Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The mayor and PPD need to implement something that I have been pondering for a while now: a "Center City Crime Zone".
Basically, under what I have been postulating, any crime committed between Spring Garden, South, and both rivers (alternatively, Girard and Tasker for northern and southern boundaries) should carry harsher minimum sentences and longer maximum sentences. Now, many people may think that something like this would be unfair to implement in just Center City; nevertheless, Center City is where the greatest mass of people converge. Within the boundaries of Center City, especially west of Broad Street, the population swells at times due to when schools let out, when people get off of work, tourists, and other factors. In order to keep this increased amount of people safe, then harsher sentences to these thugs must be handed out.
Now, I must say that no part of Philly scares me; in fact, due to my curiosity, one can find me exploring the streets of Kensington or Central North Philly more than one will find me in Center City. I'm a 21 year old male who stands 6'2" and weighs 218 pounds, so nobody really messes with me. If they try anything against me (this also goes for the thugs who like to attack people near Ellsworth-Federal, and for those who attack Temple students around campus), I will show them how West Philly rolls. With all of this said, I still remain situationally aware when I'm around 15th and Chestnut during certain times of any given day. The Wendy's and Popeye's restaurants, in particular, are where these delinquents seem to hang out. That entire corner will undergo a HUGE change once the W and Elements Hotel is complete, as it will drive up rents and push out the nuisance businesses in that area. Until that happens, Mayor Kenney and the PPD commissioner MUST take steps to patrol Center City better than they do now. The thugs in that area would NEVER stop me from coming to Center City or make me consider moving out to the suburbs (I'm already living in Delco, but should be in the city by August) since they can easily be driven out.
I wonder if the closure of The Gallery has anything to do with this uptick in teens doing stupid stuff in Center City?
The mayor and PPD need to implement something that I have been pondering for a while now: a "Center City Crime Zone".
Basically, under what I have been postulating, any crime committed between Spring Garden, South, and both rivers (alternatively, Girard and Tasker for northern and southern boundaries) should carry harsher minimum sentences and longer maximum sentences. Now, many people may think that something like this would be unfair to implement in just Center City; nevertheless, Center City is where the greatest mass of people converge. Within the boundaries of Center City, especially west of Broad Street, the population swells at times due to when schools let out, when people get off of work, tourists, and other factors. In order to keep this increased amount of people safe, then harsher sentences to these thugs must be handed out.
Now, I must say that no part of Philly scares me; in fact, due to my curiosity, one can find me exploring the streets of Kensington or Central North Philly more than one will find me in Center City. I'm a 21 year old male who stands 6'2" and weighs 218 pounds, so nobody really messes with me. If they try anything against me (this also goes for the thugs who like to attack people near Ellsworth-Federal, and for those who attack Temple students around campus), I will show them how West Philly rolls. With all of this said, I still remain situationally aware when I'm around 15th and Chestnut during certain times of any given day. The Wendy's and Popeye's restaurants, in particular, are where these delinquents seem to hang out. That entire corner will undergo a HUGE change once the W and Elements Hotel is complete, as it will drive up rents and push out the nuisance businesses in that area. Until that happens, Mayor Kenney and the PPD commissioner MUST take steps to patrol Center City better than they do now. The thugs in that area would NEVER stop me from coming to Center City or make me consider moving out to the suburbs (I'm already living in Delco, but should be in the city by August) since they can easily be driven out.
I wonder if the closure of The Gallery has anything to do with this uptick in teens doing stupid stuff in Center City?
One, I'm like you with my "the city is my oyster" attitude, but if you read that essay I wrote on Fishtown a couple of years ago, you know I did make exceptions - as I did in Boston with Southie. Neither neighborhood is what it was back then now.
Two, just enforce the laws that exist and station cops where trouble's likely to erupt. The problem is that this Commish tends to do the latter after trouble erupts. I've seen that in front of the stop 'n' go down the block from me often enough. Something happens, and for a while, cops are on the corner. Then they disappear. Then something else happens. Then they're back. What sort of message does that send to would-be miscreants?
Three, maybe the closing of the Gallery did have some effect. Do/did you consider it "the iconic ghetto" in town as well? (I'm referring to Elijah Anderson's book "The Cosmopolitan Canopy," the research for which took place to a large degree at the Gallery and the adjacent Reading Terminal Market, which is a "cosmoplitan canopy" where people of various backgrounds gather together and model civility.
PA is a "stand your ground" state. If some punks come at a person who's carrying legally, it's not going to be 'murky.'
