Also alarming is Philadelphia's drug overdose rate. 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. Shes comparatively clean cut, probably from the suburbs or middle-class Northeast Philadelphia, whose residents with a taste for heroin are drawn to Kensington for its freewheeling addiction-bazaar atmosphere. (2021 Crime Rates And Crime Stats), Is Pittsburgh Safe To Visit? The neighborhood has long been a catchment for people from the suburbs, Delaware and New Jersey who suffer from addiction, and yet the city has been left on its own to clean up the mess. Nine years later and were still talking about it. Man stabbed to death in Kensington, attacker seen running away Police: Man dead after shooting in Kensington 2 people shot in separate incidents in Philadelphia overnight Police seek suspects. The white residents fled to the suburbs and people of color and limited means moved in. This energy is not relegated to existing businesses. City Managing Director Tumar Alexander, who oversees the police response in Kensington, said there will be a zero tolerance policy for new encampments on the two targeted blocks. On March 21, 2021, SEPTA indefinitely closed the Somerset Station of the Market-Frankford Line (MFL). Violent crime and drug abuse in Philadelphia as a whole is a major problem. Dozens upon dozens of people lived there. All About Max Winkler. This has made it hard for police to quell the trade. People are hanging out everywhere, turning tricks and working petty hustles. The super brief history is Kensington was a thriving industrial area of factory workers until deindustrialization happened which left the neighborhood impoverished and jobless. Adjacent neighborhoods are Northern Liberties (ZIP code 19123), Fishtown and Olde Richmond (ZIP code 19125), Port Richmond (ZIP code 19134). Read the news of the day in less than 10 minutes not that were counting. The part of Kensington below Lehigh Street, or as it has been rebranded[citation needed] "Lower Kensington" or "East Kensington", is the part of Kensington most clearly experiencing gentrification. Speaking as someone coming from this field, it can be unforgiving and thirsty work, defined by small victories and glorious defeats. But a day later, and not far away, on the 1700 block of West Atlantic Street in North Philly, there was bloodshed and death. More simply, some define Kensington as the triangular area bounded by Erie Avenue to the north, Front Street (and sometimes Fifth Street) to the West, and Trenton Avenue to the East. When the coronavirus pandemic hit in late December 2019, heroin abuse in Kensington worsened. "Streets of Philadelphia, Kensington Avenue, What happened today, Aug, 2021. https://t.co/6BCbZ2KEZv via @YouTube these people are not crazy this how just living . It is this sort of activism, buoyed by engaged (and zoning savvy!) These sites have proven to avoid overdoses and connect users to long-term help. It doesnt work the first or the second or the third or the fourth time for everybody, so we keep engaging for those that we can.. The city has a higher rate of violent crime than the national average and other similarly sized metropolitan areas. This train starts at Bridge st. From Frankford , Juanita, Kensington and Fishtown. They draw a diverse crowd: tight-pantsed hipsters and long-time residents alike enjoy the delicious food in equal measure. This summer, the Philadelphia Police Department canceled seven blocks in the area due to safety concerns. Gun shots are heard at night. [10], By the mid-19th century, Kensington became one of the leading centers of the textile industry, particularly in carpet. The stranglers final victim, a prostitute named Casey Mahoney, was murdered here. Want a digest of WHYYs programs, events & stories? Eyes on the Street brings new ideas and fresh voices into the conversation about Philadelphias changing cityscape. Kensington development team seeks middle ground between gentrification and stagnation. The Avenue runs 3 miles through what is now a dangerous and crime-ridden neighborhood. What sort of reprieve Wednesdays action will offer neighbors and business owners remains unclear. Along with having a high rate of drug overdose deaths, 80% percent of Philadelphias overdose deaths involved opioids2 and Kensington is a big contributor to this number. Overnight, people are getting stabbed. The avenue runs on a north/south slant and unofficially includes the neighborhoods of Kensington, East and West Kensington, Fairhill, Port Richmond, and Olde Richmond. To the east of Kensington, Port Richmond and Olde Richmond are each predominantly white neighborhoods. When we can make the right connection for people, its really successful, Gladstein said. There are real, endemic issues at play on the Avenue. 