plates BOHO Chocolate’s lemongrass and ginger chocolate bar at Vedge.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Emanuel visited Vedge in July to teach the restaurant’s staff about single-origin chocolate, Jacoby said, and comes by every six weeks or so with roughly a dozen hand-picked chocolate bars for Vedge to pull from for the end-of-dinner mignardises (bite-sized after-meal sweets). The biggest hits have been bars blended with passionfruit and green Sichuan peppers.
Vedge’s vegan status does pose one key limitation: no animal products, so no milk chocolate. Not that it matters to Emanuel; he thinks milk chocolate is just OK.
It’s “too sweet,” he said, and more of a “gateway drug” to the harder stuff, like the 90% dark chocolate bar. Or the one with peppercorns.
The house: a 2,219-square-foot townhouse with three bedrooms and three bathrooms in Wynnefield.
The price: listed for $499,000; purchased for $499,000.
The agent: Nora DeCristofano, Compass
The exterior of Heather Ong’s home in Wynnefield.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
The ask: Heather Ong did not move back to Philadelphia expecting to live with her parents for two years. The plan was to stay with them temporarily — six months at most — just long enough to save money and buy a house.
“What started as a six-month search turned into a two-year search,” she said.
Ong wanted to be in the city but not downtown. She was open to any place that was quiet and had outdoor space for her dog. She also wanted something move-in ready with three bedrooms and at least two bathrooms, and she wanted it for less than $600,000. That combination turned out to be hard to find.
Ong liked the house’s modern, open-concept kitchen. Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
The search: Ong started looking seriously in October 2023. She looked everywhere except Center City. In Point Breeze and Brewerytown, she kept running into the same problem. The houses were expensive, and many still needed work. “I refused to spend $600,000 on a home that I’d have to fix up,” she said.
Housing inventory was low at the time. Very few of the listings she saw on Zillow met her criteria, so eventually she stopped checking the site. She did deep dives on local Reddit real estate threads instead. That’s where she saw a link to an Inquirer article about a new development near City Avenue.
The living area in Heather Ong’s home.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
The location was close to where she wanted to be, and the price was close to what she wanted to spend, so she e-mailed the developer. She visited the site, but the townhouses were still under construction. She walked through a few model homes that were almost done to get a feel for the space.
The appeal: The house she saw was a “typical Philly townhome,” Ong said. It had 10-foot ceilings and a roof deck. She liked that it had three full bathrooms and that it was close to I-76 and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. “Location-wise, it’s very convenient,” Ong said.
And while she didn’t think the neighborhood was very exciting, she saw potential.
“I feel like there are a lot of changes coming to the area,” she said.
Plus, the house offered her more space than she could find elsewhere for the price.
The house is a “typical Philly townhome,” Ong said. Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
”I got a bigger bang for my buck out here,” she said.
The deal: The home was listed for $499,000, which is what Ong offered. There wasn’t much to negotiate. The builder was firm on price and told her she couldn’t customize any part of the house. “They said, ‘What you see is what you get,’” Ong recalled.
She did, however, get the builder to agree to a mortgage contingency so that if they didn’t finish the house as promised, she could back out.
Ong hired an independent inspector, who she said was incredibly thorough. “He came back with 100 things that needed to be fixed,” Ong said. The builder addressed all of them. He also installed larger vanities in the bathrooms per her request. The original ones were “barely larger than airplane bathroom sinks,” Ong said.
The money: Ong put 10% down. Between the down payment and closing costs, she spent about $70,000. That included $4,000 to buy down her interest rate from 7% to 6%.
The house has three bedrooms and three full bathrooms, plenty of space for Ong to host family and friends. Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
The $70,000 came from her personal savings. She was able to put away a lot of money when she lived with her parents. She also had stock from her job at Zoom Info Technologies, which had vested by the time she was buying. It was worth about $25,000. Without it, she would not have been able to buy.
“If that didn’t happen, I would still be stuck,” Ong said.
The primary bedroom in Heather Ong’s home in Wynnefield. Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
The move: Ong closed on May 1, 2025, and moved in on May 22, a rainy, thunderous day. The move itself was quick — most of her things were in storage. But settling in took months. The development was so new that Google Maps didn’t recognize her address yet, so her deliveries kept getting lost.
“That was a nightmare,” she said.
She also didn’t have internet for the first month.
Life after close: After a year in the house, Ong has learned that new construction can still come with plenty of repairs.
There have been nail pops, cracks, leaks, electricity issues, a microwave that keeps breaking, and a brand-new dryer that did not work. The constant repairs have made it harder for Ong to enjoy the house. Still, she does not regret buying it.
“These are first-world problems that I’m dealing with,” she said.
