PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The city has cleared out the homeless encampment along Kensington Avenue as part of the Parker administration’s plan to dismantle the open-air drug market in Kensington and make the neighborhood safer.
City outreach crews focused on the 3000 and 3100 blocks of Kensington Avenue. That stretch of Kensington Avenue, between East Orleans Street and Allegheny Avenue, is closed from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“The temporary closure is needed to ensure the safety of city outreach teams as they engage individuals during the final day of encampment resolution on Wednesday, May 8, during which individuals residing at the encampment have been notified to dismantle any tents and structures that pose public health and safety hazards and obstruct sidewalk passage,” the Parker administration said in a statement.
Officials gave people living in the targeted area 30 days’ notice to dismantle tents and other structures that were blocking the sidewalks. Outreach teams visited the block every day since to offer much-needed resources, and at least 36 people have been connected to housing and/or treatment services, city officials said.
The encampment clear-out started around 7 a.m. Wednesday, as heavy rain poured down. But by that point, officials said most people were already gone.
Sanitation crews removed tents and other debris and swept and sprayed the streets and sidewalks. There were no major incidents or arrests.
Janette, who lives nearby, was pleased to see the effort: “Kids can’t walk by. Kids are scared to come through here to go to school. There’s killing, there’s shooting, there’s drugs. There are needles everywhere. You can’t walk around here. This is a great start.”
But some residents and community outreach groups believe the city is rushing this process, fearing that this strategy only offers a temporary fix, and people and tents will return.
Public Safety Director Adam Geer said the city will make sure that doesn’t happen.
“We’re asking: If the community sees any of that stuff, let us know,” he said. “[Tents] can be taken down without having to do another encampment resolution.”
Another concern is that these unhoused people would move to other parts of the city.
“I think the first step should be creating more resources for the individuals out there. Posting signs saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to kick you out of what you consider to be your home,’ isn’t a resource,” Megan Cohen, founder of the GRACE Project, a nonprofit that does outreach in Kensington regularly, told NBC10.
“They will come back because there’s no real solution,” said Rosalind Pichardo, who also does outreach work. “There’s no real plan and no one’s coming up with the amount of beds needed for the amount of people here in Kensington.”
City officials assured they will be active and continue to help people wherever they are and get them the help they need.