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There are a variety of ways to prevent crime, but locals in a two-by-seven-block span are thrilled that the City not only is lending an ear, but offering its services to combat its biggest demons.
“I was glad because I wanted to see something done in Point Breeze that’s long-term,” Betty Beaufort, of Garnet and Reed streets, said of the PhillyRising Collaborative.
The Managing Director’s Office project coordinates existing City amenities in select crime-ridden, low-quality neighborhoods with its inhabitants paving the way. Since July, Assistant Managing Director Adé Fequa has been meeting with those residing 19th to 21st streets and Reed Street to Snyder Avenue. Fequa turned their three main worries — vacant land, blighted buildings and littered alleys; lack of youth engagement; and safety concerns — into an action plan aimed to correct them.
“This is a commitment and we’re going to sign off on it,” Fequa said.
PhillyRising kicked off last year in North Philly’s Hartranft, where crime dropped 15.9 percent after a year, and has extended to eight areas. It has 24 in its sights including a section of Grays Ferry from Reed to Moore streets and 26th to 28th streets, one dubbed Greenwich Lovely from Mifflin to Wolf streets and Fifth to Eighth streets and another in the Newbold/Point Breeze area from Dickinson to Moore streets and Broad to 17th streets.
So far, he has facilitated a resident-led walkthrough Oct. 25 with various City agency representatives that netted about 40 service requests that either have been resolved or had a violation issued, Fequa said.
Reflecting the broken-window theory, the repairs serve as deterrents, 1st District Capt. Lou Campione, who believes a crime reduction has occurred south of Moore Street, said.
“The focus there is to repair the broken window and work with the community to improve the quality of life by organizing cleanups and doing the proactive activities to reduce crime,” he said.
Covering north of Moore, Capt. Anthony Washington’s 17th District officers are assisting to keep the troubles at bay.
“The officers have basically been proactive in looking and finding more alleys and problem locations and reporting them to my staff,” he said.
While it’s too early to measure PhillyRising’s influence on crime, he said, it is expected to be positive.
“I believe it’s very progressive and that it’s been definitely a good thing for the neighborhood and the community,” he said. “The residents have seen firsthand the results of the PhilyRising facilitators getting things done.”
Fequa coordinated two cleanups last month, but the alleys’ conditions surprised him.
“I pulled a Christmas tree out of there from last year,” he said of one of the now clean passages. “That’s how often people go down there.”
The efforts also have benefitted his officers, Campione, who has personally attended the cleanups, said.
“They appreciate what is going on,” he said. “They have the information. They have the knowledge. They’re willing to accept their part of the obligation to work together with the community to achieve the goals.”
With an absence of youth havens except for Dixon House, 1920 S. 20th St., community partners are working to prevent youngsters from resorting to crime, Fequa has linked up locations with programs throughout the coverage area to keep them from crossing rival gang territories, too.
“You got all these kids doing ‘bad things,’ but then we don’t have any programs,” Fequa said.
A major partnership will feature Dominic McFadden, son of Gene McFadden — half of McFadden & Whitehead, which popularized the 1970s’ “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” — has vowed to mentor children at a virtually unused recording studio at Wilson Park, 2200 S. 25th St.
“We might not have money, but through our network of bringing people together … [we’re] adding the volunteer hours of people who make more than our City government,” Fequa said of the collaborative’s budget, which is cost-neutral aside from salaries.
Even youngsters who already have had run-ins with the law will receive guidance with Family Division Administrative Judge Kevin Dougherty’s help.
“‘Aw bad kids can’t come?’” Fequa said of what some may say as he shook his head. “We want bad kids. … We want to engage them. We’re not going to forget about those kids.”
Since results take time, there is no set timeline, so Fequa will move on to the next neighborhood when the time is right.
“We want to be able to do it right,” he said. “We don’t want to do it too fast or too slow. … We want to make sure the vision presented to us is seen.”
Fequa hopes to tackle every alley when cleanups resume in the spring and to see a substantial drop in crime before moving on.
“When we get to that point where people are sustaining projects and creating them on their own, that’s when we’ll know,” he said.
Contact Managing Editor Amanda L. Snyder at asnyder@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
Also in this week’s Police Report:
Duo robs Marshall’s
Repeat offender
Watch snatch
Busted window
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