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. They gotta do something about it, and this is coming from someone whos homeless living on the street., Out on the Kensington Avenue this morning, where just north of K&A homeless outreach workers and police begin to clear out yet another encampment. City personnel help to clear an encampment on the 3200 block of Kensington Avenue, raze a large-scale encampment known as El Campamento, after SEPTA briefly closed the Somerset El stop. On January 4, 2016, Jim Kenney was sworn in as the 99th Mayor of Philadelphia. Mariska is a recovering attorney who gave up her professional job to discover new perspectives of life while traveling in a 2009 Ford Transit. Some residents of Kensington wont go out without driving, not wanting to walk through the neighborhood despite living there. The Free Library of Philadelphia operates the McPherson Square Branch at 601 East Indiana Avenue,[50] and the Kensington Branch at 104 W Dauphin Street. It is similar to Central Kensington but is slightly quieter and has fewer crimes. Eva Gladstein, Philadelphias deputy managing director for Health and Human Services, said outreach teams have helped more than 20 people connect with social services during the last month of engagement at the two targeted camps, plus an additional four people on Wednesday morning. Eight months ago, the Kensington Strangler was stalking and murdering addicted prostitutes who worked the Avenue. Between the two encampments targeted on Wednesday, half a dozen other spots continue to grow. There was a homeless camp set up in a railroad gulch in Kensington called El Campamento. Kensington, as most long-term residents view it, refers generally to the area consisting of Kensington, East, or Lower Kensington, West Kensington, and Harrowgate. Forgotten by whom? Parents will walk their children to the bus stop, even if it can be seen from their front door, and wait there with them until the bus comes. Emerald Street, Tulip Street, Kensington Avenue, Frankford Avenue . He once lived in the infamous Emerald Street encampment in Kensington, and saw how its closure in 2019 just shuffled people to other areas. Yet the city has promised zero tolerance for encampments before, and the crackdowns have not yielded a long term solution. SEPTA's MarketFrankford Line runs to Center City from Kensington, offering short commute times. Multiple people injured after crash in Kensington. 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. Johnson knowseven with a colorful awning and bright lightingher cafe might not get a lot of consumer street traffic. Through it all, I consistently found myself impressed in awe of the merchants on Kensington Avenue and hopeful for their entrepreneurial futures. It has always had the El train that runs straight through Kensington. Corridor vacancy, lower costs of real estate, and dedicated community groups and entrepreneurs make for an attractive location. Stop writing about Kensington Avenue like its Mordor. "You can't buy, use, and recover in the same neighborhood," Bingham said. The drugs are just too cheap and too accessible. However, sensationalizing poverty, fetishizing small businesses, and minimizing the collective efforts of a community on the rise are the cheap tactics of bad journalists. Official estimates vary as to how many people are living on Kensingtons streets. The School District of Philadelphia operates public schools. Some merchants, like Widdy Darts, a 108-year-old dartboard manufacturer, have been that way for a long time. Almost half of the neighborhoods residents live below the poverty line. 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. Several men rush to be the first to make a dollar selling her a syringe. They paint a picture of a poverty zoo. This is Kensington Ave my friend. Theres a significant number of people who commute to this space to pick up what they need, making the residual effects of the narcotic empire spread far and wide. Parks in and adjacent to the neighborhood include Harrowgate Park, McPherson Square, Hope Park, Fairhill Square Park, Norris Square Park, Mascher Park, Frankford Avenue Garden, Arcadia Commons, Trenton and Auburn Park, Letterly Green, Emerald Park, Konrad Square, and Palmer Park. There is also a charter school, Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School. [38] However, the decision to close the station "indefinitely" led hundreds of Kensington residents to march from Somerset Station to Allegheny Station in protest, recreating the longer trip many of them had to take to access the MFL since the closure. Construction is slated to start this week on Arguto Court, an adaptive reuse project featuring office space and a cafe. Those who do not frequent it rely on the medias interpretation and are primarily getting this message: Kensington Avenue is a barren wasteland where no happiness can find purchase. Words such "hopeless" and "dystopian" punctuate an endless scrawl of depressing articles. [7] Police, after a year and a half, removed these encampments causing its residents to spread up Kensington Avenue. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. "[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. Its an environment, they say, that is more tolerant of drug use than ever. (Instead of a paywall). Safehouse, a nonprofit founded in 2018 with the purpose of opening the first supervised injection site in the country, sought a location in Kensington after their proposed South Philly location ran into opposition from neighbors of the site. 