City Cast Philly

City Cast Philly

😵 The Portal leaving LOVE Park

March 26, 2025 · — Natalia Aldana

Hello there! City Cast editor Natalia Aldana here, filling in for Siani.

😎 Today the city is honoring one of our native sons, Will Smith, by renaming the 2000 block of North 59th Street in West Philadelphia (where he was born and raised!) after the actor and entertainer. Smith can now truly say: “I am legend.”

What's CITY Talking About?

🚙 How a Legally Parked Car Can Still Be Towed

Did you know your car can be towed in Philly, even if it’s parked legally? “Courtesy towing” is a longtime — and uniquely Philly — practice where a car is moved without notice to an unknown location in order to accommodate construction or events. And it has left some Philadelphians wondering where the heck their car went. We talk to Bill Bender, investigative reporter for The Inquirer, about what the city is doing about this … or not. [City Cast Philly 🎧]

🎨 Vandalism Prompts Relocation of The Portal

The art installation connecting Philadelphians to people in other cities via livestream will move out of LOVE Park after the company found evidence of vandalism. We have the distressing distinction of being the only city that has faced this problem. Portal organizers and officials haven’t confirmed the next location, but they say they plan to keep it in Philly. [WPVI]

🍞 State Food Banks Facing $13M in Cuts

Federal cuts to food banks, including this month’s elimination of the $470 million Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, have led to at least $13 million in losses for Pennsylvania food banks. Organizations warn that this funding loss, combined with rising food prices and inflation, will worsen food insecurity statewide — especially as demand has reached early pandemic levels. [The Inquirer]

❌ NIH Terminates Penn Projects

Citing a misalignment with “agency priorities,” the National Institutes of Health terminated three Penn research projects, including a study on HIV vaccines. This follows another NIH funding cut that could cost the university $240 million. [The Daily Pennsylvanian]

🚲 Cyclists Confused About Market Street Bridge Design

While PennDOT’s $149 million project to install new two-way bike lanes on the bridge promises more rider safety with the installation of a protective concrete barrier, some are disappointed that the lanes will be on the south side and not in alignment with nearby bike lanes. [Billy Penn]

Where Is It?

Do you know where Siani saw this mural during a lunchtime stroll? (Siani Colón / City Cast Philly)

Let’s start with the previous "Where Is It?":

🏆 Congrats to Jos from Center City, who was the first Hey Philly reader to guess correctly!

📍The mural is located at Tula Yoga at 4th and Brown Streets in Northern Liberties.

Now, let’s give you a new challenge, shall we?!

Have you seen this mural? (Asha Prihar / City Cast Philly)

🧐 Where in Philadelphia is this mural located? Submit your guess! The winner will get a shout-out in next week’s newsletter — so stay tuned!

While you’re out in Philly trying to find this mural, you can:

What To Do

Wednesday, March 26

Thursday, March 27

🪩 After being shut down for three years, The Barbary, the two-story dance bar in Fishtown, is officially reopening on March 27. Meet me on the dancefloor, Philly.

Free · Daily

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