My neighbor's grandson lost that battle in front of a Wawa on Route 1 a few years ago. He and his buddies thought it would be fun to lump some guy up who was trying to get a coffee. Didn't work out too well for him and the guy defending himself went to court and that was it. Court is better than getting your face punched in.
A few years back at 3rd and Market, some frat boy types thought they had easy prey in an Indian guy ... he was legally allowed to defend himself from an ass-kicking and one of the fools is now crippled.
You don't have to take a beat down for no reason in PA.
Go to any gun safety course or talk to any police officer and they'll tell you it's not so simple. But regardless of any anecdotes that you or I can throw at each other, it's a LAST resort. Not one to be taken lightly.
After attending gun safety classes, I made the decision not to own a firearm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AJNEOA
Go to any gun safety course or talk to any police officer and they'll tell you it's not so simple. But regardless of any anecdotes that you or I can throw at each other, it's a LAST resort. Not one to be taken lightly.
The mayor and PPD need to implement something that I have been pondering for a while now: a "Center City Crime Zone".
Now, I must say that no part of Philly scares me; in fact, due to my curiosity, one can find me exploring the streets of Kensington or Central North Philly more than one will find me in Center City. I'm a 21 year old male who stands 6'2" and weighs 218 pounds, so nobody really messes with me. If they try anything against me (this also goes for the thugs who like to attack people near Ellsworth-Federal, and for those who attack Temple students around campus), I will show them how West Philly rolls. With all of this said, I still remain situationally aware when I'm around 15th and Chestnut during certain times of any given day. The Wendy's and Popeye's restaurants, in particular, are where these delinquents seem to hang out. That entire corner will undergo a HUGE change once the W and Elements Hotel is complete, as it will drive up rents and push out the nuisance businesses in that area. Until that happens, Mayor Kenney and the PPD commissioner MUST take steps to patrol Center City better than they do now. The thugs in that area would NEVER stop me from coming to Center City or make me consider moving out to the suburbs (I'm already living in Delco, but should be in the city by August) since they can easily be driven out.
I wonder if the closure of The Gallery has anything to do with this uptick in teens doing stupid stuff in Center City?
I do agree being male (black or white) and taller and/ or muscular helps. I have never had any issues from the thugs in Philadelphia, an occasional gay slur, but I keep walking. Now many women who I am friends with who live in Philadelphia have told me they routinely feel uncomfortable even in the nicest parts of Center City with the cat calls and inappropriate comments from the groups of people that hang on the corners. I think that is a big problem in many American cities, not just Philadelphia.
But yes to the Gallery, its a mini act of displacement, just like how bad neighborhoods improve, the displaced don't disappear, they relocate and that's what a lot of the people who hung around the Gallery did. I would prefer Wendys and Popeyes to be vacant storefronts, it would at least clear out that corner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lpranger467
Whether or not people liked Rudy Giuliani's policies or not, there is plenty of evidence from NYC history that conservative policy and aggressive policing (yes including stop and frisk) have a direct impact on crime.
I know police presence and enforcement is a big one, but Manhattan is far more polished, much larger and wealthier, and separated from the worse off neighborhoods of NYC (even though there doesn't seem to be many of them anymore). CC is a tiny island of affluence and high culture among a sea of undesirable neighborhoods, and for many of those people whether you want them there or not, they have no other choice but to go to CC for whatever reason it may be (even if its just to cause trouble). NYC if much larger and every borough has tons of amenities already, and there really is no reason for a lot of people in the worse neighborhoods to venture into Manhattan (or out of Harlem) unless it is for something positive, like a show or shopping or venues, etc.
I felt as though CC was far enough disconnected from most of the schools that it wouldnt attract the younger crowd, and I would have also thought most of the neighborhoods here have the amenities that youth could find in CC. My neighborhood in Queens is just comprised of small stores and shops and is just enough to keep me satisfied.
I cant help but think that we have a ton of kids whose essentially absentee parents are using CC as their babysitter to just get them out of the house; and this is at the expense of people who now have to deal with these roving groups tearing up store (Fed Ex this time) and assaulting people. Unfortunately kids doing these sort of things usually dont come from parents who try to influence their kids to do the right thing just for the sake of doing so, and some parental responsibility type law may have to be enacted before kids stop flocking to CC just to cause problems.
Bad reputations are very hard to live down, I have to imagine the tourists and business folks who witness these roving mobs will not speak kindly about our city and will be in no hurry to return. There needs to be immediate and swift action to send a message that this trend must stop.
