Emily Rizzo is the Accountability Reporter for Kensington Voice. She mostly covers the city’s response to the opioid and housing crises in Kensington, with a focus on how new policies and initiatives affect the community.
Accountability
The hearing announcement comes after Lozada introduced a bill earlier this month that would ban mobile service units in most of District 7.
Small Business
Thomas Sheridan is opening a grocery store on Kensington Avenue near Tioga Street with the community and small, local businesses in mind.
Accountability
About 40 people disrupted a criminal legal system panel at the Parkway Central Free Library on Tuesday night to protest the recent deaths of Amanda Cahill and Michael McKinnis.
Accountability
Women incarcerated near Cahill at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center said “the banging was so loud that people couldn't sleep."
Accountability
Cahill, a mother of two sons, was one of 34 people arrested for narcotics violations and outstanding warrants in a coordinated police sweep under Mayor Cherelle Parker’s Kensington initiative.
Accountability
If the legislation is enacted, those who violate the policy could receive up to a $500 fine.
Accountability
Police arrested 34 people for “narcotics violations,” including drug paraphernalia and possession, as well as outstanding warrants
Accountability
The cleanup was organized by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) “in conjunction with staff from the City of Philadelphia,” according to a PennDOT spokesperson.
Accountability
Police will be clearing people and trash for kids’ routes to school starting “probably in the next three weeks.”
Accountability
During an exclusive interview on WHYY’s live talk show Studio 2, Mayor Cherelle Parker discussed policing Kensington’s open-air drug market and said the May 8 encampment sweep didn’t go exactly as planned.
Accountability
Local health experts emphasized system-wide challenges, ranging from 16-hour assessment wait times to a lack of coordination among service providers, shortages of medically monitored treatment beds, and insurance policy limitations.
Health & Wellness
The medical services that the zoning exception would impact include HIV and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing and treatment, HIV medication, substance use treatment, and wound care.
Accountability
The state trust that oversees the disbursement of opioid settlement dollars says Philadelphia improperly used $7.5 million on eviction prevention, home repair, and improvements to schools and parks.
Los nuevos oficiales trabajarán en tres turnos y cubrirán el vecindario las 24 horas del día. La mayoría de los oficiales patrullarán el vecindario a pie, y algunos estarán en bicicletas.
Accountability
The Philadelphia Police Academy’s entire graduating class – a total of 78 new officers – will patrol Kensington “24/7” starting June 18. Their deployment will increase the neighborhood’s police force by almost 200%.
Accountability
In the weeks since the city dismantled the Kensington Avenue encampment, legal observers, harm reduction advocates, and service providers are wondering why the police gave Christian volunteers more access than others.
Accountability
When outreach workers arrived, the people staying in tents and structures on the 3000-3100 blocks of Kensington Avenue were gone.
Accountability
No city social services were present when police dispersed the encampments despite promises from city leaders that the initiative would be “service-led.”
Accountability
In some cases, people are connected to long-term recovery programs at Christian facilities that don’t provide evidence-based care, including required unpaid labor or “work therapy.”
Health & Wellness
During Tuesday’s primary, the 7th and 33rd Wards, which include Fairhill, Harrowgate, and Kensington, remained the two wards with the lowest voter turnout in Philadelphia.
Accountability
While Philly's police commissioner said the first phase will begin after an encampment sweep scheduled for May 8, the city’s managing director said “we don’t have enough beds” to offer those who need addiction treatment and related services.
Clean Streets
Ridgway, who founded Harrowgate Civic Association about 10 years ago, now serves as the group’s vice president.
Housing & Shelter
The city’s plan entails bussing unhoused residents to the surrounding counties and possible family reunification, plus increased police engagement, according to city officials.
Arts & Culture
Over the past year, in collaboration with Mural Arts, Lugo collected input from community members to get a sense of the neighborhood’s patterns — patterns that reflect their background, culture, and everyday life.
