November 3: Election Day | Missed deadline for S.S. United States | Transportation Alternatives in the crosshairs

Happy voting! If you need help locating your polling place, or you want to know who’ll be on the ballot in your area, the City Commissioners’ Philadelphia Votes website has an excellent suite of voter tools. 

Northwest Philly powerhouse Sen. Dwight Evans filed paperwork to run against 2nd District Congressman Chaka Fattah, and our colleague Dave Davies confirms the rumor that Evans already has a SuperPAC backing him. 

The deadline to save the S.S. United States has passed. James Jennings looks at what’s next for South Philly’s favorite enormous rusting ship. 

City and community leaders broke ground on the 40th St Station ADA Accessibility Project, reports Mike Lyons. The project will install two elevators to the subway on the northwest and southeast corners of 40th and Market Streets.

Alaina Mabaso checks in with what Emaleigh Doley is working on in her new role as Germantown United’s corridor manager. Here’s our Streetviews Q&A video with Emaleigh and Aine Doley. 

The owners of Opa in Midtown Village are opening a new watering hole in the former Coco’s space on Jeweler’s Row. The same team is also opening the Craftsman Row Saloon soon. Inga Saffron recently worried that the encroachment of restaurants, housing, and other retail on this area could crowd out a long-standing “maker” economy.

Angelly Carrion has new renderings of Eastern Lofts, a 37-unit apartment building in Brewerytown designed by Interface Studio Architects that will include a day care, coffee shop, and two open loft office spaces.

PennDOT is now accepting applications for the federally funded Transportation Alternatives Program, the Post-Gazette reports, which aims to improve pedestrian and bike facilties, and public transportation access. These funds, and other funds for walking and biking, are currently being targeted for big cuts by House Republicans in the transportation funding debate this week. 

For those following the downtown Allentown, PA building boom, another mid-rise building was just approved to get Neighborhood Improvement Zone funds. Meanwhile, the Community Revitalization & Improvement Zone program state lawmakers created as a watered-down alternative to the NIZ with fewer slush-fund qualities has turned in underwhelming results in Lancaster and Bethlehem, reports Emily Previti.

Joe Cortwright thinks the media is downplaying good news about mixed-income neighborhoods in the recent studies of gentrification and displacement in New York and Philly. “The New York and Philadelphia studies both confirmed earlier research that gentrification is seldom associated with displacement, and that it is frequently associated with higher incomes and better economic results for the longtime residents of gentrifying neighborhoods.”