Millions of dollars in drugs seized by police, homicides down in Kensington, Philadelphia leaders say
When she took office in January 2024, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker made cleaning up the embattled Kensington neighborhood a priority. The community has long been plagued by violent crime and one of the largest open-air drug markets on the East Coast.
City and police leaders gathered Monday in the neighborhood to give an update on how the initiatives they put in place have been working over the last year.
"We are in this fight. We are here, standing shoulder to shoulder. And we ain't going nowhere," Philadelphia Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer said.
The city has devoted significant resources to cleaning up the neighborhood. Last May, city workers cleared out a large homeless encampment set up on the 3100 block of Kensington Avenue, a main business corridor in the community. Philadelphia police also sent an entire police recruiting class to the region.
Monday's event was highlighted by the city's public safety response to the issues in the neighborhood. According to city data presented at the Impact Services building on Indiana Avenue, from March to December 2024, police seized $10,011,252 worth of narcotics in the neighborhood. The major target: fentanyl.
"We've taken off the street 845,000 doses of fentanyl in that little map," said Deputy Commissioner Pedro Rosario, referencing a map showing the targeted area of enforcement in Kensington.
Police said there were 1,473 drug-related arrests made in the neighborhood during that time, and that drug dealing arrests rose 58% in 2024. Deputy Commissioner James Kelly said police are targeting everyone from street-level dealers up to major crime organizations.
"I've been in narcotics a long time, as was the commissioner," Kelly said. "I've never seen fentanyl seizures like this right now."
Violent crime also dropped in the neighborhood, according to city data, with a 45% reduction in homicides and a 44% drop in shooting incidents.
City leaders also touted efforts to expand access to treatment options, including the opening of the Kensington Wellness Court which they say gives people brought in for drug use offenses the option of going to treatment, and the Riverview Wellness Center, which adds new beds for long-term recovery.
But not all who live and work in the neighborhood say they're seeing the progress they had hoped for.
"The streets look good. The sweepers were out multiple times today. And meanwhile, we're responding to four ODs," said Rosalind Pichardo with the Sunshine House.
The Sunshine House sits directly on Kensington Avenue and offers people in need food, clothing and access to resources for getting into treatment. By 11:30 a.m. Monday, 104 people had already come through their doors for help.
Pichardo believes the city needs more outreach workers on the street. She pointed to the May 2024 clear out of Kensington Avenue, saying while it cleaned up the business corridor, it simply moved people in need into the neighborhood.
"They're just on the side streets. They're out of sight, out of mind, enough for developers to look at what they want to buy up," Pichardo said.
City leaders were asked about that concern during Monday's event. They say they understand that has become an issue, and it's something they want to tackle as they continue to move forward with their efforts in Kensington.
"Make no mistake, we are aware of that, we are concerned about that, we understand the community's concerns about that. And we're working on that, and we're going to have progress there," Geer said.
City agency Philly Stat 360 is also making the data and initiatives in Kensington available to the public. They launched an online dashboard, called the Kensington Community Revival Plan, where people can see the numbers that matter to them and get access to resources. The dashboard can be found here.
