Sittenhouse Lunch Time Sit-On Celebration

UPDATE: THE SELECTIVE SITTING BAN IN RITTENHOUSE SQUARE IS OFFICIALLY OVER!!!! Let’s celebrate our success together by sitting on the wall at lunch time on Tuesday, January 17.

On Saturday, January 14, Mayor Jim Kenney announced his Twitter the following:

Regarding Rittenhouse Square, I’m frustrated too. This government is very large and at times things just get by you. Sit where you want.
On Thursday, January 12, the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, in conjunction with the Friends of Rittenhouse Square group and the Philadelphia Police Department, initiated a sitting ban on the wall inside of Rittenhouse Square.

Followed by:

Along with my liberal view of park use, please don’t litter, or graffiti the walls or smoke weed so obviously that you scare olds my age.

On Thursday, January 12, the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, in conjunction with the Friends of Rittenhouse Square group and the Philadelphia Police Department, initiated a sitting ban on the wall inside of Rittenhouse Square.

The ban was enacted due to “continuous vandalism and marijuana smoking”, according to Jackie Whyte of Friends of Rittenhouse and, according to a police officer in a Philly Mag article, “to the shooting in October”. While the shooting, which was result of a robbery intervention in Rittenhouse Square, is terrible, the police have said the shooter knew the victims he was trying to rob and that it was an isolated incident. At the following community meeting, wall loitering was a major topic and it was suggested to put planters on the wall to prevent the public from sitting. As a result of this meeting, a cop car was placed permanently in the middle of the square, making this public space unwelcoming for many.

The same day that the ban was initiated, police officers were seen playing with an unleashed dog and talking with a woman who was clearly drinking wine, but made a point to enforce the sitting ban. The ban also only applies to certain segments of the wall where groups of young people used to convene on the interior of the park. The selective enforcement of rules in Rittenhouse park and the targeted location of the sitting ban exposes the true intent of this new rule: controlling who can use this public park and how they use it based on the preferences of a few powerful people.

The ban on wall-sitting is a threat to the vibrancy, inclusiveness and diversity of Rittenhouse Square. Philadelphia’s public spaces should be open to all Philadelphians. Show your support of wall-sitting and inclusive public space at the #Sittenhouse Lunch Time Sit-On at noon, on Tuesday, January 17. Eat your lunch, look at your phone, makeout with someone, people watch, or do whatever you do to enjoy wall-sitting! It’s the people’s wall. The forecast is 50 and sunny, perfect for wall-sitting.