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Calling on Mayor James Kenney, Governor Tom Wolf, and the Pennsylvania General Assembly to use all powers of their offices to declare a state of emergency and seek available emergency relief resources from the state and federal governments through the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to address the humanitarian emergency in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, including but not limited to resources that will provide hazard mitigation, access to health-related treatments, neighborhood cleanup and remediation, wraparound social services for neighborhood residents and persons experiencing homelessness and substance use disorders, and all other necessary assistance to maintain a safe and healthy environment for Philadelphians living or working in this area.
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WHEREAS, For too long, Philadelphia's City government has failed to adequately address the crisis of substance use disorders, criminal activity, environmental hazards, and lack of care for our families and business owners located in Kensington; and
WHEREAS, The neighborhood surrounding the Kensington Avenue corridor north of Lehigh Avenue in Philadelphia has, for decades, languished under the weight of a thriving drug trade, criminal activity, violence driven by territorial illegal drug sales, and people experiencing substance use disorders, mental illness and homelessness who populate its streets and often participate in open drug use, and contribute to an environment riddled with trash, dangerous needles, and other toxic wastes; and
WHEREAS, This area has become notorious as a place where illicit drug dealing and drug use are openly practiced and where little law enforcement or basic City services are sustained in the community. Children face daily commutes to school full of danger and bear witness to violence and graphic drug use. They lack safe, clean places to play and live free. Residents routinely describe threats from...
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