April 9: Conrail derailment in Port Richmond | Urban Experiential Displays coming soon? | L&I requesting $2m | Council quorum rare during budget hearings | Cambodian Buddhist life at 6th and Ritner

Happy Wednesday, Streeters.

A Conrail train derailed early this morning as it crossed Aramingo Avenue, near Castor Avenue in Port Richmond. NBC10 reports rail cars were carrying phenol and acetone, but no leaks are reported. Traffic has been detoured as crews work to rerail the train cars.

Will Center City soon see “urban experiential displays” (UEDs) above its streets? The Business Journal reports that legislation is in the works, drafted by Catalyst Outdoor Advertising, to install digital displays on buildings to display information and ads. If these sound like digital billboards, you’re right. The difference between these and digital billboards, the Business Journal contends is the percentage of ads. Digital billboards are 97% advertising, while UEDs would have 70% ads, with the rest for nonprofits, the city, art, and public service announcements.

L&I officials hope that a $2 million budget increase will allow the agency to demolish 650 dangerous buildings, seal 1400 others, and hire 34 more employees over the next year, reports the Inquirer. L&I would benefit from recouping more money it invests in demolitions and clean-and-seal work, which typically results in a lien on private properties.

It is rare for City Council to have a quorum during marathon budget hearings. The Daily News notes that technically these hearings are part of the same meeting, started weeks ago, at which there was a quorum. As the Committee of Seventy’s Ellen Mattleman Kaplan told the Daily News, “When Council members come and go at random, talk on cellphones during hearings or are absent altogether, it sends a message to the public that they have better things to do with their time.”

You cannot miss the Preah Buddah Rangsey Temple at 6th and Ritner just off Mifflin Square. Hidden City Daily considers the temple’s reuse of both St Andrews Lutheran Church and Adath Shalom synagogue across the street to accommodate the area’s large Cambodian population, as places of worship, cultural continuity, and social services.

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