Kensington Avenue in North Philadelphia is infamous for drug abuse and prostitution. Please give today. Fairhill and Norris Square are separate from Kensington with a more central North Philadelphia identity; however, exactly where the neighborhoods separate is subject to much debate and there are people within both neighborhoods who identify with Kensington. Look, he says, junkies got rights, too. Drug dealers at the corners. The city sees hope in this kind of intervention. Several men rush to be the first to make a dollar selling her a syringe. While most of the large manufacturers have left, the area has many small shops and large renovated factories and warehouses for newer artisans to set up shop. [10], By the mid-19th century, Kensington became one of the leading centers of the textile industry, particularly in carpet. On the night we visited, police cars cruised past, their lights flashing, but never stopped. NKCDC is working on the redevelopment of the Orinoka Civic House. [57] Rodriguez confessed to the murders and was sentenced to life in prison in 2012. McPherson Square, the park at the heart of the neighborhood, is home to at least 80 to 100 people every night, said Bill McKinney, executive director of the New Kensington Community Development Corporation who lives nearby. Police said the victim is a 43-year-old man, who was stabbed multiple times. If you arrest a violent serial killer like the strangler, you know you made a difference. We have four outreach teams out in Kensington every day. This should not be ignored, and is, in fact, impossible to avoid. The number of drug overdose deaths in the city increased by 50% from 2013 to 2015, with more than twice as many deaths from drug overdoses as deaths from homicides in 2015.2 A big part of Philadelphias problems stem from the crime rate and drug abuse in Kensington. Mattresses lie in the mud along the railway where prostitutes trick, and rapes and assaults are common. The whole city, its always a battle for space, and any open space is going to get filled., Love Philly? Subs and Xany bars, subs and Xany bars, chant men in cockeyed baseball caps while pacing the corner, searching the crowd for potential customers. This Philadelphia neighborhood is said to have the largest open-air heroin market on the East Coast, with many neighbors migrating to the area for heroin and other opioids. I also undertook strategies to address chronic issues of blight and vacancy. Billy Joel & Stevie Nicks floor seat tickets. Kensington Ave - Everything You Want To Know About Philadelphia's Skid Row Written by Mariska Lee in Pennsylvania Close to the I-95, and a stone's throw away from the scenic Delaware river, Kensington is a neighborhood in northern Philly with quite the reputation. Despite research on the positive effects of these sites, the Trump administration blocked them from being established. [51] After Philadelphia Police forcibly removed a large encampment of these people from an abandoned railroad track by Lehigh Avenue, several smaller encampments formed under the tracks. Afaik other neighborhoods declined with crack, but Kensington was notable for pills and opiates. City housing officials say 300; police estimated over 650 people this summer. 0:00 / 25:40 Streets of Philadelphia, Kensington Ave, Here's What Happened Today, Saturday, Sept 11, 2021. These 4 nieborhoods are very simialer as far as their economic situations. Streets of Philadelphia, Kensington Ave Story, What happened Today, October, 05, 2021. kimgary 266K subscribers 348K views 1 year ago Most dangerous street in Philadelphia Kensington. The decision has saved the city millions, and won cheers nationwide from drug-law reformers. Kensington was founded by Anthony Palmer in the early 1730s. Some even offer free samples. The number of drug overdose . Parts of the neighborhood lie in the 177th or 197th Districts, represented by Joseph C. Hohenstein and Danilo Burgos respectively. [58], In 2022, multiple gunmen fired approximately 40 rounds into a crowd from a black vehicle near Kensington Avenue and East Allegheny hitting nine people. Words such hopeless and dystopian punctuate an endless scrawl of depressing articles. Kensington, as most long-term residents view it, refers generally to the area consisting of Kensington, East, or Lower Kensington, West Kensington, and Harrowgate. Yet the city has promised zero tolerance for encampments before, and the crackdowns have not yielded a long term solution. Longtime neighborhood residents, business owners, and some elected officials have been pushing Mayor Kenneys administration to fix the untenable living conditions especially those brought by widespread homelessness. A former bank will become a commercial kitchen and event space. Kensington Hospital for Women, 128-40 Diamond Street, Kensington, Philadelphia, PA. Peter Woll & Sons, Curled Hair & Bristles, 173 W. Berks Street, Kensington, Philadelphia, PA. Second Associate Presbyterian Church, 1523-25 N. Front Street, Kensington, Philadelphia, PA (185254). Additionally, 65.8%, almost two thirds, of Kensington residents can be described financially as "poor or struggling" (defined by a Ratio of Income in 2020 to Poverty Level of under 2.00). A "person of interest" in the case, Antonio Rodriguez, was arrested in January 2011. According to police, the man was transported to Temple. They declared a statewide