Government and policy news in Kensington, Philadelphia — city council, zoning, elections, public hearings and the decisions that shape the neighborhood.
The Norris Square Neighborhood Profile, released in July, explored rising housing costs and other shifts in the neighborhood. This resource list points residents to support.
Accountability
A new batch of organizations will receive $2.2 million in grants from the city’s 2025 Opioid Prevention and Community Healing Fund (OPCH), after what some groups called delayed and unclear communication.
Accountability
Council member Quetcy Lozada’s bill that bans mobile service units from most of Kensington’s 7th District will not take effect on the expected date — Sunday, July 27.
Clean Streets
In Kensington, a neighborhood already grappling with public health challenges related to the decades-old open-air drug market and opioid crisis, residents say the AFSCME District Council 33 strike exposes longstanding problems including illegal dumping, homelessness and a lack of city support.
Health & Wellness
The budget – totaling about $13.4 billion across operating and capital expenses – invests in establishing a “wellness” system to address Kensington’s opioid crisis.
Accountability
Funding is allocated to expand the administration’s Kensington Wellness Court pilot from one to five days a week.
Arts & Culture
The Special Committee on Kensington, made up of council members Quetcy Lozada, Mark Squilla, Mike Driscoll, Nina Ahmad, Curtis Jones
Accountability
The bill imposes strict permitting, time, and location limits on medical providers offering wound care and addiction treatment as well as any organization offering basic necessities like food, water, and clothes.
Accountability
The bill would authorize police and crisis lines to initiate a 302 — an involuntary psychiatric hold of up to 120 hours for people considered a danger to themselves or others.
Accountability
Students from Gloria Casarez Elementary School in Kensington lined up to testify in support of the legislation, carrying handmade signs that read: “No needles,” “Don’t sell drugs,” “I just want to be a kid,” “We want to be able to play outside,” and “I want to feel safe.”
Accountability
The bill, which would ban mobile services from most of the 7th District, is up for a final vote on Thursday.
Clean Streets
Community members lead a spring cleanup at Trenton and Auburn Playground, followed by a visit from Mayor Cherelle Parker in support of revitalization efforts.
Accountability
The amendments, approved in a 12-3 vote, would require mobile providers to obtain permits while also imposing strict location and time limits on their operations.
Accountability
Around 2 a.m. on March 13, Frank Trout’s son was walking home from his boxing club when a car struck him near Richmond Street and Indiana Avenue. The driver fled the scene, so Trout turned to security footage for answers. But the street was pitch dark.
Accountability
As Philadelphia City Council considered Mayor Cherelle Parker’s $3.7 million request to expand the new Kensington Wellness Court
Accountability
Parker’s spending plan includes $216 million over five years on the “wellness ecosystem,” mostly for the Riverview Wellness Village, a 336-bed recovery housing facility for people who have completed between 30 and 90 days of substance use treatment.
Accountability
The committee wanted to know three things: how the city-funded programs are spending their money, how effective those programs have been, and whether they need to change.
Accountability
The new dashboard provides data on violent crime, property crime, police response times, overdose incidents, and emergency services efforts. It also monitors health, quality of life, and economic opportunity metrics.
Accountability
While there was some tension, there were also moments of empathy, vulnerability, and shared struggle. The conversation was not black and white, with many landing somewhere in the middle.
Arts & Culture
The Kensington Engagement Center is a hub for community connection and better resource access as part of the organization’s “Co-Creating Kensington” process.
Accountability
The fast-track court initiative targets people who use drugs by arresting them for summary offenses.
Accountability
Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order Tuesday allowing police to take people into custody for certain summary offenses that were decriminalized under former Mayor Jim Kenney.
Accountability
Why Gun Violence Dropped in Philadelphia Last Year — And What Happens Next
Government & Policy
Mayor Parker, Fire Commissioner Thompson, other city officials, and community members gather to celebrate the engine company’s return.
