Frame builder Éliane Trudeau brings greater visibility to the LGBTQ+ cycling community at the Philadelphia Bike Expo
PA moves to protect endangered insects p.4
Trump’s actions hit home p.30 Mobile pre-K helps close the achievement gap p.8
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Timothy Mulcahy tim@gridphilly.com
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Marilyn Anthony
Allison Beck
Tim Bennett
Bernard Brown
Gabriel Donahue
Constance Garcia-Barrio
Julia Lowe
Alex Mulcahy
Sandi Pierantozzi
Bryan Satalino
Faran Savitz
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Linette Messina
Somaira Valerio
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Bryan Satalino
published by Red Flag Media
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Speak Up
Grid is a monthly magazine, so we are not equipped to report news. Sure, we occasionally cover some stories as they happen, but mostly we stay away from breaking stories — especially national news. However, the dramatic changes at the federal level deserve at least some commentary.
I think just about every Trump-related story can fall into one of three buckets.
First is the consolidation of power. President Trump has systematically removed, or attempted to remove, every mechanism our government has to prevent autocratic rule. If he has his way, which is a very distinct possibility, his power will be unchecked and without balance. The Great Experiment of a government based on democratic principles is on the ropes.
Trump has scared corporations into “anticipatory obedience,” following laws that don’t yet exist but are known to be the person in power’s preference. It’s a term I first heard in a New York Times opinion piece by M Gessen, who, as a trans person from Russia who saw Putin rise to power, provides indispensable insight. Gessen writes that Trump has successfully scared the majority (but not all) corporate, nonprofit and political leaders into silence, hoping that if they don’t voice disapproval they will be rewarded, or at least spared.
Gessen notes that those who silently acquiesced to Putin were forced from the homeland anyway. Gessen believes that if an entity is already in Trump’s sights, such as PBS, they will not be spared regardless of what they do.
Second, Trump has been able to make this power grab, to usurp congressional power, by striking a nerve with straight, white America by targeting — and vilifying — DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) efforts.
The most frequently used argument against DEI is that we should live in a meritocracy, that when hiring it shouldn’t matter
correction: A quote in the February story “Root Causes: urban agriculture continues to suffer from lack of land security,” was wrongly attributed to Sari Bernstein.
the color of one’s skin or their orientation or their physical capabilities, that the most qualified person should always get the job. That sounds logical enough until you look at history and the world around us.
The reason these measures were implemented in the first place is to address the deep-seated biases we have in our culture. Prior to affirmative action (which was struck down for college admissions by the Supreme Court in 2023), prior to DEI, the outcomes in hiring were not the results of a meritocracy. They were the results of a white patriarchy.
If there are no rules in place to try to counter our prejudices, then we will return to the monochromatic, male-dominated workforce exemplified by the TV show “Mad Men.” People who have physical disabilities will be bypassed because it’s less convenient for an employer. Women will continue to struggle to land leadership positions. Sexual minorities will be vulnerable, and trans people will not feel welcome anywhere.
(It was a small relief for me to write about the Philly Bike Expo’s diversity and inclusion scholarship. It started in 2019 and continues to empower people who are trying to carve out a niche and feel at home in the biking community.)
The third bucket is what Trump will do with this power, and you can place Gabriel Donahue’s reporting about EV infrastructure, the Philly Tree Plan and the Schuylkill River Trail, among other programs, in that category. It is devastating to see modest efforts at addressing critical issues stifled or eliminated.
There isn’t just a retreat from addressing social justice and climate change, the two most important issues of our time; there is an outright attack on them. Now we need to save our democracy, too. It’s time for all of us, and for those in power who represent us, to raise our voices.
The Bees’ Needs
No Pennsylvania agency currently protects endangered insects and other terrestrial invertebrates. New legislation would fix the regulatory gap by bernard
brown
There aren’t as many American bumble bees (Bombus pensylvanicus) as there used to be in the state the insect is named after. The big black and yellow bees are in decline, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature rating the species as vulnerable. Although the American bumble bee might need protection in Pennsylvania, there is currently no government agency able to coordinate its conservation, or that of any other land-dwelling invertebrate (animal without a backbone).
The American bumble bee isn’t the first bee to find itself in trouble. Through most of the 20th century the rusty patched bumble bee was common throughout the Northeast and Midwest. But then its populations went into a tailspin, leaving only a few hanging on in small patches of its former range. In 2012 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared that the bee was at risk of extinction, and it was listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Getting listed under the ESA is kind of like gaining membership in an exclusive club with benefits that other — less threatened — plants and animals can only dream of. It is suddenly illegal to possess or kill listees. Their habitat is protected, and government and private foundation dollars earmarked for extinction prevention fuel research into the ecology and needs of species that previously flew under the radar.
All of this can also happen at the state level for species at risk of local extinction (extirpation), even before their survival is endangered nationally. For example, the Allegheny woodrat is endangered in Pennsylvania, though not yet nationally. The same is true for dozens of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and aquatic invertebrates.
Having a state agency involved can also help coordinate the intervention for federally-listed species such as the bog turtle or the northern riffleshell mussel. State-level pro-
tection is not available, however, for bumble bees and other invertebrates that live on land. “It’s a regulatory gap,” says Rosemary Malfi, policy director at the Xerces Society, a nonprofit devoted to invertebrate conservation. That omission will be corrected if legislation introduced by Chester County State Representative Chris Pielli becomes law. House Bill 441 would task the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)
with conserving and protecting Pennsylvania’s “wild native terrestrial invertebrates.” DCNR would also be required to investigate the status of these invertebrates to determine whether they need protection.
Rep. Pielli’s interest was first piqued at an Insect Extravaganza held at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in 2023 to showcase the conservation needs of insects and other invertebrates. He walked away with a copy of “Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse” by Dave Goulson. “I read it, and I was just floored regarding what can only be called an insect apocalypse,” Pielli says. He was also impressed by the importance of the often-ignored critters. “They play a vital role in our ecosystem: pollinating crops, recycling dead animals and waste and main-
Currently no Pennsylvania agency looks out for the rusty patched bumblebee and other endangered insects.
taining soil. They are a source of food for fish, birds, frogs and more, and then there’s the unknown. We don’t fully know the benefit of these millions of types of insects.”
In Pennsylvania three separate agencies manage protections for at-risk species depending on where they sit on the tree of life. The Pennsylvania Game Commission looks out for mammals and birds. DCNR covers plants, and the Fish and Boat Commission handles amphibians, reptiles, fish and aquatic invertebrates.
Malfi and Pielli noted that with no agency taking action to help endangered insects, Pennsylvania is missing out on federal funds that support endangered species conservation, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund.
The commonwealth is home to thousands of species of insects, spiders and other invertebrates. There are more than 2,400 documented species of butterflies and moths alone. As for bees, there are more than 450 species recorded in Pennsylvania according to Margarita M López-Uribe, associate professor of entomology at Penn State University. A few — such as honey bees, carpenter bees and the commonwealth’s 18 bumble bee species — are big and attractive enough to garner public attention, but the majority are tiny bees that, in spite of their ecological significance, escape notice, such as the 110 species of sweat bees. López-Uribe oversees the Pennsylvania Bee Monitoring Program, which collects information from trained volunteers. “In three years we’ve increased our knowledge of bee distribution, non-native species coming into the state, and species we’re not seeing as much of.”
Introducing the bill in the Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee of the State House is just the first step of what Rep. Pielli, a Democrat, calls “sort of a long and arduous path.” If the committee voted to move the legislation to the overall State House for a vote there and it passed, an analogous process would then need to take place in the State Senate. “I know that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle aren’t perceived as great proponents of environmental bills like this, but truly in my opinion it is a bipartisan issue,” Pielli says, pointing to the benefits of pollinators to ag-
We don’t fully know the benefit of these millions of types of insects.”
chris pielli PA State Representative
riculture across Pennsylvania.
López-Uribe is reluctant to say what species she thinks ought to be protected if the bill becomes law. There is simply too little known about the vast majority of them to draw conclusions about population trends.
A few common species, though, do seem to be growing more scarce, such as the bicolored striped sweat bee. “Even in my 25 years as a scientist, it used to be abundant, but it seems to be becoming less abundant.”
No one is absolutely sure what devastated rusty patched bumble bees, but disease transmitted to the wild bees from commercially-raised bumble bees of other species used to pollinate tomatoes and other greenhouse crops is the lead contender, followed by habitat destruction and insecticide use. No one is sure what’s killing American bumble bees either, but in 2021 the Fish and Wildlife Service declared that it would review the insect’s status, an initial step towards listing it as endangered.