disaster over the drug epidemic in 2017. The drug market is so strong in Kensington and the joblessness and institutionalized racism so engrained, the community struggles while the state flounders with resolutions. From there, drug dens sprung up across the neighborhood and allowed for gangs to breed in the area. At stake in all this, is the soul of a place where Philadelphians have made a living, shopped and socialized for generations. Users flock to the scene. As momentum grows, more and more entrepreneurs are looking at Kensington Avenue as a viable corridor for their businesses. History set Kensington up for a steady decline. Natalie Raitano is a fitness instructor and former actress who is most famously known for her role on the show V.I.P. Violent crime and drug abuse in Philadelphia as a whole is a major problem. You have to do [legalization] right if youre going to do it, otherwise you create more problems, says Franklin of LEAP. There have been many petitions by residents to take care of Kensington. Port Richmond has a historically Polish population but is becoming more mixed, and Olde Richmond, an area just north of Fishtown, is experiencing similar gentrification. Eyes on the Street brings new ideas and fresh voices into the conversation about Philadelphias changing cityscape. Also alarming is Philadelphia's drug overdose rate. We talk about our favorite travels in Europe, as well as travel anywhere in the U.S. and the rest of the world. This summer, the Philadelphia Police Department canceled seven blocks in the area due to safety concerns. Multiple people injured after crash in Kensington. Just before 5 p.m. the following day, in the 2100 block of North 20th Street, police found Dawson Johnson . Now home to fifty-one residents, this former source of blight is transformed to a beacon of hope. Commissioner [Charles] Ramsey does not support it; no one in this department does. Public schools in Kensington include Kensington High School Complex, Jules E. Mastbaum Vocational Technical High School, Russell Conwell Middle Magnet School and John H. Webster Elementary School. It happened shortly after 3 a.m. Thursday in the area of Fairhill Square Park at 4th Street and Lehigh Avenue. But users who buy in the Badlands come to Kensington to shoot up. One such is the cluster of businesses just off the Huntingdon Market Frankford Line stop, where two of Phillys best Vietnamese restaurants, Thang Long Noodle Restaurant and Caf Pho Gha Than Than reside. This Philly neighborhood is purportedly the largest open-air narcotics market for heroin on the East Coast with many neighboring residents flocking to the area for heroin and other opioids.4 With such a high number of drugs in Kensington, many state and local officials have zoned in on this area to try and tackle Philadelphias problem. Groups of Irish Americans, Polish Americans, and Asian Americans also make up the neighborhood. Harrowgate is the furthest north, bordering Juniata and named for Harrowgate Park. He adds that the department does the best it can to guarantee public safety and stop drug use with the resources it has, but that it cant lock up people without good reason. [4] It was also the birthplace of the K&A Gang, currently known as the Northeast Philly Irish Mob, an Irish American organized crime network. But we cant do this until the federal government changes its stance on prohibition., Lt. Ray Evers has a harsh retort for Franklin and his reform-minded law-enforcement ilk. Mainstays such as Martins Deli, Four Sons Pizza, and Bentleys Place operate as they have for decades, plugging along, believing in the strength of their community. Max Marin (he/him) was Billy Penn's investigative reporter from 2018 to 2021. This has made it hard for police to quell the trade. Things just got worse, and more violent, the more we arrested people.. Corridor vacancy, lower costs of real estate, and dedicated community groups and entrepreneurs make for an attractive location. They were en route to more serious crimes going down to the west in the Badlands. "The blocks [where drug dealing takes place] never closed," said Christine Russo, 38, who's been using heroin for seven years. Watch on Most dangerous street in Philadelphia Kensington Philadelphia Drug & Crime Problems Violent crime and drug abuse in Philadelphia as a whole is a major problem. [55] It is also known as an area of prostitution. Opioid abuse has skyrocketed over the last two decades in the United States and Philadelphia is no exception. Parts of it were once called the 'Badlands' and it is hell on earth. Addicts can be found in the woods along the Tracks openly cooking and shooting drugs in broad daylight, a daily occurrence that indicates this is territory clearly forsaken by the law. "[12][13][14], Deindustrialization eventually took hold in the neighborhood in the 1950s, leading to a significant population loss, high unemployment, economic decline, and abandoned homes. There is also a charter school, Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School. West Kensington is similar to Norris Square and Fairhill in that it has a similar demographic to most of Kensington while having a more North Central Philadelphia identity,[citation needed] but unlike the other two neighborhoods it remains certainly part of Kensington. Over the next two years, the city closed down four highly visible tent cities that