"I know police presence and enforcement is a big one, but Manhattan is far more polished, much larger and wealthier, and separated from the worse off neighborhoods of NYC (even though there doesn't seem to be many of them anymore). CC is a tiny island of affluence and high culture among a sea of undesirable neighborhoods, and for many of those people whether you want them there or not, they have no other choice but to go to CC for whatever reason it may be (even if its just to cause trouble). NYC if much larger and every borough has tons of amenities already, and there really is no reason for a lot of people in the worse neighborhoods to venture into Manhattan (or out of Harlem) unless it is for something positive, like a show or shopping or venues, etc.[/quote]
The mayor and PPD need to implement something that I have been pondering for a while now: a "Center City Crime Zone".
Basically, under what I have been postulating, any crime committed between Spring Garden, South, and both rivers (alternatively, Girard and Tasker for northern and southern boundaries) should carry harsher minimum sentences and longer maximum sentences. Now, many people may think that something like this would be unfair to implement in just Center City; nevertheless, Center City is where the greatest mass of people converge. Within the boundaries of Center City, especially west of Broad Street, the population swells at times due to when schools let out, when people get off of work, tourists, and other factors. In order to keep this increased amount of people safe, then harsher sentences to these thugs must be handed out.
Now, I must say that no part of Philly scares me; in fact, due to my curiosity, one can find me exploring the streets of Kensington or Central North Philly more than one will find me in Center City. I'm a 21 year old male who stands 6'2" and weighs 218 pounds, so nobody really messes with me. If they try anything against me (this also goes for the thugs who like to attack people near Ellsworth-Federal, and for those who attack Temple students around campus), I will show them how West Philly rolls. With all of this said, I still remain situationally aware when I'm around 15th and Chestnut during certain times of any given day. The Wendy's and Popeye's restaurants, in particular, are where these delinquents seem to hang out. That entire corner will undergo a HUGE change once the W and Elements Hotel is complete, as it will drive up rents and push out the nuisance businesses in that area. Until that happens, Mayor Kenney and the PPD commissioner MUST take steps to patrol Center City better than they do now. The thugs in that area would NEVER stop me from coming to Center City or make me consider moving out to the suburbs (I'm already living in Delco, but should be in the city by August) since they can easily be driven out.
I wonder if the closure of The Gallery has anything to do with this uptick in teens doing stupid stuff in Center City?
What this is basically saying is that the wealthier, whiter people of Philadelphia deserve extra protection because that is who mostly lives, works, and populates Center City. What about the people who live up in Strawberry Mansion, or Olney, or Belmont, or Point Breeze, who get victimized by truly violent crime on a daily basis? Or do we not care as much because they don't bring in as much money and their skin isn't the right color? You may be black, but this proposal is just flat out, morally wrong on many levels. It basically gives those with the most means and privilege yet another layer of it. It tells all those poor, brown and black skinned people in the outer neighborhoods that they, the most victimized group, don't deserve this special layer. Just think about that for a minute.
I'm not a small guy either (I played football my entire life), but chances are you won't get the chance to show anyone "how West Philly rolls" because they will be on top of you before you know it. I've been harassed and called a f****t twice in my life. One was in Hell's Kitchen in New York, and the other was in the Gayborhood here. Anybody who has half a brain knows it is best to just ignore it and walk away.
What this is basically saying is that the wealthier, whiter people of Philadelphia deserve extra protection because that is who mostly lives, works, and populates Center City. What about the people who live up in Strawberry Mansion, or Olney, or Belmont, or Point Breeze, who get victimized by truly violent crime on a daily basis? Or do we not care as much because they don't bring in as much money and their skin isn't the right color? You may be black, but this proposal is just flat out, morally wrong on many levels. It basically gives those with the most means and privilege yet another layer of it. It tells all those poor, brown and black skinned people in the outer neighborhoods that they, the most victimized group, don't deserve this special layer. Just think about that for a minute.
"Extra protection" and this "special layer" will not fix whatever is going on in those neighborhoods. I think that is more of a societal problem. What is needed is an installment of a basic sense of moral responsibility and structured family life. Lacking this, the poverty cycle rolls on and on and education continues to not be of importance, leading to continued crime generation after generation. What can the people of these neighborhoods do to break the cycle?
When you say "It tells all those poor, brown and black skinned people in the outer neighborhoods that they, the most victimized group, don't deserve this special layer" it's not that they don't deserve this special layer, it's that this special layer would not do anything to help the problem. What those poor, brown and black skinned people in the outer neighborhoods deserve is a way to break the poverty cycle and steer the youth away from a culture and lifestyle of drugs/crime/joblessness so that behavior witnessed from that mob can be mitigated.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