If HB 441 becomes law, Pennsylvania could join the effort to protect the American bumble bee and other similarly threatened animals. “When a state has authority and someone clearly in charge of taking care of vulnerable invertebrates,” Malfi says, “the goal is keeping those species off the federal endangered species list. State agencies are the first line of defense.” ◆
State Representative Chris Pielli hopes Pennsylvania can be part of the effort to save invertebrates such as the American bumblebee, which is declining in population.
The Dirt on Composting
New York, Boston and D.C. are doing it — it’s time for Philly to offer scalable solutions for food waste disposal by
tim bennett
Istarted Bennett Compost 16 years ago with the goal of making composting easy and accessible for Philadelphians. From the moment we started, people asked, “When do you think Philly will offer composting to every household like trash and recycling?” I used to say, “Ten years at the earliest.” Sixteen years later, my answer hasn’t changed.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Composting has been happening in West Coast cities like San Francisco and Seattle for 20 years, and East Coast cities like New York, Boston and Washington, D.C., have launched citywide drop-off programs, large-scale pilots or fullscale curbside programs in the last decade.
So, Philly, what gives?
Cities often start composting initiatives with public drop-off programs. These programs allow residents to bring food waste to a location and drop it off to be composted — at no cost. This allows cities to build awareness of and interest in composting without the complexities and expense of launching curbside pickup programs. Programs can be run by the City or by outside vendors. Regardless of who runs the drop-off programs, Philly would need to contract with an outside vendor to compost the material as it doesn’t have its own infrastructure to do so. Philadelphia currently has two dropoff sites open to the public. One, at Liberty Lands, is part of the Community Compost Network and is volunteer-run and open one hour per week for drop-offs. The other is operated by the New Kensington Community Development Corporation (in partnership with Bennett Compost) and is open for drop-off 72 hours per week.
So how could the City meaningfully expand its compost drop-off efforts? Philly operates six sanitation convenience centers that accept items best diverted from the regular trash stream (think paint, electronic waste, tires) and yard waste. The latter is composted at the Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center. The City could add food
waste collection containers to these centers and contract with outside vendors for collection and composting. These sites are staffed 60 hours per week (including Saturdays), providing residents flexible opportunities to drop off material. Temporary additional staffing would be needed for outreach and education for the first year — someone needs to drive home the message that if food waste is contaminated with non-compostable materials, the system will break down — but after that the programs could be run by existing City staff.
Philadelphia could also set up drop-off sites at City-operated facilities like rec centers and libraries. These sites are located throughout the city and, like the sanitation centers, could be operated without additional staffing after the first year. When, in 2021, WHYY mistakenly announced imminent implementation of such a system, the story generated great enthusiasm. Res-
idents want this.
A Philadelphia drop-off program could collect as much as 2.5 million pounds of food waste annually at a cost of less than $500,000 per year. This is a fraction of what Philadelphia is currently spending for clean and green initiatives. Additionally, drop-off programs both provide an outlet for residents who want to compost but can’t afford private services and increase overall awareness of composting.
Philadelphia is falling behind on responsible disposal of food waste. Over the next few months, I will lay out additional ways to start catching up. Bennett Compost has been keeping food waste out of landfills for the last 16 years — 4,000,000 pounds last year alone, so we know what works. Let’s do this! ◆
tim bennett is the founder of Bennett Compost. Alex Mulcahy, publisher of Grid, is also a partner.
Mégane Simões helps run the community compost site at Liberty Lands, one of the few free composting options in the city.
Out of the Bag
Efforts to ban plastic bags in the Philly region are working — and gaining momentum
We’ve all had the frustrating experience of seeing a plastic bag caught in a tree or a plastic bottle lying in the gutter. We’ve seen the jarring images of seabirds caught in six-pack rings or turtles with straws up their noses.
Sadly, these images shouldn’t be surprising. Over 35 million tons of plastic waste is discarded every year in the United States, but less than 6% gets recycled. Almost all of the plastic we use ends up in a landfill, burned in an incinerator or — worse — littered directly in our environment.
Last month, Montgomery County’s Abington Township passed a ban on single-use plastic bags and polystyrene foam plates, cups and containers. Abington is the first Pennsylvania municipality to pass a plastic bag ban in 2025, and, excitingly, the Keystone State has reached a tipping point: 20% of the state’s residents now live where a ban on plastic bags is in place. That’s incredible progress, especially considering
by faran savitz, PennEnvironment
that just five years ago the state legislature attempted to make it illegal for Pennsylvania’s municipalities to ban plastic bags.
Pennsylvania’s c ities and towns passing bans on single-use plastics is a critical step in the effort to address our growing waste problem, which is why plastic bag and polystyrene bans like the one passed in Abington are so important. If we can cut out unnecessary single-use plastics, then we can help protect our environment, our communities and our health. Nothing we use for just a few minutes should be allowed to pollute our planet for hundreds of years.
Since Narberth Borough, Montgomery County, passed Pennsylvania’s first law tackling single-use plastic pollution in 2018, many other communities have taken action. There are now more than three dozen of these local laws across Pennsylvania, with most of them passed in the Delaware Valley. PennEnvironment estimates that, when enacted and enforced, these bag bans could eliminate more than 950 million single-use
If we can cut out unnecessary singleuse plastics, then we can help protect our environment, our communities and our health.
plastic bags every year. That’s over 5,200 tons of plastic waste that won’t end up polluting our environment.
At the same time, evidence is growing that these laws work. A study on Philadelphia’s bag ban by researchers at Swarthmore College and the University of Pittsburgh found that plastic bag use at grocery stores decreased by over 90% in its first year. And in Pittsburgh, a PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center study found that over 80% of businesses surveyed were complying with its plastic bag ban. Just last year, a report by Frontier Group, Environment America and Public Interest Research Group looking at plastic bag bans across the country, including in Philadelphia and New Jersey, found that well-designed laws can eliminate on average 300 plastic bags per person and cut plastic bag litter by over one third.
It’s time for Pennsylvania to address its waste problem once and for all. The Keystone State produces more plastic than almost any other state in the country. As we’ve seen in the dozens of Pennsylvania towns that have passed plastic bag bans already, we can make a concrete impact. To keep the momentum going, more communities should follow the lead of places like Abington and Philly and pass their own local bans on single-use plastics. ◆
If you live in the Delaware Valley and want to know if your municipality has passed a ban on plastic bags, check out PennEnvironment ’s map of local action. If you’d like to work with PennEnvironment to try to get a plastic bag ban implemented in your municipality, email info@pennenvironment org
The Wheels on the School
A mobile pre-K classroom delivers critical learning to underresourced youngsters by constance garcia-barrio
Ahalf dozen three- and fouryear- olds wave “adios!” to their moms and younger siblings, then pile into the little bus, “el Busesito,” parked on a street corner in Frankford. Inside the 24-foot van, repurposed as a mobile preschool classroom, the Spanish-speaking children grab puzzles, blocks, stuffed animals, papers and crayons and settle on a rug patterned with trees and animals in vibrant colors.
Begun in 2023 by Xiente, a North Philly grassroots nonprofit, the Busesito is an outgrowth of the bilingual preschool programs at Xiente’s Escuelita (little school), formerly the Children’s Center. The school’s curricu-
lum has earned four stars — the highest rating — from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, but it serves only certain zip codes. The Busesito, modeled after a program for lower-income Spanish-speaking families in Colorado, allows Xiente to cast a wider net of early learning.
“The Busesito gets children ready for kindergarten,” says Sarah Clemency, the lead teacher, program coordinator and bus driver, explaining that there’s often a gap between what children from low-income areas know and what’s expected of them in kindergarten. “Many children are behind before they even start school,” Clemency says.
A study by the American Academy of
Pediatrics confirms Clemency’s view. It followed some 46,000 children born between 2000 and 2009 to age 7 and found that children born in poverty were less likely to be ready for kindergarten than those from wealthier households. Likewise, researcher Cynthia E. Lamy, a developmental and educational psychologist with the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, has concluded that good preschool programs can not only offset the effects of poverty but increase the likelihood of children finishing high school and earning higher salaries.
The Busesito, coupled with social services to participants’ caregivers, holds promise for lifting families out of poverty.
At the Busesito, the day begins with free play that segues into helping children recognize the sounds of letters in the alphabet. During a lesson on the letter “o,” children point to it on the alphabet chart then draw it on the smartboard at the back of the Busesito. Clemency shows a picture of an owl and then an otter, with the “o” bold-faced in each case,
Sarah Clemency guides preschoolers in early learning on the Busesito, a mobile classroom.
and follows up with a short video about an octopus. Narrated by a marine biologist, it folds science into the lesson. A craft activity involves making an octopus out of stiff paper with pipe cleaners as tentacles.
