After an August 18 reopening, the library held a ribbon-cutting event to shed light on the building’s importance to the lives of the Port Richmond community.
An ordinance that expands a business curfew currently in effect in a section of Kensington will be enforced in much of North Philadelphia and more of Kensington in 60 days.
Prison staff say the staffing shortage makes it impossible to deliver timely, high-quality care for the approximately 4,700 people incarcerated in Philadelphia’s jails daily – a majority of whom present with substance use disorder.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Bethel named gun violence and illegal drug activity as top priorities, plus other crimes “that have kept that community pretty much imprisoned for a long time.”
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%.
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.
While open drug use in Kensington continues to make national headlines, Philadelphia health workers say the city’s Black residents are quietly overdosing from cocaine, opiates, and other substances at unprecedented rates inside their homes.
Following an encampment sweep on the 3000 and 3100 blocks of Kensington Avenue Wednesday, police have flooded the area, leading residents and activists to wonder when a law enforcement crackdown is coming
No city social services were present when police dispersed the encampments despite promises from city leaders that the initiative would be “service-led.”
On Wednesday, social service providers and police officers will tell people living in tents or makeshift structures on Kensington Avenue’s 3000 and 3100 blocks to relocate.
