What to Know
- Philadelphia police and officials are expected to launch phase two of their improvement plan for Kensington next week.
- The next phase will feature more police officers in Kensington who will crack down on drug dealers, narcotics, prostitution and other quality of life crimes.
- As the city's plan to improve Kensington continues, some community organizers say the city needs to include their voices and input in order to really make a difference in the neighborhood.
More Philadelphia police officers will patrol Kensington starting next week as part of phase two of the city’s plan to clean up and improve the neighborhood.
Under the enforcement phase of the plan, Philadelphia police will target drug dealers, conduct warrant sweeps and crack down on prostitution as well as other quality of life crimes.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told NBC10 he’s concerned about a new deadly Fentanyl mixture that’s killed users in Kensington.
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“We will move into a space where we’ll be adding a substantial number of officers down into Kensington to address the drug sales and the drug activity and the poison sold on the street everyday,” Commissioner Bethel said.
Kensington improvement plan
Since her first day in office, Mayor Cherelle Parker has made Kensington a focus for her administration. City councilmembers also created a caucus aimed at improving the neighborhood.
Earlier this year, city council passed an 11 p.m. curfew for Kensington businesses that are not licensed to be open for 24 hours. Mayor Parker’s budget – which was approved by city council on Thursday, June 6 -- also dedicated $100 million for triage facilities where drug users taken off the streets can receive treatment. However, as reported by NBC10 newsgathering partner KYW Newsradio, Parker has also called for an end to using city funds in order to operate needle exchange programs.
The Kensington Planning Process -- a collaborative of residents, organizations, and civic groups – is also working on a plan to use millions in opioid settlement funds to improve the community.
Last month, city workers and police cleared an encampment of about 75 people living in tents along the sidewalk of Kensington Avenue as part of the improvement plan.
As police and officials prepare for the next phase of the plan, some community organizers say the city needs to include their voices and input in order to really make a difference in Kensington.
“You can’t really police your way out of this,” Rosalind Pichardo, the project manager for the Sunshine House, a hub for overdose and gun violence prevention services, told NBC10. “You have to make sure that people go into treatment and the resources are available.”
Pichardo said she’s seen the number of overdoses skyrocket since last month’s encampment sweep in Kensington.
“Yesterday, we responded to four overdoses,” she said.
Pichardo believes medical professionals need to be included in the city’s plan to treat and help people struggling with substance abuse. She also questioned the approval of the $100 million towards the triage facilities.
“What are we going to do for three years while this place is being built? What services are going to be put into place?” she asked. “And how can we be supported?”
Pichardo believes the missing piece in the city’s plan is the voice of the organizations who’ve been working to provide services in Kensington.
“They didn’t ask us as harm reductionists what works and what doesn’t work,” she said. “What’s dangerous. What’s not dangerous.”
The city is expected to reveal more details on the enforcement phase of the plan for Kensington on Monday, June 10.
The third phase of the city’s plan for Kensington will include police personnel securing and keeping criminal behavior out of the neighborhood with the help of barricades or bike racks on the sidewalks until the areas are restored.
The fourth and fifth stages will focus on returning the community back to its owners and decreasing police presence if and when improvements are made.