Besides pre-reading skills, the curriculum covers numbers, shapes, sizes and colors.
Children attend the Busesito twice a week for 2.5 hours for six months. Clemency and assistant teacher Ashley Alicea give two sessions a day, Monday through Thursday. The program has served 25 young people since it began.
When a cohort starts the program, Clemency and Alicea present material in Spanish. Over time, they use more English, since that’s the language used in school. Occasionally English-speaking kids attend the Busesito, but, given young children’s linguistic flexibility, instruction and play in Spanish present no problem.
Children take the Bracken School Readiness Assessment at the beginning and end of the program to measure their progress. For example, kids in the spring 2024 cohort showed an overall improvement of 33% in numbers and counting, Clemency says.
The Busesito is free for families, friends and neighbors (FFNs) caring for children from three to five years old. That includes grandparents, aunties and neighborhood babysitters.
Parents seem pleased with their children’s progress.
“My child comes to have fun, and to learn and to be sociable with other children,” says Priscilla Zhinin, mother of three-year-old Romaina.
“My son is very intelligent,” says Maria Padilla, mother of three-year-old Mateo. “He is learning a lot. He needs to spend time away from me so that he won’t be upset when he starts school.”
Besides early academics, the Busesito fosters social-emotional learning, Clemency says. There’s really nowhere to hide, but at the beginning of one 2023 cohort, a little girl would crouch down and make herself small when she was unhappy, according to Clemency. “At the end of six months, she could explain why she was upset instead of trying to hide,” Clemency says. Clemency and Alicea may also notice emotional vulnerabilities in children and suggest early intervention to parents, giving them appropriate referrals.
Clemency encourages FFNs to see themselves as teachers and to share their knowledge — and vocabulary — about everyday activities with the children. Clemency sends out a weekly newsletter to caregivers with tips on how to introduce topics to children
or review material covered during the week. In addition, the program provides books and school supplies for caregivers of Busesito students. When the course ends, FFNs get guidance about other pre-K or kindergarten programs, depending on the child’s age.
The Busesito has no bathrooms, so it partners with host sites that allow children access to their facilities. Equally important, parents of children attending the Busesito may receive services through the centers. They can take economic mobility classes, consult an economic mobility counselor and get healthcare referrals, housing assistance and job placement.
“Our workforce development emphasizes digital literacy and mastery of English,” says Windy Rodriguez, program director of Catholic Social Services at the Cenacle at Padre Pio. The Cenacle also has parenting classes, a food pantry, children’s clothing and other supports for families. In addition, the Cenacle holds events, such as baby showers, to create a network of parents.
The intergenerational approach can both boost parents’ earnings and bolster children’s academic gains, according to a 2011 article in Developmental Psychology, a journal published by the American Psychological Association. It suggests that “a $1,000 increase in annual income increases young children’s achievement by 5%–6% of a standard deviation.”
Children who complete the Busesito course and parents who take part in the economic mobility classes receive diplomas.
“The way [the children] are proud of themselves and get excited to learn is a joy to see,” says Clemency. “I also love that the Busesito is a two-generational program,” she adds, noting that it can travel anywhere in Philadelphia.
My child comes to have fun, and to learn and to be sociable with other children.”
priscilla zhinin parent
Clemency has faced hurdles, however. “Finding places to partner with us has been a challenge,” she says. Xiente and the Busesito would like to collaborate with churches, museums, libraries and other nonprofits.
The William Penn Foundation and Vanguard have funded the Busesito, but the program welcomes both additional institutional funders and individual donations. ◆
To learn more about the Busesito or to donate, call 215-426-8734 or visit xiente org
The Year of the Cake
Inspired by a scrumptious Sicilian torte, Philly ceramic artist takes on a new baking challenge by marilyn anthony
What became “The Year of the Cake” starte d innocently enough. In October 2023, Sandi Pierantozzi and her husband, Neil Patterson, ordered a slice of pistachio torte from a bakery in Sicily. It was love at first bite. The couple returned to the shop each of the five days they spent in Taormina, always savoring the torte and other freshly-baked pastries featuring pistachios harvested from the shop owner’s family farm. Pierantozzi set herself the challenge of replicating that beautiful, nut-studded, not-too-sweet cake back
home in their Fairmount kitchen.
Baking was not entirely new to Pierantozzi. Growing up in South Philly, she had baked bread and focaccia with her mother. She remembers that her mom always had a homemade cake on hand, housed on a glass cake stand protected from snacking children by a metal dome. But cake baking was not Pierantozzi’s thing. She has perfected countless variations of biscotti, Christmas pizzelles and an annual carrot cake for her husband’s birthday. Making 2024 “The Year of the Cake” has sent her on an exciting new baking adventure.
Thirty-eight cakes into her challenge, Pierantozzi happily recalls some of what cake baking has taught her. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment. She did buy various baking pans, but the electric mixer she purchased she later returned. “I’d rather cream the butter and sugar by hand,” she says. Once you understand the basic chemistry of baking, you don’t have to follow a recipe religiously. After trying assorted pistachio torte recipes she just kept “upping the amount of pistachios” until her husband announced that her torte was better than the original. Making a yearlong project out of cake baking proved to be wholly engaging. “I liked the continuity of working on figuring it out,” Pierantozzi says. “Taking notes, experimenting and enjoying the process.”
As a ceramic artist, Pierantozzi recognizes some similarities between making pot-
Sandi Pierantozzi’s pistachio torte was inspired by a slice of heaven found in Sicily.
tery and baking. “When I make pottery I’m there in all the tenses: everything I learned in the past is there, I’m very aware of what I’m doing in the moment, and I’m thinking about what I might change in the future.” Cake baking offers the same rewards, except you can eat the result.
The baker’s most surprising discovery, though, was how much people love being given cake. Despite a steady supply of cake at home, Pierantozzi maintained her trim physique. The secret was keeping only a few slices and gifting the rest to neighbors,
friends and anyone who looked like they could use some cheering up.
Pierantozzi became something of a cake evangelist even before a friend gave her Rose Levy Beranbaum’s cookbook, “ The Cake Bible.” Feeling down? “Make a cake and give it away,” she says. “It’s even more enjoyable than eating it yourself.” And if scratch baking seems daunting, she suggests starting with a box of cake mix. “The world needs all the sweetness it can get right now,” Pierantozzi says. And a cake — no matter how simple — will bring joy. ◆
PISTACHIO TORTE
by sandi pierantozzi
2 cups shelled pistachio nuts (I use roasted and salted pistachios, but you can use raw.)
4 ounces (1 stick) soft, unsalted butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
4 eggs
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Put a circle of baking parchment on the bottom of the pan. Butter and flour the pan.
• Grind shelled pistachio nuts in a food processor as fine as you can without making butter. Save a couple of tablespoons for decoration.
• Cream butter and sugar together into a large bowl. Whisk until creamy.
• Add ground pistachio nuts and mix well.
• Separate eggs — make sure your hands are clean!
• Mix yolks with pistachio mixture.
• Beat egg whites until stiff.
• Add the egg whites to the pistachio mix, a little at a time, folding gently with a spatula until well blended.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan. Do not smooth over; doing so will release air from the egg whites. Tip pan gently to cover bottom.
• Bake for 40 to 50 minutes in the center of the oven until the torte has risen and is slightly golden.
• Use a skewer to test. The skewer should come out clean when the torte is done.
• Cool cake in pan and then release.
• To decorate, sprinkle the reserved pistachio nuts over the torte. (I usually spread a thin layer of Pistacchiosa — a sweet, creamy pistachio paste from Italy — and then decorate with shaved or chopped chocolate and the ground pistachio nuts.)
Pierantozzi and her husband Neil Patterson own ceramic studio Neighborhood Potters in Fairmount.
If the Shoe
Fits, Fix It
Philadelphia-based startup brings the cobbler industry into the 21st century by
julia lowe
For philadelphia startup Coblr, reducing consumption is more than just the latest social media trend: empowering consumers to repair rather than buy new is their entire mission.
Cofounded by Emily Watts and Leslie Bateman in 2023, Coblr’s online store offers mail-in repair services for a variety of footwear and leather goods.
Watts and Bateman, who is based in Boston, met in 2022 and bonded over a shared love of repair. As frequent secondhand shoppers and cobbler patrons, they grew frustrated by a decline in options and accessibility in the repair industry.
“It’s hard to find repair people, not just shoe repair, but tailors and specialty artisans,” says Watts. “And then, once you do,
it’s an industry that has been untouched by technology.”