Did you recently buy a home in the Philadelphia area or South Jersey? Share the story of how you did it. Email Inquirer real estate reporters at properties@inquirer.com.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the name of Ong’s employer and the specifics of her down payment.
Lilly, age 13, sits on the couch.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer
For Angela Val, experiencing the charms of Philadelphia is far more than just a personal pastime. It’s part of her job.
President and CEO of Visit Philadelphia, the nonprofit that serves as the city’s official leisure-tourism marketing agency, it falls to Val to sell the city’s many allures to the wider world. Especially this year, as Philadelphia prepares to ascend the global stage for America’s 250th anniversary.
“It’s exciting for it to be here,” said Val, who has led Visit Philadelphia since 2022, after a prior 17-year stint at the agency, when she worked her way from a receptionist to vice president. “I have been preparing for this year with lots of different people, and to see it come to fruition — to be in the implementation stage — is really thrilling.”
Angela Val, president and CEO of Visit PhiladelphiaRachel Rosenstein
A native of Rockville, Md., Val fell in love with Philly’s rising potential after earning a degree in hospitality management from Drexel University in 1994.
Starting out working hotel front desk and catering jobs, Val first joined Visit Philadelphia in 1998, amid Center City’s long awaited renaissance.
“I just felt like I was going to be part of a city that’s going to have a great deal of growth over the next 10 years,” she said.
Now, Val helps spearhead that growth.
For the 250th, Visit Philadelphia has rolled out a series of marketing campaigns and events, including TED Democracy, a daylong symposium of broadcast TED talks exploring modern day democracy scheduled for June 13 at the Kimmel Center.
Val, who lives in Point Breeze with her husband, and her dogs, Dash and Bailey, who are Mi-Kis, said her perfect Philly day would include a rooftop sunset, a killer workout, sweets before dinner, lots of great Philly food, and some late-night hanging with neighbors.
7 a.m.
We always start off with my dogs. We have two puppies. They’re about a year old. I take them to the deck to run around very early in the morning. We have a skyline view. We took all of our COVID refund and renovated the deck. I do like to sit on the deck with a cup of tea. The Random Tea Room sells a great loose mint tea that I love.
I usually go back to bed. I am not a morning person. I am somebody who likes to hit the snooze button. So I’ll do that — just chill out in bed a little bit longer and catch the news.
Angela Val, President and CEO of Visit Philadelphia, Speaks to guests and press about the announcement of TED Talks focus on democracy leading up to 2026 in Philadelphia, Pa., on Tuesday, May, 21, 2024.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
9 a.m.
I usually head to the gym. I have a trainer. I belong to the Bellevue Sporting Club. I am all about strength training these days. As you get older, the doctor recommends less cardio, more strength. I had never really lifted weights before. Thus, I got a trainer, and I have to say, I do love it. Emily’s fantastic. I usually try to get that in two or three times a week, if possible. It always makes me feel better.
11 a.m.
I get a good walk there and a good walk back. I’m pretty ravenous afterward. Joe and I will usually meet up at Enswell. It’s just so pretty in there. They have this awesome egg sandwich — it’s so buttery and delicious. If that’s not available, I get the omelet, which is also delicious. Always with a side salad..
1 p.m.
In the afternoon, we just pick an activity to do. I love to walk so we usually walk some place — go see some exhibit or gallery. If this is a day in 2026, I’m going to want to check out “The Declaration’s Journey” at the Museum of the American Revolution. They have rare copies of the Declaration of Independence but also an advanced copy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I have a dream.” And the bench on which he wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”
And [I’d go to] Calder Gardens. It’s small, but so different for Philly. It’s so modern and beautiful.
4 p.m.
[Then I’m] headed to the Bread Room — from High Street Hospitality and Ellen Yin — to get a couple sweet treats. And I would love to be able to take one of the baking classes there. They have this scone with orange blossom frosting. It is delicious. They also have a chocolate chip cookie that has a little bit of sea salt on the top, which I also think is delicious. And it’s a big boy, so you can share it, and not have to eat the whole thing, like I do.
6 p.m.
We would honestly come home and take a nap and play with the dogs. But we would definitely go back out.
8 p.m.
We do eat out a lot. It’s just the two of us. We would go to Sao. That is one of the places that I would love to try. We’ve been to Mawn many times and it’s delicious. But we heard Sao was really great too. Fresh seafood. I am a seafood lover. I don’t eat meat regularly. For me to find a great seafood place, especially one that’s close by, I’m in.