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. (Crime Rates And Crime Stats), Top 10 Things To Do In Harleysville, PA In 2022, Top 11 Things To Do In McDonald, PA In 2022. link to Who is Henry Winklers Son? Subs and Xany bars, subs and Xany bars, chant men in cockeyed baseball caps while pacing the corner, searching the crowd for potential customers. Kensington Avenue in North Philadelphia is infamous for drug abuse and prostitution. Subs are Suboxone, a pill containing buprenophine, a drug that eases the pain of heroin withdrawal. In his first budget, the Mayor worked closely with City Council to fund bold anti-poverty initiatives. At 3525 Kensington Avenue, right in the middle of the block, Sherimane Johnson will open Naturally Sweet Desserts, a vegan cafe and bakery that will deliver all over the city and be open all day for local residents. [59] [60]. Its central to the neighborhood and offers an ideal place to shoot up and camp out. Max Marin (he/him) was Billy Penn's investigative reporter from 2018 to 2021. Juniata, the neighborhood to the north, and Kensington are similar demographically, yet the former is slightly wealthier and has more green space. Palmer laid out his town and sold parcels to many of the shipwrights and shipbuilders who were outgrowing their riverfront lots in present-day Old City, Southwark, and Society Hill areas. 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. McNeil Laboratories began with the purchase of a pharmacy in the area in 1879 by the company's namesake. Postal service considers 19134 (Richmond Station) as the area known as Port Richmond. Just before 5 p.m. the following day, in the 2100 block of North 20th Street, police found Dawson Johnson . Looks not far from K&A, the intersection of Kensington and Alleghany Ave. Max Winkler is an American director, writer and producer and is also the son of legendary actor Henry Winker. Mayor Jim Kenney is possibly one of the worse mayor in the Philadelphia history and does nothing to stop it. Along with having a high rate of drug overdose deaths, 80% percent of Philadelphias overdose deaths involved opioids2 and Kensington is a big contributor to this number. Additionally, there is a large population of homeless individuals. According to Philadelphia Police, the accident happened at 3300 Kensington Avenue in the Kensington section of Philly. Since 2015, 295 people have been shot within a five minute walk of Kensington and Allegheny, a busy intersection at the heart of the neighborhood, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer analysis. PHILADELPHIA - Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Ricardo Carrion, a.k.a. Over the next two years, the city closed down four highly visible tent cities that grew along a series of underpasses. Police said the victim is a 43-year-old man, who was stabbed multiple times. 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. He also sold to recent German fishermen immigrants. Neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States, primarily white young urban professionals, H.W. The median yearly income of the neighborhood is $28,368, ranging from $18,516 to $77,979. City workers arrived in the early hours to clear out two homeless encampments the latest dustup in a years-long saga in Kensington and try to get the roughly 50 people living there into housing or recovery services. 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. For too long, Kensington residents have resorted to other neighborhoods to shop. Kensington Avenue also benefits from the non-profit organizations operating there. The number of drug overdose deaths in the city . Kensington Avenue is infamously regarded as 'the largest open-air drug market on East Coast' In 2019, the city removed four encampments in the area that was known to be frequented by drug. 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. Philadelphia Kensington Avenue, What happened on Monday, June 28 2021. kimgary 263K subscribers Subscribe 24K Share 3M views 1 year ago Most dangerous street in Philadelphia Kensington. They marched from Kensington to Oyster Bay, New York, carrying banners demanding, "We want to go to School and not the mines! Persuading the federal government to change its prohibition stance will prove difficult, considering how fiercely divisive the issue is among law enforcement. The number of drug overdose . This is not a one and done, and well keep doing the work.. Many of these residents dont have homes. [52], The neighborhood has gained nationwide attention and great notoriety because of extensive press coverage of its thriving narcotics drug scene, often described as the largest on the east coast. Opioid abuse has skyrocketed over the last two decades in the United States and Philadelphia is no exception. During our visit, addicts casually moved in and out, bringing and injecting their Badlands-bought heroin. The case was dropped in July. 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). Kensington Blues is a photography series by Jeffrey Stockbridge, 36, that documented the struggles and the dark reality of local residents. Kensington was originally a blue collar neighborhood that thrived on the factories built there. 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 . City housing officials say 300; police estimated over 650 people this summer. According to NeighborhhoodLink, an online source for demographics, geography and economic statistics, the average house value in the 19125 zip code of Kensington is now at $43,500. Worse than plain heroin. There still is no answer for the full number of people out here, McKinney said. Kensington has several medium and small sized parks and playgrounds which offer a variety of uses for visitors. In the absence of a larger plan, he was certain those encampments would grow in the coming weeks. Drug activity is not hidden here, especially not when heroin can go for as cheap as $5 a bag. 