With their experience at technology startups — Watts was the COO of employee scheduling app Sling until it was acquired by Toast, while Bateman spent a few years at Uber — the pair brought Bateman’s “crazy idea” to start an online repair business to life. After securing a partnership with a cobbler in Boston, they launched coblrshop.com. Now headquartered in Philadelphia, the business was named “Most Innovative Fashion & Apparel Reuse Company” at the 2024 Reusies
Here’s how Coblrshop works: first, submit a repair order on the website. There are à la carte options — boots, dress shoes, heels — for common repairs, but most customers request a custom quote. A few days later, you’ll receive a prepaid shipping box. Once you
It’s hard to find repair people, not just shoe repair, but tailors and specialty artisans.” emily watts, Coblr
send off your shoes, Coblrshop matches them with a cobbler; they’re repaired and shipped back to you in approximately two weeks.
When consumers are choosing between repairing shoes and ditching them for a new pair, Watts hopes that Coblrshop encourages them to think about cost-per-wear instead of the initial price tag.
“The goal is to make repair mainstream again, and in many cases, the first choice over buying new,” says Watts.
Watts and Bateman didn’t stop with the repair business. In August 2024 they launched a business-oriented product, CoblrOS, for repair artisans and their operations.
“After a few months, we realized the opportunity here is in technology, and the pain points were still true,” says Watts.
Many cobblers and other repair businesses rely on outdated systems, or even solely on pen and paper. Watts and Bateman stepped in to build a platform to allow the repair artisans themselves to connect with the customers and brands they serve.
Both the repair shop and software sides of the business are aimed at growing the circular economy. And Watts wants to build their partnerships on both sides by connecting with local artisans and brands in Philadelphia.
“The future of circularity is local. It’s not sending things thousands of miles [away],” says Watts. “We want to keep that business as local as possible.”
With their widening network of brand and artisan partnerships, Watts hopes Coblr will help propel growth in Philly’s repair economy — and the city’s circular economy as a whole.
“This is an industry that needs some love,” says Watts. “If we can attract more people into repair and revive it, that would be amazing.” ◆
the transportation issue
FORWARD MOTION
Are we in drive or reverse? The truth is that sustainable technologies are nothing new. ¶ The chain-driven safety bicycle (safer than the precarious penny-farthing) grew popular in the late 1800s. ¶ Electric cars date back to the mid-1800s, and Philadelphia entered the EV history books towards the end of that century, when locals Henry G. Morris and Pedro G. Salom debuted their Electrobat, a battery-driven carriage intended to compete with horse-drawn taxis. The Electric Vehicle Company, founded to produce the electric taxis, had a good run before going out of business in 1907 thanks to lawsuits, poor business decisions and the success of fossil fuel cars. ¶ More than a century later, batteries are back in force, both for public fleets and private vehicle owners. ¶ The world desperately needs to leave internal combustion in the rearview mirror to avoid the worst global warming scenarios. We hope this transportation section gets you thinking about what we stand to gain, even as a retrograde administration does all it can to keep the country in the past, or at least in the president’s idea of it.
THE LONG JOURNEY TO ZERO EMISSIONS
SEPTA’S EFFORTS ARE CONTINUING WITH PLANNED DEPLOYMENT OF HYDROGEN- AND ELECTRIC-POWERED BUSES. INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT TURBULENCE COULD DISRUPT THEM AGAIN [ story by allison beck ]
Nearly two decades ago, in 2006, SEPTA bought its very first hybrid bus with hopes of eventually transitioning the region’s public transit system to clean energy.
The agency attempted to go all-electric in 2016, when its board approved the purchase of 25 electric buses from Proterra, one of the largest electric bus manufacturers at the time. Despite the roughly $25 million price tag, the vehicles were taken out of service after just three years because of performance issues and cracks in their frames.
Then, in 2020, one of the buses — one of many Proterra vehicles that had a fatal radiator software malfunction — caught on fire while sitting in SEPTA’s southern depot. Although no one was injured, it would be
years before the agency deployed another all-electric bus.
After the incident, SEPTA changed its strategy and ordered 220 diesel-electric hybrid buses. The switch, while only reducing emissions by 30%, made Philly’s transit system one of the cleanest in the nation.
SEPTA retired its last all-diesel bus in 2024, but officials have their sights set on an even higher target: eliminating emissions by 2040. As part of that effort, the agency is set to test new bus technology once again.
Are we there yet?
Despite the agency’s research and planning, its annual emissions are the highest they’ve been since 2018, with an estimated 644 million pounds of carbon dioxide released into
the atmosphere last year.
Diesel still leads energy consumption at SEPTA, too, accounting for over 40% of total use as of July 2023. While public transit is still far less harmful to the environment than car travel, these numbers are out of alignment with the agency’s targets, which require lowering its carbon footprint every year.
SEPTA’s Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Program was created to do just that.
The program lays out a plan for piloting 10 battery electric and 10 hydrogen fuel cell buses. They will be deployed across SEPTA’s service area and evaluated for performance and cost-effectiveness.
“There’s not a lot of good information out there in that space,” says Emily Yates, SEPTA’s chief innovation officer. “There’s all of these things being touted, but not the data behind it, which is why I’m really happy that we agreed at SEPTA to not just take their word for it, but really run it through the rigors of operating in the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties and really getting our own data around things that impact us.”
Yates says that Philadelphians can expect to see the hydrogen buses around the city in the coming months. While they look almost the same as the rest of the agency’s fleet, SEPTA collaborated with mixed me-
Hydrogen to power buses can be a clean fuel, depending on how it is produced.
dia and street artist Amberella to create stickers with her iconic heart art, touting the vehicles’ benefits with a Philly twist.
SEPTA is still in the process of procuring the battery electric buses.
What about the trolleys?
Some city residents think SEPTA should take a different approach.
“It does feel like they’ve gone backwards overall,” says Justin Roczniak, a West Philadelphia civil engineer and self-described transit enthusiast who hosts the popular podcast “Well, There’s Your Problem.”
“The big one that really pissed me off is the process of taking down the trolley bus wires for the promise of battery buses, then the battery buses never really materialized,” he says.
Roczniak and other sources who declined to speak on the record reference Dayton, Ohio’s decision to expand electric trolley bus routes as that city pursues lower emissions as one key example in support of their pro-trolley argument.
According to SEPTA officials, however, Philadelphia’s situation isn’t so simple.
“It is a lot to maintain that infrastructure and it’s a lot to maintain the trolley buses,”
Diesel exhaust contains more than 40 known cancercausing organic substances, making it responsible for about 70 percent of cancer risk related to air toxins.”
ERIN JOHNSON, public health nurse
Yates says. The more moving pieces there are — in this case, tracks, wires and the vehicles themselves — the more complicated (and expensive) keeping them running is.
Despite the higher price tag, Philly’s five trackless trolley routes are also set to go all-electric over the next 24 months, switching from an electric system with backup diesel power for periods where the trolleys are not connected to overhead power.
Health impacts
In addition to reducing the city’s carbon footprint, these efforts could also improve Philadelphia’s air quality. Data collected by the Clean Air Task Force, a Boston-based
environmental research and advocacy organization, shows that southeastern Pennsylvania and neighboring New Jersey have some of the worst diesel vehicle pollution in the nation.
“Diesel exhaust contains more than 40 known cancer-causing organic substances, making it responsible for about 70 percent of cancer risk related to air toxins,” says Erin Johnson, a public health nurse, educator and organizer with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
That exhaust typically contains a number of harmful chemical compounds, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, ammonia and volatile organic compounds.
Hydrogen fuel cell buses are one solution SEPTA is piloting in its drive for a zero emissions future.
“Residents living near ports, warehouses and busy roads are exposed to such high rates of heavy-duty vehicle pollution that physicians have labeled these areas ‘diesel death zones’ — because asthma rates and cancer risks are so drastically elevated,” Johnson says.
While it’s difficult to attribute health issues to a sole environmental cause, Philadelphia does see higher rates of the very conditions that air pollution exacerbates. That includes asthma, cancer and COPD.
Switching to low- or zero-emission buses would likely help improve Philly’s air pollution problem and residents’ health. But advocates and researchers say that the reality isn’t so simple.
Hydrogen and electric power are typically considered green energy, since they produce lower emissions than fuels like gasoline or diesel. How that power is produced plays a significant role in how clean it actually is, however.
“If you live near hydrogen production involving methane, whether that be fracked gas or gas from a landfill or sewage, your health is going to be sacrificed for those buses,” says Linnea Bond, a health educator and campaign coordinator with Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania.
Bond added that relying on methane could be dangerous, too. Even if precautions are taken, particles escape into the atmosphere during production and transportation — and those particles have 80 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide.