grew along a series of underpasses. Driven by a resident engagement process, this is a best practices model for how to equitably manage what could be a tidal wave of gentrification as Philadelphians continue to discover the under-the-radar appeal of the area. The intersection of Kensington and Allegheny Avenues (commonly referred to by Philadelphians as "K & A") is a major transportation and retail hub in the Kensington neighborhood, as it is served by the Frankford Elevated portion of the MarketFrankford Line which, running on top of Kensington Avenue, dominates the intersection. The opioid epidemic has played a significant role in this problem, as it has in much of the rest of the country. Agraduate of Temple University, he has produced award-winning journalism on local politics, criminal justice, immigration Answer (1 of 7): I live and minister here as a pastor. Disinvestment and general neglect has led to high abandonment in some sections of the neighborhood, catalyzing several grassroots actions from its residents. The stranglers final victim, a prostitute named Casey Mahoney, was murdered here. The most conservative boundaries of the neighborhood, shown in the map below, are Front Street and 5th Street to the west, the Amtrak train tracks to the North, Trenton Avenue, the Trenton Avenue train tracks, and Frankford Avenue to the east, and Cecil B. Moore Avenue to the south. Kensington Avenue's ghoulish world of addiction and prostitution exists outside the law. A Google search for " Kensington Avenue Philadelphia " yields horrendous images of sad-eyed people slumped over in varying poses of despair. Its a place where many admit they dont want to be, but cant get away from. It is this sort of activism, buoyed by engaged (and zoning savvy!) The New Kensington Community Development Corporation, Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, WHYY thanks our sponsors become a WHYY sponsor. SBC News 188K subscribers Subscribe 5.3M views 7 months ago #SBCNews Documentary by SBC News covering Streets of. In his first budget, the Mayor worked closely with City Council to fund bold anti-poverty initiatives. Kensington was previously known for its large working class Irish Catholic community and was the site of the Philadelphia Nativist Riots in the 19th century. Before the Act of Consolidation, 1854, the Kensington District included portions of the neighborhoods known today as Olde Kensington, East Kensington, West Kensington, and Fishtown, with its northern border at Lehigh Avenue. Its central to the neighborhood and offers an ideal place to shoot up and camp out. Overnight, people are getting stabbed. Wednesdays encampment closure was initially postponed due to a lawsuit filed on behalf of residents. Even Dr. Oz took the time to show us a Kensington Avenue as a "hellscape." For too long, Kensington residents have resorted to other neighborhoods to shop. While Kensington is still the centralized location in Philadelphia for buying and using drugs, some community members, like Bingham, don't believe the neighborhood is the ideal place to get treatment and maintain recovery. Central Kensington, or "the Heart of Kensington" as it is called in a recent Impact Services neighborhood plan,[6] stretches along Kensington Avenue from Tusculum and Somerset Streets to Tioga Street (see Impact Services plan[6] for a more accurate map). Despite lobbying council members and state representatives, no change has been made. As it is just north of Fishtown, higher income residents have been moving further up, increasing property values and rents. Protestors demanded a clear reopening date for the station, safer conditions for SEPTA workers, addiction services, services for homeless people in the area, and more. Max Winkler is an American director, writer and producer and is also the son of legendary actor Henry Winker. These self-described low-bottom dope fiends havent bathed recently, and many have been running and gunning around the clock for days, selling needles and prescription pills, or prostituting on the Avenue to hustle up enough money for another bag of heroin. There was a major street gang located at K&A that started as a burglary ring but eventually moved into drug trafficking in the 80s. But Meyer, a 35-year-old whos spent years bounding between rehab and the streets as he battles his addiction, said it felt like deja vu. Gun shots are heard at night. These sites have proven to avoid overdoses and connect users to long-term help. The drugs are just too cheap and too accessible. Of the non-Hispanic or Latino population, 19% is White, 15.1% is Black or African American, 3.6% is Asian, and 2.2% identify as two or more races. Crack, meth, heroin, oxycodone, weed, percocet, PCP these are all the usual suspects around Kensington Ave. [53][54] The intersection of Kensington Avenue and Somerset Street was listed number one in a 2007 list of the city's top ten recreational drug corners according to an article by Philadelphia Weekly reporter Steve Volk. Postal service considers 19134 (Richmond Station) as the area known as Port Richmond. February 28, 2023 Police seek person who cut Comcast lines on Super Bowl Sunday, causing panic among Eagles fans Approximately 17,000 Xfinity customers in Fishtown and Kensington were affected by . McPherson Square is the heart of Kensington. McNeil Laboratories began with the purchase of a pharmacy in the area in 1879 by the company's namesake. