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Honoring the Career of Anthony Lewis.
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WHEREAS, The Council of the City of Philadelphia is pleased and proud to honor Mr. Anthony Lewis for his several years of civic and community service to the citizens and institutions of the City of Philadelphia through his outstanding career as an activist, advocate, and leader in the housing and construction industries; and
WHEREAS, Anthony “Tony” Lewis is a product of Philadelphia’s public school system and is a graduate of Thomas A. Edison High School and a graduate of Knoxville College in Knoxville, Tennessee where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science; and
WHEREAS, During his time in Knoxville, Mr. Lewis began his activist career as a Civil Rights organizer, where he was arrested and jailed 14 times in protests to open theaters, restaurants, and other public facilities which, along with other protests, ended the practice of Jim Crow in Knoxville; and
WHEREAS, Tony Lewis is retiring as the Managing Director of the Housing Association of Delaware Valley (“HADV”) where he created the Housing Association Reinvestment Corporation, a Community Development Corporation that provides homes for low-income residents through “sweat equity” and the Housing Association Information Program, a HUD Certified Housing Counseling Program that provides pre-purchase, eviction, and foreclosure counseling to over 13,000 families through negotiations and budget planning; and
WHEREAS, And under Mr. Lewis’ direction, HADV began its Public Housing Tenant and Tenant Management Training Program and, through this initiative, Abbottsford Homes became the first public housing site in Pennsylvania to be managed by tenants and HADV became the co-owner and co-developer of the Southwark Plaza and the Raymond Rosen scattered site public housing development; and
WHEREAS, He co-founded the Housing Consortium for Disabled Individuals, a non-profit advocacy corporation to improve housing opportunities for physically and mentally challenged citizens, the Philadelphia Revitalization and Education Program with the Laborers’ International Union of North America, to provide training to public housing tenants interested in joining the Laborers’ Union, the Diversity Apprentice Program, a pre-apprenticeship program to prepare minorities to complete the application process into the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades, and the Lancaster Avenue Redevelopment Corporation with State Representative Louise Williams Bishop, a non-profit Community Development Corporation created to revitalize this West Philadelphia shopping corridor; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Lewis is a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and has donated countless hours of volunteer work with community and other organizations including but not limited to Laborers’ Local 332 (Member), National Organization of African Americans in Housing, NAACP (Life Member), Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Member), National Low Income Housing Coalition (Executive Board), Governor’s Housing Task Force, University of Pennsylvania (Fels Institute of Government), Bishops Housing Task Force, Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania (Chairman, African American Committee), and 6ABC Minority Advisory Board; and
WHEREAS, Tony Lewis has received more than fifty awards in recognition of his service and contributions, including Citations from two Governors, the Pennsylvania State Senate and House of Representatives, and three of Mayors; now therefore be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby recognize and congratulate Mr. Anthony Lewis for his several years of civic and community service to the citizens and institutions of the City of Philadelphia through his outstanding career as an activist, advocate, and leader in the housing and construction industries.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Mr. Anthony Lewis, as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
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