SEPTA’s website about the Zero Emission Bus plan states that the hydrogen it purchases from Plug Power is cu rrently made from at least 6% renewable sources, matching the state’s electrical grid. The website claims that once Plug’s new plant in Rochester, New York, is completed, it will supply the city with 100% green hydrogen.
The new plant is currently stalled, though, because of conflicts over nearby tribal land.
SEPTA officials also say that they plan to source hydrogen from the planned Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub, a project proposed by the Biden administration. Its status under the Trump administration is unclear.
Financial factors
While green hydrogen — which is made from water and a renewable electric source
— avoids greenhouse gases, Bond says producing it is expensive and energy intensive.
“In terms of efficiency, we should reserve green hydrogen for only our hardest-to-decarbonize industries, like agriculture, not transportation, which is far easier to decarbonize through electrification,” Bond says.
The price of fuel is just one of the budget items complicating the transition process.
Current estimates indicate that between the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, fuel spending will decrease just 5%, in part thanks to the agency’s sustainability initiatives. There are other factors at play, however, including new purchasing strategies and lower service levels.
Electric and hydrogen buses are priced two to three times higher than diesel or hybrid ones, adding to the total cost. And that doesn’t include building infrastructure for refueling or take things like supply chain shortages, tariffs or Trump administration-related funding changes into account.
A new partnership with the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business will help SEPTA better understand the full financial impact of both the battery-electric and hydrogen-powered buses, Yates says, again referring to the lack of relevant data available surrounding use.
Converting SEPTA’s hybrid bus fleet to electric is another option on the table. While an official deal has not been signed, Yates says that the agency plans to partner with Pepper Motion, a German company with plans to establish their United States headquarters in Philadelphia.
The agency’s recent budgetary crisis may also play a role in the future of its green transition.
Just last year, the agency declared that it was about to enter a financial “death spiral” that would lead to significant fare increases and service cuts. An eleventh-hour, $153 million bailout from Governor Josh Shapiro kept the price hike at bay — at least for now.
“I think there’s just a lot of unknowns and instability globally,” Yates says. “We’re planning for the worst case, and we’re planning for the best case — and everything in between.”
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SEPTA GOES ELECTRIC
WRITTEN + ILLUSTRATED BY BRYAN SATALINO
last year, SEPTA officially retired its last diesel-powered bus, evidence of a long-term commitment to sustainability. Currently, all of SEPTA’s 1,400-strong fleet consists of diesel-electric hybrid buses, which have lower emissions than their diesel counterparts. This year, SEPTA has ordered 10 new buses with hydrogen fuel cell drivetrains (FCEBs) as part of a pilot program investing in full electrification and zero emission buses. Next year SEPTA will start testing battery electric buses (BEBs), which operate using large lithium ion batteries similar to the consumer EVs seen in increasing numbers. So how do these two newer technologies stack up compared to traditional diesel and diesel hybrids? And, how might they stack up against each other?
• Currently limited availability of “green” hydrogen fuel
• Creating hydrogen is energy and water intensive
Battery Electric Buses
PROS (compared to diesel hybrids):
• Silent operation
• Zero direct emissions
• Simpler transmission system
• Diesel hybrid buses can be retrofitted with batteries
CONS (compared to diesel hybrids):
• Reduced efficiency during cold weather
• Battery range limitations
• Slower fueling (charging) time
• Much of SEPTA’s electricity is produced from fossil fuels
Batteries
Batteries
DUMPING DIESEL
MUNICIPAL VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION GETS ROLLING BUT IS NOT YET AT FULL SPEED [ story by allison beck ]
As climate change caused flooding and extreme heat in the region and elsewhere, Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration set its sights on reducing Philly’s emissions.
Before the pandemic, the City of Philadelphia operated a fleet of approximately 5,500 vehicles — everything from sedans and SUVs to street sweepers and garbage trucks. These spewed over 50,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually.
Based on estimations by Ask MIT Climate, that amount of CO2 is roughly equivalent to the yearly emissions of 3,333 Americans.
Then, in 2021, the City released its first plan to electrify its light- and medium-duty fleet over the course of the following decade. If every benchmark were hit, its vehicle operation-related emissions would drop by 42.7%.
There are now 300 light-duty electric vehicles in use in the City’s departments, up from just 34 when the transition was first announced. That translates into an es-
timated 670 tons of carbon dioxide saved. But, while these reductions are on track to meet the 2030 goals, they represent only a little over 1% of the City’s total.
Rather than purchasing a new fleet all at once, the City is taking a more gradual approach, phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles. As these vehicles age and break down, they are replaced with electric alternatives.
Savings, costs, concerns
The electrification process will benefit the City’s wallet in the long term. According to the 2021 plan, the overall savings from this effort would result in a 20% decrease in purchasing and operating costs. That would total over $12 million saved by 2030.
To keep up with the power demands of the increasingly electric fleet, however, Philly has to build out its charging infrastructure, which could cost anywhere from
Charlotte Shade, of Building Energy Programs, says the City is adopting EVs where possible, but isn’t yet ready to convert emergency vehicles.
$1.6 to $19.3 million, depending on the kinds of chargers and distribution chosen.
According to officials, the City has more than doubled the number of municipally-owned chargers since 2020, with 109 in operation as of April 2024. Two high-powered chargers were also installed at a municipal fleet hub in 2024, with more on the way in the coming year.
In addition, the City has an annual contract with EVgo, an EV charging company, for discounted charging rates. In their press release, the company boasted a “100% renewable-powered network” achieved through a combination of on-unit solar paneling and the purchase of renewable energy credits.
Where is the electricity used to charge municipal EVs coming from? As of 2022, over half of electricity in Pennsylvania came from natural gas, according to the U.S. Department of Energy
While natural gas produces lower carbon emissions than gasoline, diesel and coal, it is still a nonrenewable fossil fuel. Some groups have also expressed concerns about the danger of methane leaks from natural gas. According to t he Fifth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the gas is 34 times stronger than CO2 at trapping heat over a 100-year period and 86 times stronger over 20 years.
Departmental differences
Nearly half of the new EVs belong to the Department of Licenses and Inspections. While that department accounts for less than a quarter of all municipal vehicles, it led fuel use and emissions in 2023.
In contrast, no electric vehicles were attributed to the police department, which makes up 28% of City vehicles and over a quarter of the City’s vehicle-related greenhouse gas emissions and fuel use.
“The Fleet Department and the emergency departments have been hesitant because they want to make sure they can refuel as quickly as possible,” says Charlotte Shade, the program manager of the City’s Building Energy Programs and leader of the most recent Municipal Clean Fleet Plan Update The City’s initial plan indicated that emergency vehicles would have to be considered separately from other vehicles, given their role in public safety, but also noted that
When it comes to working with all of these different municipalities, seeing where people are — people are transitioning their police fleets, people are transitioning emergency vehicles like snow plows.”
RACHEL ALAND, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
“they too will eventually need to transition in order for the City to reach its climate goals.”
Vehicular challenges
Police cars aren’t the only vehicles causing concern as the switch to electric gets underway. Transitioning heavy vehicles, like garbage and fire trucks, is even more difficult than transitioning light-duty ones, according to the City. They have to be able to run nonstop, causing concerns about battery life, charging infrastructure and cost.
These worries haven’t stopped other cities, though. In 2021, Madison, Wisconsin, not only became the first North American city to purchase and use an electric fire truck but also migrated a fleet of other heavy-duty vehicles to use state-sourced biodiesel. Others, including Los Angeles, California; Portland, Oregon; Boulder, Colorado; and Gilbert, Arizona, have also made the switch. The trucks’ manufacturers, mainly Rosenbauer and Pierce, include diesel capacity in their trucks, allowing for greater flexibility.
“When it comes to working with all of these different municipalities, seeing where people are — people are transitioning their police fleets, people are transitioning emergency vehicles like snow plows,” says Rachel Aland, who leads the transportation team at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). “It really does run the gamut.”
According to the City’s 2024 report, the vast majority of heavy- and medium-duty vehicles — over 90% — still run on diesel fuel. Just 1.9% run on compressed natural gas, with little change expected anytime soon.
Political intrigue
Politics will likely also play a role in the future of Philly’s fleet electrification, as monetary incentives make the change far more affordable. Programs like the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant and Driving PA Forward offer hundreds of thousands of dollars to municipalities looking to make the switch. Many cities have reaped additional benefits through the Inflation Reduction Act.
November’s elections, however, have cast doubt on the future of these incentives. An executive order issued by President Donald Trump in February paused Inflation Reduction Act funding. City officials declined to comment on how the order will impact fleet electrification efforts.
