In recent years, Kensington has experienced increasing social issues primarily related to drug abuse. There was a major street gang located at K&A that started as a burglary ring but eventually moved into drug trafficking in the 80s. This summer, the Philadelphia Police Department canceled seven blocks in the area due to safety concerns. The conflict between clean residents and dealers can escalate, sometimes so high that a person once threw a Molotov cocktail through a residents window. The original area of Kensington is now more commonly called "Fishtown," mainly because of the shad fishing that was one of the dominant businesses in Kensington in the 18th and 19th centuries. Most encampment residents had moved out from the former site before Wednesday morning. More by Max Marin. The citys violent crime rate is higher than the national average and other similarly sized metropolitan areas.1 Also alarming is Philadelphias drug overdose rate. 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. Longtime neighborhood residents, business owners, and some elected officials have been pushing Mayor Kenneys administration to fix the untenable living conditions especially those brought by widespread homelessness. [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. Protestors demanded a clear reopening date for the station, safer conditions for SEPTA workers, addiction services, services for homeless people in the area, and more. 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. Philadelphias District Attorney Seth Williams risked backlash from hardcore law-and-order types when he recently stopped criminally prosecuting minor marijuana offenses. On March 21, 2021, SEPTA indefinitely closed the Somerset Station of the Market-Frankford Line (MFL). In addition to having a high rate of drug overdose deaths, 80% of Philadelphia's overdose deaths involved opioids, and Kensington is a significant contributor to this figure. The city of Philadelphia has set a deadline of Aug. 18 for encampments of people living homeless on the sidewalks of Kensington to be cleared. During my career I concluded we werent making a dent in drug addiction or related crime. 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. You cant walk down the sidewalk, he said. Just a few blocks away, the Kensington Storefront, a collaboration between Impact Services, NKCDC, Mural Arts, Prevention Point Philadelphia and The Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services (DBHIDS), transformed an abandoned Cricket Wireless Store into a hub for arts-based community events, trainings, and meetings. And public homelessness ranks high on the list of concerns. Streets of Philadelphia, Kensington Ave Story, What happened Today, October, 05, 2021. kimgary 266K subscribers 348K views 1 year ago Most dangerous street in Philadelphia Kensington. Kensington has several medium and small sized parks and playgrounds which offer a variety of uses for visitors. They have attempted to clean up the neighborhoods, planting trees and replacing broken street lights. Jason Meyer watched from his wheelchair as city personnel tried to clean up the chaos near Kensington and Allegheny avenues on Wednesday morning. This is probably one of the most drug infested streets in Philadelphia. They draw a diverse crowd: tight-pantsed hipsters and long-time residents alike enjoy the delicious food in equal measure. As momentum grows, more and more entrepreneurs are looking at Kensington Avenue as a viable corridor for their businesses. Its so well known that a simple Google search for really bad drug areas brings it up. Over the next two years, the city closed down four highly visible tent cities that grew along a series of underpasses. As of right now, I dont think anyone is confident that theres any sort of larger plan that can account for each person.. 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. Police said the victim is a 43-year-old man, who was stabbed multiple times. This train starts at Bridge st. From Frankford , Juanita, Kensington and Fishtown. The drug overdose rate in Philadelphia is also concerning. Upwards of 100 people camp out there every night and its not for stargazing. Many of these residents dont have homes. The decision has saved the city millions, and won cheers nationwide from drug-law reformers. Youre out there talking to junkies with a couple ounces of drugs in them who cant be trusted to make a lucid statement.. PHILADELPHIA - Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Ricardo Carrion, a.k.a. Kensington was previously known for its large working class Irish Catholic community and was the site of the Philadelphia Nativist Riots in the 19th century. Within Kensington, various sub-neighborhoods including Kensington (the Heart of Kensington), Harrowgate, Lower Kensington, West Kensington. A Google search for Kensington Avenue Philadelphia yields horrendous images of sad-eyed people slumped over in varying poses of despair. Despite lobbying council members and state representatives, no change has been made. Estimates vary between 300 and 650 people living on the street. Opioid abuse has skyrocketed over the last two decades in the United States and Philadelphia is no exception. Drug activity is not hidden here, especially not when heroin can go for as cheap as $5 a bag. When the coronavirus pandemic hit in late December 2019, heroin abuse in Kensington worsened. Two men nodded in a drug-addled stupor on a sidewalk on Kensington Avenue. Natalie Raitano is a fitness instructor and former actress who is most famously known for her role on the show V.I.P. McKinney says the city could use regional support in creating a long-term solution for Kensington. Its a scene that will look familiar to viewers of HBOs The Wire, an episode of which, titled Hamsterdam, showed Baltimore police effectively legalizing drugs within an established zone of an infested neighborhood. Butterworth and Sons Company Building, Kensington Corridor Trust Community Garden, community development financial institution, Jules E. Mastbaum Vocational Technical High School, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania", "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Beatty's Mills Factory Building", "Coral Street Arts House - NKCDC - An income based apartment for artists", "Insane Surge in Philadelphia Gentrification", "PhilaPlace - The Kensington Riots of 1844", "Maps make you wonder, what is Fishtown? WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. Fishtown, formerly a small subsection of Kensington, has transformed with a new population of more college educated white people as well as increased investment from real estate developers. There was a homeless camp set up in a railroad gulch in Kensington called El Campamento. Wednesdays encampment closure was initially postponed due to a lawsuit filed on behalf of residents. "Violent crime and drug abuse in Philadelphia as a . The city's violent crime rate is higher than the national average and other similarly sized metropolitan areas.1 Also alarming is Philadelphia's drug overdose rate. GDP . 