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. Jackie is missing. Anything else is tantamount to poverty porn and disrespectful to the people who dedicate their lives to making Kensington Avenue a better place. Even Dr. Oz took the time to show us a Kensington Avenue as a "hellscape." There is no hands-free zone' in the city of Philadelphia, and there never will be, says public-affairs officer Lt. Ray Evers. McKinney says the city could use regional support in creating a long-term solution for Kensington. 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. 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. You cant walk down the sidewalk, he said. But the Tracks, like Kensington Avenue, resemble a libertarian utopia gone wrong. The drug is even cheaper to produce and procure than fentanyl and is more dangerous in the sense that Narcan is not effective against overdoses. The drug overdose rate in Philadelphia is also concerning. When officials shut down the four bridge encampments between 2018 and 2019, Gladstein said 65% of people went into housing, and of those, more than half remain in housing today. The increase in violent crime, homelessness, and out-of-control drug use in Kensington are far greater threats to residents of Philadelphia. It is known for pawn shops and check-cashing joints. It has one of the largest rates of shootings in the city and is the scene of many murders. As for other encampments nearby, he said the city will need to post additional notice before staging more evictions. If you arrest a violent serial killer like the strangler, you know you made a difference. 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. The influx of immigrants and low-income households many of whom were unaware of the drug situation, or were forced to ignore it due to the stark affordability has made little difference in gentrifying the area. Commissioner [Charles] Ramsey does not support it; no one in this department does. Harbisons' Dairies, 2041-55 Coral Street (1895). 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). During my career I concluded we werent making a dent in drug addiction or related crime. The cap will be home to nearly 12 acres of parkland and seamlessly connect Old City to the Delaware River waterfront at Penns Landing. But despite its joys, a neighborhood called Kensington made a name for itself as home to the nation's highest rates of heroin overdoses. Within Kensington, various sub-neighborhoods including Kensington (the Heart of Kensington), Harrowgate, Lower Kensington, West Kensington. Sign up for the free Billy Penn newsletter and stay in the know. Want a digest of WHYYs programs, events & stories? Using proceeds from the sale of the Hope Farm estate (present day Port Richmond), which included three enslaved people named Abraham, Hannibal, and Phillis, 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 . These territorial disputes happen in clear daylight, theres no concern for the repercussions. Philadelphia, PA (February 26, 2023) - After noon on Sunday, February 26, a serious eight-vehicle collision with injuries took place in Philadelphia. 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. Together we can reach 100% of WHYYs fiscal year goal. Im out here too, and I think its fucking insanity. Ironically, even some addicts on Kensington Avenue dont believe in legalization. Not everyone who takes advantage of the trade on Kensington Ave lives nearby, though. The decision has saved the city millions, and won cheers nationwide from drug-law reformers. This street wears its heart on its sleeve, triumphs, and failures on full display. Harrowgate is the furthest north, bordering Juniata and named for Harrowgate Park. Knowing Kensington Avenue like I do, I am distressed by its predominantly negative and fetishized depiction in the media. Kensington, colloquially known locally as Kenzo, is a neighborhood in Philadelphia that belongs to or divides Lower Northeast and North Philadelphia. People are scared to take the train to work. They tried to institute safe-injection sites, where users can shoot up without fear of prosecution. Frankford Avenue Baptist Church, 2347-49 Frankford Avenue, Kensington, Philadelphia, PA (1889). Whos got works? she calls out to nobody in particular. 2 Kensington's high crime rate and drug abuse contribute significantly to Philadelphia's problems.Because of the high number of drugs in the neighborhood, Kensington has the third-highest drug crime rate by neighborhood in Philadelphia, at 3.57. [32][failed verification] The majority of its population is Hispanic or Latino (59.9%), consisting primarily of Puerto Rican and Dominican Americans. Kim Gary shared a video drive-through of Kensington that will leave you speechless that city Democrats are ignoring the real problems in their city. Those of us who work and have worked in this community are routinely disappointed by these narratives, and the merchants on Kensington Avenue have their livelihood betrayed by them. Opioid abuse has skyrocketed in the United States over the last two decades, and Philadelphia is no exception. [37] The station was reopened on April 5 with increased police presence.

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