With Republicans winning not only the White House but also the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Bob Casey and the races for Pennsylvania attorney general, auditor general and state treasurer, additional funding cuts and program elimination could be on the horizon. Philly could, for instance, be on the hook for millions of dollars’ worth of EV purchases, but that doesn’t mean the City should stop, ACEEE’s Aland says.
“It can pencil out without incentives. It depends on the vehicle and the duty cycle, how it’s being used,” she says. “The technology is there for a diverse array of vehicles. It’s not just about the light-duty fleet anymore.” ◆
REFRAMING
SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORTS
DIVERSITY IN THE BICYCLE CUSTOM FRAME INDUSTRY
[ story by alex mulcahy ]
Bina bilenky, the Philadelphia Bike Expo event director, believes deep down everyone is a cyclist. Since it launched in 2010, the expo has always taken an expansive view on who belongs in the cycling community. Are you a commuter who cycles a couple miles to work every day? A weekend fitness warrior training for your first 100-mile ride? A competitive cyclist seeking the latest innovations? A parent wishing for a leisurely ride with their children? All are welcome.
With 150 vendors, offering products like rain jackets tailored specifically for bike riding, a bell designed so that you can ring it without taking your hands off the brakes and saddles of all shapes and sizes, anyone attending is bound to find something to make their bike riding more pleasurable, comfortable and safer.
Despite the come-one, come-all ethos underlying the event, Bilenky couldn’t help but notice that the message was not reaching everyone. Their audience, like the biking community in general, was dominated by white men. This is the result of a bike culture that has been catering to this demographic since its inception.
A few years ago, Bilenky was discussing this reality with another woman in the industry when an idea was hatched to do something about the racial and gender disparity in custom frame building. The result, launched in 2019, is the PBE x SRAM Inclusivity Scholarships.
There are four scholarship winners every year, and each is provided with free materials and components — SRAM and Industry Nine provide the majority, with
some additional parts from Ritchey, Paragon and Columbus/Metal Guru. Two of the winners are partnered with an established frame builder for mentorship.
Brooklyn Fowler, technical marketing manager at SRAM, a bicycle and component
manufacturer that makes parts for road, gravel and mountain bikes, was a driving force in creating the scholarship program. “I was super excited when I first went to PBE in 2018. I remember looking at the attendees and wondering why these weren’t more di-
Gabriel Ortiz (left) is honing his bike building craft under the mentorship of Stephen Bilenky.
In Philly, the culture is different. It’s more inclusive, more diverse, more about the joy of riding than just the gear you own.”
GABRIEL ORTIZ
verse, and what we could do to help empower a wider cross section of people to show up.”
According to Bilenky, there are several hindrances that women, nonbinary and people of color face that might discourage them from frame building. First and foremost, there are financial barriers. Classes can be expensive, and building a bike requires access to tools, materials and a workspace. Second is the obstacle that’s hard to measure: the absence of role models who look like them, whom they might turn to as mentors.
At this year’s expo, which will be held March 8 and 9 at the Pennsylvania
Convention Center, Gabriel Ortiz and Éliane Trudeau, each a winner of the scholarship, will have a bike on display.
“We want to see the industry evolve,” says Bilenky. “The more perspectives we bring in, the more innovative and welcoming cycling will become.”
Gabriel Ortiz: Forging a New Path
In a small bike shop crammed with decades worth of bike parts, Ortiz is crafting his first bike frame. Located on North Second Street near Roosevelt Boulevard, the shop, Bilenky Cycle Works, is owned by the highly regarded frame builder, Philly Bike Expo founder (and father of Bina, the event director), Stephen
Bilenky, who is serving as Ortiz’s mentor. The location of the shop is a homecoming of sorts for Ortiz, who grew up just a few blocks away in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood.
Born to Puerto Rican parents who migrated to Philadelphia in the 1980s, he spent his childhood routinely pedaling long distances — like from Flourtown, where his family moved, to Conshohocken — just to meet up with friends. As a college student in Colorado, cycling became a way of life, providing not just transportation but a means of exploration and self-discovery.
His formal education, however, had little to do with bicycles. Ortiz pursued cultural anthropology with a minor in fashion design at Colorado State University, later earning a master’s degree in textile engineering from Philadelphia University. He spent years weaving fabric, designing apparel and working in outdoor gear manufacturing, but cycling remained a constant. Over time, he realized that the cycling world
— especially the elite, performance-driven sector — often excluded many people, particularly those from diverse backgrounds.
“I don’t fit the mold,” Ortiz says, reflecting on his time working at a bicycling magazine as a test editor. “Cycling is still very much a sport that is marketed toward a specific demographic — mostly white, mostly affluent. But in Philly, the culture is different. It’s more inclusive, more diverse, more about the joy of riding than just the gear you own.”
When Ortiz recognized that people like him were not being served, he began to develop a vision. He would like to establish a frame-building business in Puerto Rico, an
island rich in cycling culture but without a single custom frame builder. “There’s no infrastructure for it right now,” he says. “But that means there’s an opportunity to create something new.”
The plan is twofold: first, to create a business that handcrafts bikes for locals and visitors alike, and second, to develop Puerto Rico as a cycling destination. He imagines cycling tours to the island’s coffee farms, mountain trails and coastal roads, blending outdoor adventure with cultural immersion. “Puerto Rico is a cyclist’s dream,” he explains. “The weather, the terrain, the history — it has everything. But it hasn’t been marketed that way yet.”
Before that dream materializes, Ortiz is focused on finishing his first frame. The bike, which will debut at the 2025 Bike Expo, won’t be for personal use — he plans to donate it to a nonprofit. “For me, this whole journey is about access,” he says. “If I can help someone get on a bike, whether through building, repairing or just encouraging them to ride, that’s a success.”
Éliane Trudeau: Redefining Who Belongs
Like Ortiz, Éliane Trudeau never expected cycling to become the center of her life. What began as a practical means of commuting to college became a passion. She
Éliane Trudeau and Ronny Perez Jaramillo of Montreal’s Memento Cycles are breaking the mold of a white, cis-male-dominated industry. PHOTO
If people were used to seeing women and trans folks in workshops, this wouldn’t be shocking to them.”
ÉLIANE TRUDEAU
spent eight years as a bike messenger before undertaking a three month, 8,500-kilometer “bikepacking” journey across Canada with her friend — and future business partner — Ronny Perez Jaramillo. That experience laid the foundation for Memento Cycles, the Montreal-based bike fabrication business she cofounded.
Trudeau’s interest in frame building stemmed from necessity. As a courier, she relied on cargo bikes but found most models — which were usually European-made — to be too expensive. With an engineering degree under her belt, she and Jaramillo decided to design and fabricate their own. “We just had the idea to make cargo bikes in Montreal,” she recalls. “I called him and mentioned the
idea, and it just started rolling.”
Memento Cycles has quickly gained a following, particularly among couriers and adventure cyclists, and they have had a steady stream of orders for their bicycles. However, running a small, independent frame-building business comes with challenges — especially in an industry still dominated by men. “It’s getting better, but it’s still mostly white men in these spaces,” she says. “Representation matters, and that’s why programs like the Philadelphia Bike Expo Inclusivity Scholarship are important.”
After initially applying for the scholarship in 2023 and not being selected, Trudeau still attended the expo, where her pink, trans-themed bike won the People’s Choice
Award. Encouraged by event organizers to reapply, she did so in 2024 and was awarded the scholarship.
Trudeau sees herself not just as a frame builder, but as an advocate. “I wish I had seen people like me when I was younger,” she says. “It took me until I was 27 to realize I was trans, largely because I never saw positive representation.”
Her visibility, however, has come with backlash. After her success at the expo, she began receiving transphobic comments online, an experience that escalated when SRAM featured her in a short film. “It just shows why representation is important,” she says. “If people were used to seeing women and trans folks in workshops, this wouldn’t be shocking to them.”
Despite the challenges, Trudeau is expanding Memento Cycles and recently brought on a new partner, Aube — another trans woman. Their upcoming project, a hardtail mountain bike, will debut at the 2025 Bike Expo, furthering their goal of making cycling more accessible. ◆
NO CHARGE?
EV INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDOUT UNCERTAIN AS FEDERAL FUNDING FALTERS
[ story by gabriel donahue ]
Over the past year, Philadelphia has received over $21 million in federal funding to expand its electric vehicle charging network. EV ownership has boomed in the city — the number of registrations increased from 475 in 2018 to 5,870 in 2023, according to PennDOT — but there are too few charging stations to meet demand
Northwest Philadelphia resident Karen Kaminsky recently installed a curbside charger on her property for her Chevy Bolt. Before that, she relied on public charging stations and says she often had to wait in line in the middle of a parking lot for her turn.