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. August 18, 2021 / 5:22 PM / CBS Philadelphia PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- City officials broke up a homeless encampment in Kensington Wednesday afternoon, with outreach teams tearing down the. Re: Streets of Philadelphia, Kensington Ave. Building a Philadelphia that works for every neighborhood with a focus on equity, opportunity, efficiency, and inclusion. In addition to having a high rate of drug overdose deaths, 80% of Philadelphia's overdose deaths involved opioids, and Kensington is a significant contributor to this figure. During the hunt for the strangler, the area was flooded with cops. You have to bring services to addicts, offer them treatment. This train starts at Bridge st. From Frankford , Juanita, Kensington and Fishtown. Philadelphias District Attorney Seth Williams risked backlash from hardcore law-and-order types when he recently stopped criminally prosecuting minor marijuana offenses. Afterward, the city repaired a single section of iron fencing in a feeble attempt to seal the area, but enclosing structures at multiple other access points had collapsed. [10] Initially, employment focused around the nearby waterfront and the activities of fishermen and ship- and boatbuilders. Theres gotta be somewhere you could put your tent, a park, an area, some sort of designated spot, Meyer said. Kensington was the birthplace of the K&A Gang, an Irish American organized crime association known for their distribution of methamphetamine in the 1980s. This is a regional problem that Kensington is very graciously dealing with., Nice to see you. Construction has started on Penns Landing park over I-95 highway trench. Since Mayor Jim Kenney took office in 2015, encampment closures in the name of public health and safety have been a near constant in Kensington. Franklin oversaw narcotics operations around Baltimore for much of his 34 years in law enforcement and knows well the futility of locking up addicts en masse. Nine years later and were still talking about it. This is probably one of the most drug infested streets in Philadelphia. Significant rent increases are commonly triggered by increasing property values and a new wealthier demographic that can afford to pay higher rents. Philadelphia Kensington Avenue, What happened on Monday, June 28 2021. The city's violent crime rate is higher than the national average and other similarly sized metropolitan areas.1 Also alarming is Philadelphia's drug overdose rate. On Wednesday, Steve, a 30-year-old fentanyl user who declined to give his last name, said he sympathized with the residents plight. That camp was cleared, and another formed. But a day later, and not far away, on the 1700 block of West Atlantic Street in North Philly, there was bloodshed and death. The city of Philadelphia has set a deadline of Aug. 18 for encampments of people living homeless on the sidewalks of Kensington to be cleared. This number is shockingly low compared to the overall Philadelphia average of $122,113 but is still better compared to previous years. It happened Monday around 10:40 p.m. on the. This Philly neighborhood is purportedly the largest open-air narcotics market for heroin on the East Coast with many neighboring residents flocking to the area for heroin and other opioids.4 With such a high number of drugs in Kensington, many state and local officials have zoned in on this area to try and tackle Philadelphias problem. [Kensington] presents a prime opportunity for a heroin maintenance program where addicts could get heroin legally, safely, and free of cost so they dont commit robberies and other crimes to support their habits. Days before the start of the New Year, the 16-year-old girl from the Philadelphia suburbs disappears for the third time in four months as she battles a heroin addiction that . Kensington has traditionally been known as one of the working class centers of Philadelphia. The number of drug overdose deaths in the city increased by 50% from 2013 to 2015, with more than twice as many deaths from drug overdoses as deaths from homicides in 2015.2 A big part of Philadelphias problems stem from the crime rate and drug abuse in Kensington. Over time black and Hispanic street dealers took over larger portions of the drug trade, especially heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine. During the hunt for the strangler, the area was flooded with cops. I n the underworld of Philadelphia, beneath the elevated subway line along Kensington Avenue, tears were as prevalent as needles. Because of the high number of drugs in Kensington, the neighborhood has a drug crime rate of 3.57, the third-highest rate by neighborhood in Philadelphia.3 Like a lot of the country, a big part of this issue is a result of the opioid epidemic. You cant walk down the sidewalk, he said. Addictions a medical problem; cops dont want to deal with that. [56], In 2010, three women (Elaine Goldberg, 21; Nicole Piacentini, 35; and Casey Mahoney, 27) were strangled to death in the neighborhood. The camp was cleared, the people chose new spots in the neighborhood to overrun with used needles, overdoses, and trash. The increase in violent crime, homelessness, and out-of-control drug use in Kensington are far greater threats to residents of Philadelphia. It has always