I was in the vicinity of Kensington & Somerset El stop last night around 11:00 PM and was rather shocked at how quiet it was for a warm weekend night. There were none of the scroungy looking people lurking about, no streetwalkers, little to no foot traffic of people heading to/from West kensington via Somerset & D Sts, nobody coming up to me offering to sell me syringes/dope etc. The few people at the corner were just waiting for the bus. Was this an abberation or is there a concerted effort by police under a new commissioner to try to if not clean the area up, at least deal with the street scene at the El stop?

I will have to check that out. That is the corner that was used in the Bruce Willis movie 'Ten Monkeys'. During the day that whole block has appliances lined up on the sidewalk up & down the Ave. cheapest in the city.

Gives a shout out to Phil's Appliances. They are the ones with all the stoves and whatnot on Sommerset and Kenzo. They are really good, stand behind their product and are pleasant to deal with I've been doing business with them for years.

Gives a shout out to Phil's Appliances. They are the ones with all the stoves and whatnot on Sommerset and Kenzo. They are really good, stand behind their product and are pleasant to deal with I've been doing business with them for years.

I pass by there fairly often and have seen more cops maybe but no reduction in the "activity" damn thats a depressing place.

Pretty much seems to be business as usual to me.

People should listen to me. :P

Aname, if memeory serves me correct, you are the person who is of the opinion that the K & S area is poised to turn the corner, correct?..

Any other observations out there? Was the scene I described an abberation or is the immediate K & S El stop area being focused on?

Well, I've been there plenty and have not felt threatened. Obviously you observed this that one night where it was pretty quiet in general.

With the new police commissioner in, I'd have to think they are focusing efforts on some of the city's worst problem areas, one of which the 25th district is. I haven't followed all the press conferences and news releases surrounding the police enough to point to any one story on it as to whether that is actually the case or not. I'm sure someone else can provide information on this.

I do know I can tell you I have seen: bicycle cops during the day, regular police car patrols, police community health clinic vehicle (or whatever it's called) out providing services, the guardian angels out patrolling the neighborhood in the evening, etc.

Kensington and Somerset is not clearing up even though there are plenty of cops around...it's still dirty and there are still crackheads smoking and buying crack at the train station....i pass buy there almost everyday and like it's not the best scene in the world and it's kind of embarrasing knowing that our society has come to stuff like this....

Let's hope that if K & S isn't improving yet, that the influx of extra cops will help the area to improve sometime in the near future. I'd really like to see the Kensington area make a turn for the better, even if it's baby steps...it's about time.

If it weren't for all of the crime and danger and peril, Kensington would be a nice location...it's close to Center City via the El, yet it's close to I-95, which allows people a quick getaway to the suburbs to visit friends or family. It has less congestion than Center City, but still maintains an urban feel with closeby neighborhood bars or stores. There's still some old houses and buildings there with ornate Victorian trim. Unfortunately some of the houses in decrepid shape would have to be demolished, but that would make room for newer houses, perhaps ones that imitate the Victorian styles of the area's former glory years. Kensington has a LOT of abandoned factories...with some effort and motivation, these could be converted into condos, live music venues, or perhaps even an indoor market(??). Abandoned lots could also supply room for new businesses to be built. It really sucks that the crime and drug sales continue to plague the area, thus scaring away a lot of people that could potentially help improve the neighborhood or contribute to it in the form of renovating houses, bringing in new businesses, etc.

There's already some "adventurous" artists and musicians moving into the area, probably because rent is so cheap. Some of them are already using the old warehouses around this area and Port Richmond as music studios for their local bands. Optimistically one would hope that this trend continues, and hopefully Kensington will eventually come back around somewhat. It'd probably take a long time though, but if it happened, it would be nice.