“Just finding the time and the availability to charge was the biggest issue,” Kaminsky says, adding that her private charger is much more convenient and cost-effective.
With the help of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the City aims to install EV chargers in underserved neighborhoods, plus a charging hub at the Philadelphia International Airport. These plans are likely already under contract, according to a February 6 email from Zachary Appleby, PennDOT’s deputy communications director. The City also has plans to add 200 charging ports in City- and Philadelphia Parking Authority-owned lots.
Additionally, the legislation funds a training program for EV supplies and equipment workers called Plug In Philly, a partnership between the City and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 to expand the industry’s clean jobs workforce.
Yet the future of these projects is now uncertain after the Trump administration,
which shows a continued hostility toward climate-focused initiatives, froze and then unfroze federal spending on grants
Trump specifically targeted the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) through an executive order to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds … for electric vehicle charging stations made available through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program.” The programs named are key sources of funding for Philadelphia’s EV charging infrastructure. It is unclear whether the reversal of Trump’s federal spending freeze applies to the funding of IRA and BIL projects.
The grants were awarded in three rounds, and last-round projects are not yet under contract, Appleby told Grid. For Philadelphia, that means the federal government can decide to scrap the plan for those 200 chargers. Moreover, Appleby says that funds have likely not been disbursed yet, leaving even the contracted projects in limbo.
The Federal Highway Adm inistration (FHWA) released a memo on February 6
PHOTOS BY CHRIS BAKER EVENS
Alevtina Verbovetskaya charges her Nissan Leaf at the EV charging station in the Fishtown Crossings shopping center.
announcing an overhaul of the submission and approval process for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, subsequently suspending the approval of states’ infrastructure implementation plans for all fiscal years.
The NEVI program was created under the BIL to expand the nation’s network of EV chargers along its highways.
“Existing obligations will be allowed in order to not disrupt current financial commitments,” according to the memo, but states won’t receive money for projects previously approved but not yet funded.
In a statement, U.S. Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, whose district includes South Philadelphia, Delaware County and the Mainline suburbs, calls the attempts to block NEVI funding “short-sighted, illegal and out of step with reality.”
Scanlon was one of five Pennsylvania politicians who announced the grant that was
meant to fund the charging stations at the airport and in underserved neighborhoods.
“The Trump administration’s attempt to freeze or rescind funding to build out the nation’s EV infrastructure is part of a larger, unconstitutional power grab,” Scanlon says. “Congress authorized and funded the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including the national EV charging program, in order to ensure a smooth transition to a more sustainable transportation future.”
According to the commonwealth’s 2024 plan for EV infrastructure deployment , Pennsylvania had anticipated receiving $171.5 million in NEVI funding over five years. It is not clear how much of that money is already in state coffers.
Appleby told Grid on February 10 that PennDOT is evaluating whether and how the memo will impact both the 91 NEVI projects under contract and future plans.
The executive director of Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), Ariella Maron, said in a statement that the agency is waiting for “clarification on the impact of the recent executive orders and memos” and “guidance from FHWA and the departments of transportation.”
The Trump administration’s attempt to freeze or rescind funding to build out the nation’s EV infrastructure is part of a larger, unconstitutional power grab.”
MARY GAY SCANLON, United States House of Representatives
DVRPC’s Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area Priority Climate Action Plan advises municipalities to transition fleets to EVs and install public charging infrastructure in order to meet regional climate goals.
Expanding Philadelphia’s charging network is a component of reducing private vehicular emissions as the City works toward carbon neutrality by 2050, as outlined in its Climate Action Playbook ◆
TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED
ENVIRONMENTAL NONPROFIT LEADER DISCUSSES IMPACT OF TRUMP FUNDING INTERRUPTIONS [ story by
When president Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt federal spending on January 27, its impacts hit close to home. Despite the decision being rescinded two days later, the fate of funding for environmental work remains murky due to the vague language and unclear legality of the sweeping order. It left sustainability-focused groups, including the Philadelphia-based Clean Air Council, unsure of what’s to come, whether their work can continue and if previously agreed-upon contracts will be fulfilled. As of February 24, federal funding due to Pennsylvania was restored after Governor Josh Shapiro sued the administration, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Yet leaders like Clean Air Council’s executive director Alex Bomstein are still concerned for the future of their work. Bomstein sat down with Grid on February 6 to explain what it has actually been like for the nonprofit — which focuses on protecting and preserving air and water quality, public health, environmental justice and clean energy and transportation — to weather the decisions made in Washington.
What have you and your team been working on that’s now threatened by the actions of the Trump administration? The biggest threat right now is the ongoing uncertainty about our EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] grants. We’ve entered into three grant agreements with EPA to do work relating to air monitoring in Pennsylvania and Delaware, as well as composting in
gabriel donahue
]
the Pittsburgh region. Each of those three grants we are already in the middle of and we’ve done a lot of work under, and there has been — in the last week and a half — questions about whether these grants are going to continue despite them being binding contracts. We’ve also had trouble accessing the funds.
Just for a little bit of context, unlike many grants, these EPA grants aren’t a pot of money that you receive up front. They are a pot of money that is not in your accounts but in a government account system called ASAP [Automated Standard Application for Payments]. And you have to do the work first and then get reimbursed for the work through ASAP. You can also do advances for certain amounts of money for a very short period of time before you make those expenditures. Regardless, the bulk of that is subject, obviously, to ASAP being a
working system, and it hasn’t been, not consistently in the last week for the first time, since the OMB [federal Office of Management and Budget] memo was issued last Monday night. So that’s been going back and forth whether those grants that we’ve been awarded have been available to us. So we’ve been working hard to make sure that expenses that we’ve incurred, we can try to get reimbursed through that system.
What could it mean for the Clean Air Council as an organization if that reimbursement never happens? Our biggest concern right now is the communities that we’re serving. If we can’t get reimbursed under these grants, we don’t have the resources to just do all this work with no pot of money supporting that work, which means that we won’t be able to help out these communities in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia regions and northern Delaware. So that’s a big problem for those communities, which, at least in terms of the air quality grants, means that we won’t get the good data needed to understand what all the issues are with the poor air in some of those regions and work to be able to address that poor air quality. And of course, that means people will get sick more, people will die more. [Poor] air quality is deadly. That’s one of the issues that we were formed to address, and that’s what we’re trying to do every day with our work.
In addition to having to stop the projects funded by these grants because of the lack of funds to cover those expenses, will there be a domino effect of impacts on other projects? It’s certainly harmful to our or-
If we can’t get reimbursed under these grants, we don’t have the resources to just do all this work with no pot of money supporting that work.”
ALEX BOMSTEIN, Clean Air Council
ganization to have a big hole blown into our budget. This is a significant amount of money. The three EPA grants are collectively more than a million dollars. And we’re not a huge company. We’re a nonprofit of 30-some people. We need to keep the lights on. Our employees need to pay their rent and [for] groceries.
How is the organization responding? Is there anything it’s able to do? We’ve worked very diligently over the last week and a half to make sure we’re doing our best to minimize the harm from the situation. We’ve been in touch with EPA to try to resolve the issues. We have reached out to our members and the public asking them to reach out to their representatives to make clear that this process of just entirely wrecking the federal government is not beneficial to our economy. It’s not beneficial to the communities that we live in. And
we’ve been obviously looking internally to see how we can figure things out within our organization as well.
Have you been getting responses from the EPA? Yes, and I’ll mention that this is certainly not meant to blame the federal workers at EPA who’ve been working there for years doing their best to try to serve the American public. And they are responding to us, but the information that they have is unclear, as far as I’m aware. And things change daily. Some days we have access to the accounts. Some days we don’t. Some days it’s one but not others. It’s a moving target, and of course that makes it very difficult to plan.
What are you seeing and hearing locally across environmental, sustainability-focused organizations regarding the uncertainty of these programs and projects and
funds? This is hitting lots of groups across the region, and I spoke with representatives of some of these groups who’ve been experiencing the same things that we have. Even groups that don’t have EPA grants, it’s affecting their work, because this is a huge hit to the American economy and this is a huge hit to all the communities that all of these groups serve.
[...] The National Council of Nonprofits filed a lawsuit immediately after this OMB memo was issued because this is not just an environmental issue. This is an issue for groups of all sorts. As you may know, Medicaid portals weren’t working after this happened across the country. [The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s] assistance for North Carolina was affected. Every type of federal grant and loan program was affected by this.
