Philadelphia to clear encampments in drug-ridden Kensington neighborhood to curb crime, open-air substance abuse
Drugs, defecation and despair: A walk down one of America's most lawless streets
In Kensington, Philadelphia's open-air drug market, users can be seen passed out on the pavement or injecting themselves with needles on a main street.
Philadelphia on Monday plans to temporarily shut down a stretch of Kensington Avenue — a street known worldwide as an open-air drug market — to clear out homeless encampments.
Kensington has for years been a safe haven for drug addicts to freely shoot up, but Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order declaring a public safety emergency and calling for strategies to dismantle open-air drug markets, including Kensington, as her first act in office in January. The city posted a 30-day notice on April 4 for homeless encampments on the 3000 and 3100 blocks of Kensington Avenue to vacate as part of the Democrat's plan to improve public health and safety in the area.
Kensington has become a global focal point for excessive public drug consumption as drug addicts line the sidewalks on Kensington Avenue. (Meg Myers/Fox News Digital)
Kensington Avenue will be closed from East Orleans Street to Allegheny Avenue from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday as part of the city's final push to clear the encampments, according to the city. Government workers have been helping individuals find housing and treatment since the notice was posted in April, a local NBC affiliate reported.
"The temporary closure is needed to ensure the safety of city outreach teams as they engage individuals during the final day of encampment resolution on Wednesday, May 8, during which individuals residing at the encampment have been notified to dismantle any tents and structures that pose public health and safety hazards and obstruct sidewalk passage," the mayor’s office said in the May 6 statement.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order on Jan. 2 to declare a public safety emergency to stop rampant crime and excessive drug addiction plaguing the city's neighborhoods, including Kensington. (Philadelphia Mayor's Office/X)
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Kensington has globally showcased the worsening effects of lethal substances infiltrating the illicit drug supply. On any given day, drug users can be seen openly injecting themselves with needles as children walk by or passed out on the pavement covered in drug-induced flesh-eating wounds from an addictive animal tranquilizer called xylazine.
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The area has also become a focal point for crime in Philadelphia, with among the worst drug crime rates citywide over the last month, data compiled by The Philadelphia Inquirer showed.
On Parker's 100th day in office, the Philadelphia Police Department released a report detailing a five-phase initiative called the Kensington Community Revival aimed at curbing high crime and eliminating public drug use. The City Council also unanimously voted in favor of legislation that would impose a curfew on some Kensington businesses in March.
On any given day, drug users on the sidewalks of Kensington Avenue can be seen injecting themselves with needles or passed out on the pavement. (Meg Myers/Fox News Digital)
"The purpose of the legislation introduced is to address the kinds of social ills – open-air drug markets, illegal drug activity, nuisance businesses – that erode quality of life in neighborhoods across our city, including Kensington," Parker said in a January statement.
Parker will host a town hall in Kensington on Tuesday to discuss the city's budget for fiscal year 2025.
Megan Myers is an associate producer/writer with Fox News Digital Originals.
