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Mischief Night, Oct. 30, a group of children at Barry Playground, 18th and Bigler streets, were throwing bottles and rocks at passing cars, according to some neighbors. Residents called 911.
An officer from the Traffic Unit responded, a resident from the 1700 block of Barbara Street said. That officer went into the playground, talked briefly with the kids and left.
The youths stayed behind.
Nov. 5, there were more problems at Barry Playground and 911 was called again. A 12-year-old girl and two friends were playing basketball when the same group of about 15 to 20 children were there, according to the girl’s mother. Words were exchanged and somebody in the group threw a rock at the 12-year-old’s friend, nearly hitting him in the head, the woman said.
The three friends left the playground and walked to the 1700 block of Barbara Street, followed by the group, the woman said.
"They were in a big group and all of us [neighbors] were out telling them to leave the kids alone. And then it started with them offering to fight us and calling us ******* bitches," said the 12-year-old’s mother.
When police arrived, the group dispersed, but returned after they left and this time issued a threat to the neighbors: "We’re going to blow up your street and your kids too," the woman recalled.
THOSE ARE JUST two examples of ongoing trouble residents claim they are having with youths they say are children of women staying in a nearby city-run shelter located in the Best Inn, formerly the Days Inn, at 2015 Penrose Ave. North Philly-based Self Inc., a community and social services agency, operates the shelter that occupies three floors of the round-tower that is a distinctive part of the South Philly skyline, said First District Community Relations Officer Donato Inverso.
"It’s what’s called a transitional shelter for women and families," First District Capt. Carmen Vuotto said.
About a year ago, the city’s Office of Emergency Shelter and Services (OESS) moved people into the temporary hotel shelter, said Kathy Murray, special assistant for Council President Anna Verna. June 30, 2005, the contract was up and the city was not going to renew it, Murray said. But then the Eliza Shirley house shelter, 13th and Arch streets, caught fire and those residents were relocated to other city shelters, creating less slots for the Best Inn shelter residents.
Robert Hess, OESS deputy managing director of adult services, told Verna’s office the city was looking for a permanent place for the Best Inn residents.
"We’re waiting to hear back from OESS to find out where these people are being placed. They need a permanent place to live. They were getting ready to move them out and, after the fire, they weren’t able to," Murray said.
According to Hess, the women and their families have arrived at the Best Inn in two waves.
"We’ve had a business arrangement with [the hotel] for a number of years to house families who have lost their homes due to fires or other reasons and we’ve needed to temporarily house families there so they would not come into our shelter system [which is overflowing at present]," Hess said.
Last fall, the city moved 60 single women into the temporary hotel shelter when a facility closed. Hess said he could not remember the location of the closed facility. In late spring of this year, those women were moved to a new facility at 2601 N. Broad St.
Then, in August, another city facility closed and 100 women and children were moved into the Best Inn. The city has just purchased a site at 45th and Chestnut streets, but has not been able to get the proper zoning, Hess said.
"We don’t want them to be in the Days Inn [Best Inn] a day longer than necessary. I wouldn’t want to project at this point when we’re going to be able to move people out," he said.
Part of the problem with relocating people from shelters is there has been a 10-percent increase in the demand for public shelters, Hess said. That increase is attributed to higher rates of eviction in the city and a higher cost of living and housing, among others, he >said.
As for the Best Inn shelter, there is a strict curfew of 9 p.m. for children, Self Inc. Vice President Nathaniel Robinson told Inverso.
Robinson did not return repeated calls for comment.
Three residents the Review talked to for this story said they were too scared for their property and their children’s safety to give their names.
"We are afraid. The kids in the neighborhood can’t go the playground unattended. We’re afraid for our property and ourselves. You can’t walk the streets. You can’t go to CVS. You can’t go anywhere alone," said one resident.
Residents said they know the youths are from the shelter for a number of reasons.
"A police officer told me they were from the shelter," said one resident, after an officer responded to a call a couple of months ago for similar incidents.
But, prior to that, word had spread the hotel was housing a shelter, the woman said.
Residents also said they have seen the same group of children walking to and from the hotel.
"How do they know they are not hotel guests?" Hess posed in response to that claim.
None of the residents the Review spoke to had filed any police reports because almost all had called 911. Regarding the community’s allegations, Hess asked if anybody had any proof the shelter was the cause.
"That’s a terrible accusation to make if there’s no proof," he said. "If they are true, we should be dealing with it. If there are problems they should be tried and convicted to the fullest extent of the law. But it’s very disconcerting to have allegations out there."
When contacted for comment about the existence of the shelter at the hotel, Manager Mary DeLuca did not return a phone call. When reached a second time, she said, "I don’t want to comment on this. This has nothing to do with the hotel," and hung up.
MOST PEOPLE HAVE no idea the hotel houses a temporary women’s shelter.
"I don’t think half the people over there know what’s going on," said one neighbor.
"As residents, shouldn’t we have been told about this?" asked a resident of Barbara Street.
At a Nov. 7 First District community meeting, residents from Barbara Street and the surrounding area voiced their concerns, making Vuotto aware of the situation.
The shelter "could have let us know as a courtesy that there are women who have been displaced from some type of situation, but there is no requirement," Vuotto said.
The captain has looked into the shelter’s existence and called the Department of Licenses and Inspections to see about its legality.
"From a legal standpoint at this time, there is nothing there that L&I; can enforce. According to L&I;, it’s a transitional situation," Vuotto said.
Earlier this month, Inverso received a call from a loss prevention employee of Acme, 1901 Johnson St., who told him a woman and about 20 children from the shelter converged on the seafood department and started stuffing frozen lobster tails in their clothing.
Acme did not file a police report and Inverso, in turn, paid a visit to the hotel to find out more about the shelter.
An Acme manager said the loss prevention employees have a set of rules that determine when and if police are called.
"I don’t know all the specifics of that case," the manager said of that incident.
"We have loss prevention people that work here who know the guidelines. It depends on who saw them do what. There’s a lot of circumstances that determine whether or not you’re going to file a police report," he said.
The manager said he could not comment further on the situation and referred the paper to Acme’s legal department. He did say the store has had several "incidents" involving people whom they believe are from the shelter.
Some parents have taken matters into their own hands by confronting the children, but that only leads to more trouble, they said.
"They offer to fight the adults. They are children and we can’t touch them. They stand there; they are brazen and they want to fight us," said one woman.
"The bottom line is they don’t belong in the playground," another woman said. "We pay good money in taxes and our children can’t go to the playground to play. This has to come to an end. You don’t mind if they go there to play, but they go there wanting blood."
Now that police are aware of the shelter and the quality-of-life issues it is fostering, they will monitor the situation, Vuotto said.
"If kids are loitering there, we can enforce curfews, we can remove them, we can take them home," the captain said.
Hess said he would send quality assurance people from his department to the shelter.
"We take any of these concerns we have been made aware of seriously. We expect people to be good neighbors no matter where they are housed. We will, of course, move people out of the Days Inn once we have an adequate facility for them," the director said.