Is there any way that perhaps the state could help in terms of funding, or is this simply something that needs to be worked out federally? I understand the grant is through the EPA, it’s an agreed-upon contract, but is there anything that could be done? Well, I think everybody really needs to be speaking out against this, from just any person on the street to the governor. Everybody needs to be speaking out against this. I could be getting this number wrong, but I think I heard something like half [39%] of the state budget is from federal funding. And that’s not unusual, right? So yeah, everybody needs to be speaking out. And not just speaking out, but making it harder for Elon Musk to systematically destroy our federal government.
What would you like to see done locally, or even at a state level, to respond? I would love to see a bipartisan groundswell of people and officials explain that taking a wrecking ball to the federal government is not the way to promote any policy. If you just want to destroy America, sure, that’s a good way to start. But this is not what anybody voted for. ◆
Alex Bomstein of the Clean Air Council is contending with the chaos caused by Trump’s disruptions to EPA funding.
FIGHTING ON
AREA AGENCIES AND NONPROFITS STRATEGIZE ABOUT WAYS FORWARD [ story by
Expanding electric vehicle infrastructure isn’t the only Philadelphia initiative that’s taking a hit from the Trump administration’s halt to federal funding, the ultimate ramifications of which are being worked out in courts across the nation. Key projects tackling climate change, public health and even the City’s program to eliminate traffic deaths are now in limbo, awaiting word on how to continue.
A restored tree canopy in Philadelphia would have sweeping benefits: more shade, lower heat indexes, improved air quality and beautified streets. A 2023 Tree Plan released by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation outlines a vision “to expand the city’s tree canopy to 30% in every neighborhood within 30 years,” Grid reported. This would be made possible by a $12 million United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to a coalition of partners including the City, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) and the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC).
A government grant tracking website shows that $121,343 of the obligated $12 million has moved to PHMC. But funds haven’t
gabriel donahue ]
The City declined to comment on grant details. Sin Gogolak, vice president of brand and communications for PHS, says in a statement that the partners are determining how these federal decisions will ultimately impact them.
“At this juncture, the Philly Tree Plan is still progressing forward, and the coalition partners continue to work together to find
state’s fiber flax industry, also hasn’t seen money transferred since December, according to the same grant tracking website Roughly $1.7 million is expected, and so far about $376,000 has been disbursed.
And a nearly $14 million grant awarded to the Schuylkill River Development Corporation (SRDC) and Philadelphia Department of Streets that would pay to close critical gaps in the Schuylkill River Trail (SRT) “is getting caught in the Trump crossfire,” an SRDC representative tells Grid.
The project would add two new segments — the Wissahickon Gateway Trail (2,000 feet) and the Passyunk Connection (4,500 feet) — to the SRT. These additions would allow pedestrians and cyclists to travel nearly 39 miles off-road and steer clear of the Vision Zero High Injury Network cor-
We’re really focused on doing as much as we can while we can to help people.”
ADRIENNE HOLLIS, National Wildlife Federation
and secure various avenues of funding and partnership to bring the plan to life over the next 10 years,” Gogolak says. “The USDA grant is but one piece of the total funding, as there are other sources that the coalition has secured and is continuing to work on.”
Another USDA grant, this one awarded
ridor of Main Street and Ridge Avenue in Northwest Philadelphia, according to the press release announcing the grant. The augmented trail would also provide users access to commercial and residential corridors and public transportation. The representative said they “are unsure how [Shap-
Fortunately, while some agencies have decided to shift focus onto non-federally funded projects, not all groups have been so severely impacted.
The Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (TCTACs) train underserved, overburdened communities in four areas and assist in applying for and managing grants. Overbrook Environmental Education Center is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that is receiving financial support from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) to support a TCTAC locally
Adrienne Hollis, vice president of environmental justice, public jealth and community revitalization for the NWF, tells Grid that the TCTAC program has not received a stop work order — “so far, so good.”
“We’re really focused on doing as much as we can while we can to help people,” Hollis says, acknowledging that the situation could change swiftly.
Although federal funds that these groups might apply for have been placed on the chopping block, program participants are still receiving the assistance necessary to earn and maintain grants successfully once that pool of funding gets restored. Plus, those skills are “applicable across the board,” Hollis says. “The tools that they’ll be sharpening could be used for any application,” including for private funding. “It’s still going to benefit them,” she says.
This upskilling offers a glimmer of hope for environmentally focused groups since Trump repealed a Biden-era executive order that advanced the federal government’s consideration of environmental justice. Hollis says that move “has the potential to affect a lot of lives.”
“The potential ramifications are far-reaching. A lot of communities that need help need specific help and are depending on this funding. We’re still focused on assisting them as we move forward. I’m just not sure that the ramifications have all been considered,” she says. “Regardless, the fight continues.” ◆
GREEN PAGES
BEAUTY
Hair Vyce Studio
Multicultural hair salon located in University City servicing West Philly & South Jersey since 2013. We specialize in premier hair cuts, color & natural hair for all ages. (215) 921-9770 hairvyce.com
BIKE SHOP
Trophy Bikes
We specialize in the ingenious Brompton Bicycle, made & designed in London to save you time — and space — with its fast, compact fold. Open Wed-Sat, 12-6 pm at 133 S. 23rd St. On the Web @trophybikes
BOOK STORE
Books & Stuff
They can ban books in our libraries and schools, but they can’t ban the books in your home library. Grow your home library! Black woman-owned online shop for children, teens & adults. booksandstuff.info
COMPOSTING
Back to Earth Compost Crew
Residential curbside compost pickup, commercial pick-up, five collection sites & compost education workshops. Montgomery County & parts of Chester County. First month free trial. backtoearthcompost.com
Bennett Compost
The area’s longest running organics collection service (est 2009) serving all of Philadelphia with residential and commercial pickups and locally-made soil products. 215.520.2406 bennettcompost.com
Circle Compost
We’re a woman-owned hyper-local business. We offer 2 or 5 gallon buckets & haul with e-bikes & motor vehicles. We offer finished compost, lawn waste pickups & commercial services. 30 day free trial! circlecompost.com
EATS
The Franklin Fountain
The Franklin Fountain now offers returnable reusable pints of ice cream in Vanilla Bean, Chocolate & Caramelized Banana! Our ice cream is made with PA dairy & all natural ingredients. franklinfountain.com
EDUCATION
Kimberton Waldorf School
A holistic education for students in preschool12th grade. Emphasizes creativity, critical thinking, nature, the arts & experiential learning. Register for an Open House! (610) 933-3635 kimberton.org
ELECTRICIAN
Echo House Electric
Local electrician who works to provide high-quality results on private & public sector projects including old buildings, new construction, residential, commercial & institutional. Minority business. echohouseelectric.com
FARM
Hope Hill Lavender Farm
Established in 2011, our farm offers shopping for made-on-premise lavender products in a scenic environment. Honey, bath & body, teas, candles, lavender essential oil and more. hopehilllavenderfarm.com
FASHION
Philly AIDS Thrift
As a nonprofit thrift store, our goal is to sell the lovely, useful items that people donate & distribute the proceeds to local organizations involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. phillyaidsthrift.com
Stitch And Destroy
STITCH AND DESTROY creates upcycled alternative fashions & accessories from pre-loved clothing & textile waste. Shop vintage, books, recycled wares & original fashions. 523 S 4th St. stitchanddestroy.com
GREEN BURIAL
Laurel Hill
With our commitment to sustainability, Laurel Hill Cemeteries & Funeral Home specializes in green burials and funerals, has a variety of ecofriendly products to choose from, and offers pet aquamation. laurelhillphl.com
GREEN CLEANING
Holistic Home LLC
Philly’s original green cleaning service, est 2010. Handmade & hypoallergenic products w/ natural ingredients & essential oils. Safe for kids, pets & our cleaners. 215-421-4050 HolisticHomeLLC@gmail.com
GROCERY
Kimberton Whole Foods
A family-owned and operated natural grocery store with seven locations in Southeastern PA, selling local, organic and sustainably-grown food for over thirty years. kimbertonwholefoods.com
MAKERS
Mount Airy Candle Co.
Makers of uniquely scented candles, handcrafted perfumery and body care products. Follow us on Instagram @mountairycandleco and find us at retailers throughout the region. mountairycandle.com
Tombino.shop
Manhole Covers from the world over permanently etched into Functional Art. Cork Coasters, Trivets. Wood Magnets & Wall Art. Hand-drawn & Handmade in Philadelphia. From Aalborg to Zurich get your city! tombino.shop
RECYCLING
Philadelphia Recycling Company
Full service recycling company for office buildings, manufacturing & industrial. Offering demo & removal + paper, plastics, metals, furniture, electronics, oils, wood & batteries philadelphiarecycling.co WELLNESS Center City Breathe Hello, Philadelphia. Are you ready to breathe? centercitybreathe.com