We go to Alice a lot. I like their artichoke salad there. We like to sit at the bar there at the very end. Also American Sardine Bar, which is right down the street from our house. I eat so often downtown during the week because of work. So I try really hard on the weekends to hit neighborhood spots. I don’t eat sardines. But what I wish they would bring back is their fried bologna sandwich. I will tell you that at two o’clock in the morning, if you’ve had a few drinks, it’s delicious. Always a cocktail. I’m old school. I’m always going to love the Cosmo (very light pink, not too sweet). But I was also was recently introduced to the Paper Plane. It seems just like a Cosmopolitan, but it has a whiskey base. It’s not too sweet.
11 p.m.
A perfect end is actually going next door to see our neighbors. We’re very good friends. And they have a beautiful patio with a pergola up top, so we’d just hang around with them around the firepit and listen to records. The soundtrack is probably Leon Bridges. That’s a perfect night.
The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Tanner Rouse will be Delaware County’s new top law enforcement officer, but he’snot new to the work.
Rouse will be sworn in on Jan. 5 as district attorney after his predecessor, Jack Stollsteimer, steps down to assume the county judgeship he won in November. Rouse, 42, will finish out the final two years of Stollsteimer’s term after working as his first assistant since 2020.
In a recent interview, Rouse discussed the strides in reducing violent crime he and his colleagues have made under Stollsteimer — the first-ever Democrat to serve as district attorney in Delaware County — as well as how he plans to continue those advances.
The short answer: Keeping the same playbook, but “putting a personal stamp on it,” as an offensive coordinator does when he takes over as head coach, said Rouse, an avid Eagles fan and ambitious Little League coach.
A former Philadelphia prosecutor under Seth Williams, Rouse credited the lessons he learned from investigating gun violence in the city, along with the recruitment of several former colleagues he brought over the county line, withimproving the way crime is prosecuted in Delaware County.
“We have demonstrated you can reform the criminal justice system and that it doesn’t have to come at the expense of stopping violent crime,” Rouse said. “They’re not mutually exclusive.”
Who is Tanner Rouse?
Rouse, a Phoenixville-area native, is the son of the late Willard Rouse III, the prominent Philadelphia developer behind One and Two Liberty Place. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin and Fordham Law School, Rouse spent seven years in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, prosecuting crimes in Center City and North Philadelphia.
Rouse left the office in 2017, months before Larry Krasner took over. He practiced civil law for a time and ran an ultimately failed campaign to unseat then-State Sen. Tom McGarrigle before Stollsteimer called and offered him the first assistant job.
At the time, Rouse said, the offer was unexpected. But, looking back, he now considers it one of the greatest opportunities of his career.
What is Rouse most proud of from his tenure as first assistant?
The most notable achievement of his tenure to date in the district attorney’s office, Rouse said, is the steep reduction of gun violence in Chester.Shootings are down 75% since 2020. Rouse credits community outreach efforts for that, especially through the Chester Partnership for Safe Neighborhoods program, overseen by veteran homicide prosecutor Matt Krouse, whom Rouse worked with in Philadelphia and recruited to join him in Delaware County.
The partnership’s fundamental philosophy is a combination of focused deterrence programs Rouse helped oversee in Philadelphia that target repeat offenders, as well as community outreach efforts run by trusted neighborhood figures.
Rouse said he never wanted to be a faceless presence in the county and made it his priority to get out and form relationships in all of the municipalities he served, visiting community meetings, block parties, and even a few pickup basketball games.
“I don’t do this job from behind a desk,” he said, speaking in his county courthouse office. “And I think demonstrating that commitment and that care by being more present in those communities, and not just being kind of the big, scary law enforcement agency on a hill is incredibly important.”
Rouse said he is proud of other reforms including creating a diversionary unit in the office, revamping its drug court and instituting a special “child’s court,” created by Kristen Kemp — Rouse’s chosen first assistant and an expert in special-victims’ cases — that allows young victims to testify against adult offenders in a more comfortable environment.
The county’s jail population is down 50% as well, something Rouse says is a result of approaching prosecuting crimes in a humane, logical way.
What are his priorities as district attorney?
Rouse said he plans to create a similar community outreach program in Upper Darby, a community he said is “on the verge of some big things.”
“It’s not as if we’re saying, ‘We’re coming in here to take on Upper Darby and what goes on there,’ but more of, ‘Guys, look, we’re not just the people you pick up and call when there’s a crime.’”
He also expressed interest in creating reciprocity agreements with his counterparts in the other collar counties around Philadelphia, specifically when it comes to handling drug cases and providing treatment to the people caught up in them.
How has his time in Philadelphia influenced his work in Delco?
Rouse said he cut his teeth in the city working alongside veteran prosecutors, and he’s worked to bring that environment of mentorship to Delaware County.
He said he and his more senior deputies often sit in on trials, giving feedback to younger staff members just as his mentors did for him nearly two decades ago.
“That’s how I got better, and that’s one of the roles I most cherish here,” he said.