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 . They declared a statewide disaster over the drug epidemic in 2017. The camp was cleared, the people chose new spots in the neighborhood to overrun with used needles, overdoses, and trash. They paint a picture of a poverty zoo. At stake in all this, is the soul of a place where Philadelphians have made a living, shopped and socialized for generations. The problem is that Kensington Avenue is largely unseen by Philadelphians. Close to the Delaware River where factories have since closed it is called the Walmart of Drugs and it is the world leader in heroin sales and usage. Philadelphia, PA (February 26, 2023) - After noon on Sunday, February 26, a serious eight-vehicle collision with injuries took place in Philadelphia. It happened shortly after 3 a.m. Thursday in the area of Fairhill Square Park at 4th Street and Lehigh Avenue. Subs are Suboxone, a pill containing buprenophine, a drug that eases the pain of heroin withdrawal. 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. McNeil Laboratories began with the purchase of a pharmacy in the area in 1879 by the company's namesake. 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. 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. The number of drug overdose deaths in the city increased by 50% from 2013 to 2015, with more than twice as many deaths from drug overdoses as deaths from homicides in 2015.2 A big part of Philadelphias problems stem from the crime rate and drug abuse in Kensington. 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. The area is known as the center of Kensington and was historically the commercial center of the neighborhood. Kensington belongs to or divides Lower Northeast and North Philadelphia. [35][citation needed]. Officers will issue code violation notices and try to prevent new spots from forming. It has one of the largest rates of shootings in the city and is the scene of many murders. Philadelphias police force is inarguably overwhelmed by the scope of the citys addiction problems. Different tactics are required for each site, depending on whether its public or private property, he said. Multiple people were injured after a messy crash in the Kensington section of the city. People are scared to take the train to work. But about 15 people remained around 8 a.m., many shielding their faces from news cameras as outreach workers helped them fill plastic bins with their belongings. According to police, the man was transported to Temple. Look, he says, junkies got rights, too. Johnson knowseven with a colorful awning and bright lightingher cafe might not get a lot of consumer street traffic. Well probably have a detail stationed [there], Alexander said. [34], Kensington is home to a large population homeless individuals, many of whom suffer from addiction. Addicts can be found in the woods along the Tracks openly cooking and shooting drugs in broad daylight, a daily occurrence that indicates this is territory clearly forsaken by the law. Worse than plain heroin. The number of drug overdose deaths in the city . [36] The closure, which happened without consulting with residents and lacked advanced notice,[37] was ostensibly to repair elevators that had been damaged by human waste and trash and concerns about safety for workers. The right to shop locally in your community is enjoyed by most Philadelphia residents, and Kensingtonians are taking their corridor back. This Philadelphia neighborhood is said to have the largest open-air heroin market on the East Coast, with many neighbors migrating to the area for heroin and other opioids. Kensington Avenue's ghoulish world of addiction and prostitution exists outside the law. Probably for. The New Kensington Community Development Corporation, Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, WHYY thanks our sponsors become a WHYY sponsor. He also sold to recent German fishermen immigrants. The government has shown attempts at trying. The cap will be home to nearly 12 acres of parkland and seamlessly connect Old City to the Delaware River waterfront at Penns Landing. There have been many petitions by residents to take care of Kensington. The Columbia Works, 155-59 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Kensington, Philadelphia, PA. A "person of interest" in the case, Antonio Rodriguez, was arrested in January 2011. Groups of Irish Americans, Polish Americans, and Asian Americans also make up the neighborhood. Fairhill and Norris Square are separate from Kensington with a more central North Philadelphia identity; however, exactly where the neighborhoods separate is subject to much debate and there are people within both neighborhoods who identify with Kensington. Billy Joel & Stevie Nicks floor seat tickets. The help is there, but its not enough. Close to the I-95, and a stones throw away from the scenic Delaware river, Kensington is a neighborhood in northern Philly with quite the reputation. This is Kensington Ave my friend. Its a place where many admit they dont want to be, but cant get away from. link to Whatever Happened To Natalie Raitano. The super brief history is Kensington was a thriving industrial area of factory workers until deindustrialization happened which left the neighborhood impoverished and jobless. Everything You Wanted To Know About Los Angeles Skid Row, Everything You Wanted To Know About Los Angeles' Skid Row, Is Philadelphia Safe To Visit? In Philadelphia's Kensington district, home to one of the largest open-air drug markets in the United States, crowds of sellers and buyers flock to corners as if there never were a pandemic. 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. 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.. PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Multiple people were injured after a messy crash in the Kensington section of the city. Philadelphia Kensington Avenue, What happened.. 14 19 . 4 2023 , ! Tony Rogers, a recovered heroin addict and reformed career criminal who warmly calls the motley crowds on Kensington Avenue my old tribe, says, In 20 years of using back here, I never once saw a cop come on the Tracks unless they chased somebody in here.. These territorial disputes happen in clear daylight, theres no concern for the repercussions. Crack, meth, heroin, oxycodone, weed, percocet, PCP these are all the usual suspects around Kensington Ave.