had the El train that runs straight through Kensington. However, sensationalizing poverty, fetishizing small businesses, and minimizing the collective efforts of a community on the rise are the cheap tactics of bad journalists. pic.twitter.com/yXU3zfzpGp. Opioid abuse has skyrocketed in the United States over the last two decades, and Philadelphia is no exception. They paint a picture of a poverty zoo. The eyes of one woman in her 20s filled as she sobbed in the arms of a familiar woman, Marti Hottenstein, who pledged to get her off . This Philadelphia neighborhood is said to have the largest open-air heroin market on the East Coast, with many neighbors migrating to the area for heroin and other opioids. The generally accepted boundaries of the neighborhood[citation needed] are Front Street and 5th Street to the West, the Amtrak train tracks to the North, Trenton Avenue, the Trenton Avenue train tracks, and Frankford Avenue to the East, and Cecil B. Moore Avenue to the South. The few other businesses Chinese take outs and Irish pubs have missing persons signs hung in the windows. Violent crime and drug abuse in Philadelphia as a whole is a major problem. kensington ave philadelphia - summer daytime compilation GDPGDP The situation feels like its at a breaking point for some. Last month, the city announced plans to clear out two of the larger encampments: one just north of K&A, the other about a mile south on Lehigh Avenue. Using proceeds from the sale of the Hope Farm estate (present day Port Richmond), which included three enslaved people named Abraham, Hannibal, and Phillis,[9] Palmer purchased what was called the Fairman Estate, located along the Delaware River in the Northern Liberties Township (area just north of the City of Philadelphia on the Delaware River). Two emergency shelters closed along Kensington Avenue within the last year. Most dangerous street in PhiladelphiaKensington Philadelphia Drug \u0026 Crime ProblemsViolent crime and drug abuse in Philadelphia as a whole is a major problem. [15][16][17], Listed on the National Register of Historic Places:[18], Kensington has a population of approximately 42,000 people according to data from ASC 2020 survey. WHYY offers a voice to those not heard, a platform to share everyones stories, a foundation to empower early and lifelong learners and a trusted space for unbiased news. This lack of message parity is harmful to the corridor. Philadelphia Kensington Avenue, What happened.. 14 19 . 4 2023 , ! During my three years managing commercial corridors for theThe New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC), on Kensington Avenue and several other business thoroughfares, I got to know the small business owners, civic associations, and other stakeholders working every day to revitalize the local economy. They tried to institute safe-injection sites, where users can shoot up without fear of prosecution. This section of Philadelphia is considered the center of opioid drug use and the city and community are working to bring the crisis under control.Read more ANTHONY PEZZOTTI / Staff Photographer Suffice to say it is not a place to go at night. It is not safe . Thats anywhere from three to six times the mere 100 emergency shelter beds that were available in June, WHYY News reported. Hate crime charges for Hatboro woman who launched racist rant against Amys Pizzeria, Temple faculty still deciding on no confidence vote, Philly City Council considers moving budget hearings to in-person. Adjacent neighborhoods are Northern Liberties (ZIP code 19123), Fishtown and Olde Richmond (ZIP code 19125), Port Richmond (ZIP code 19134). Two smiling beat cops dressed in crisp, pressed uniforms foot-patrolled the areas perimeter but steered clear of the crowds around Somerset Street. The panel was developed in part by Tony Heriza, a documentary filmmaker working on a film about the Storefront, an art and community services hub set up in Kensington by Mural Arts Philadelphia. As of right now, I dont think anyone is confident that theres any sort of larger plan that can account for each person.. Harbisons' Dairies, 2041-55 Coral Street (1895). Palmer was an English merchant who came to Philadelphia by 1704 from Barbados. The U.S. GDP . A silver Toyota pulls up to the curb and a heavy-set blonde hops out. This is Kensington Ave my friend. At first fentanyl was used as a cutting agent to lets dealers water down their heroin with a cheaper alternative to make more money. The area is densely residential, but crime rates are highest in this part of Kensington and, because of relocation actions taken by Philadelphia's Police,[7][8] it has the highest concentration of homeless and opioid addicted residents. Between the two encampments targeted on Wednesday, half a dozen other spots continue to grow. It was a scene that rivaled the aftermath of a storm, its victims caught up in forces that leave many hungry, homeless and hopeless. When resources are limited, you get to a point as a police officer where you ask yourself, Why am I doing something ineffective? says former Maryland State Police officer Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a group of criminal-justice professionals who favor drug-law reform. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you . Though Kensington addicts seem to think so, the police department pushed back forcefully against this notion.