The door they are using is 704 s. 49th. Its a little confusing because the building has sereval addresses. The front is a dollar store facing Baltimore and the side has what I think are 3 different small offices which I think are separate leases. There's a medical office, what I think is a governement-connected pharmacy (702?) and the "pharmacy" of the more informal kind being operated in 704. Actually looking more closely - I often go by night when the drug activity is pretty intense- it appears that 706 is actually the house just south of Pentridge so it isquite possible that Neighborhood Restorations has nothing to do with the old rehab office that the drug dealers have been using.

706 S. 49th St. (the house owned and managed by Neighborhood Restorations) is actually the first house south of Pentridge. That particluar house has a lot of young guys living in the house. Some of these guys are pretty friendly with the dealers in the drug office but I would be hesitant to say that they are definitely connected. For example the guy with the dreads who seems to be the main guy in the drug office will sometimes take a break from his door and go sit on the stoop of 706 S. 49th which is about 15 feet from his door. Like I said - he definitely is friendly with some of the younger guys who live in 706 and chats or hangs out with them while watching his "business" in the drug office. However I myself would not be comfortable saying for sure that any of those guys living in 706 definitely "work" for the guy with dreads - its not clear from what I have seen myself. Its definitely not out of the range of possiblity but they could also just be freindly acquaintances. I honestly don't know.

Anyway, even though I know a couple of other folks who have had minor but chronic complaints about the behaviour of some of the tenants of some other Neighborhood Restorations Low Income Rental Tax Credit houses around the neighborhood, I don't want to come off as making allegations against Neighborhood Restorations that I just can't back up. That would not be fair. They enjoy a close relation to our councilperson and do a ton of infill and renovations in the neighborhood - which to be clear I think is a smarter way to do "redevelopment" than the usual "bulldoze it all and build new housing projects" style of redevlopment that we are currently seeing going on in Belmont/Mill Creek, for example. The quality of the work they do on the buildings is generally pretty good and they make an effort to at least match the basic outline of the surrounding houses which I think is a ton better than what other developers often do. That they are not always the very best property managment company - well it is what is - and it isn't exactly a new story in the City of Philadelphia.

I just thought it was important to clarify these points.

I am hoping that you read the other posts above. We - O'Donnell Real Estate - have NOTHING to do with this property and we do not rent to tenants who sell drugs, and if we were made aware of anything of this nature we would quickly take the necessary action to remedy the problem. I.E. - Call the police, evict the tenant ect.

I also want to point out in respects to many properties that have our sign in front of them - often we are just renting apartments for landlords and we have nothing to do with the actual management of the building. But if there is a problem with a building (not 704 S. 49th) that has one of our signs and there is a problem. Please call us to let us know. Often we can call the owner and get some type of response. And if we don't get a good response we will pull down the sign and not deal with this landlord as we do not want to sully our reputation which means a lot in our line of work.

I also spoke with a police lieutenant who happened to be in our office yesterday. I mentioned the problem to him and he said he was aware of the situation.

Actually to be really, really clear - that property has nothing to do with O'Donnel at all - that was a total red herring. I got a bum steer from some neighborhood folks verbal statements and I didn't double check it like I should have.

#2 - I have heard from several sources now that there is some kind police operation in motion to shut down this place so the best thing to do is to just wait and let the law enforcement professionals do what they do best.

I noticed when I came by late Friday night that it looked pretty quiet so either something has already happened or the bad guys are keeping a much lower profile. Either way its a big improvement.

Lets all just keep an eye on it and if a lot activity pops back up - call the cops to keep them appraised of the situation. Otherwise let police handle this for now.

Also people should notice that in the interst of fairness I changed the earlier post about Neighborhood Restorations.

Police: Drugs sold from local house
[Kenneth White/The Daily Pennsylvanian]
This house at 4116 Spruce St. was the site of a recent drug bust. A tenant there was arrested for drug possession after calling police last Thursday night.


Alleged robbery victim arrested on drug charges; man attempts armed robbery at 41st and Locust
By andrew whitney
September 27, 2005



Two armed robberies hit the western edge of campus this week -- one of which led to the discovery and arrests of individuals in what police are calling a "drug house."

At about 10:45 p.m. Thursday night, a resident of 4116 Spruce St. called Penn Police to report a robbery.

Joshua Trisdorfer, who is not affiliated with Penn, said that a gun-toting robber had entered his apartment, forced the tenant and two acquaintances to the floor and stolen $1,000 in cash, which had been left on a table.

When police were let inside the apartment, they immediately saw drugs and related paraphernalia in plain view. They proceeded to search the remainder of the apartment for contraband, eventually netting a large quantity of marijuana and Adderall -- a prescription stimulant that is frequently abused.

In addition, officers found packaging materials and other evidence that the drugs were intended for redistribution.

As a result of their findings, police arrested Trisdorfer, 21, on charges of drug possession and possession with intent to deliver.

Police questioned and ultimately released the other two men -- a Penn student and a Temple student -- who were also present at the residence with Trisdorfer. Their names are not being released because they have not been charged with any crime.

Detectives have not made any arrests in connection with the initial armed robbery that sent the evening's events into motion.

In a separate incident, a female Penn employee was the target of an attempted armed robbery Thursday morning at about 7 a.m. near the intersection of 41st and Locust streets.

The employee left a trolley at the intersection of 41st Street and Baltimore Avenue. She proceeded northbound on 41st Street until she reached Spruce Street, where she noticed a man who she believed to be following her.

As the victim neared Locust Street, the man approached and greeted her, and asked for her pocketbook.

When she refused, he pulled out a large, silver automatic pistol, the victim said.

It is unclear whether the victim again refused his demand or simply began to run, but the would-be robber did not succeed in stealing anything.

The man ran west from the scene, and the victim fled north on 41st Street. She went immediately to the University Police station at 4040 Chestnut St. to report the crime. The victim described the would-be robber as a black man in his mid-to-late 20s, 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet in height with an average build and dark complexion. He had black hair with a "fade" hairstyle, a full beard and a thin moustache. He wore a long-sleeve, black "Dickies" shirt and black pants.

Found these two in the DP today.

News Brief: Police make arrests in house theft incidents
September 27, 2005


University Police have made several recent arrests in connection with home burglaries near campus.

The first such incident occurred around 11:35 p.m. Friday night on the 500 block of South 42nd Street.

A female resident heard a noise downstairs and found a rear window open.

She saw a man inside rifling through a desk. She confronted him, and he ran out.

A short time later, Samuel Taylor, 43, of the 700 block of North 40th Street, was arrested based on the victim's description of the suspect.

Taylor is charged with burglary and related offenses.

In a separate incident, a female resident of the 4100 block of Baltimore Avenue heard noises coming from her kitchen around 7 a.m. on Sunday.

She found her rear door ajar and a stereo system missing.

The victim immediately called police, who arrested Silas Smith, 45, of the 1300 block of South 46th Street. Smith was allegedly walking with the stolen property near the crime scene.

Items believed to have been taken during a Sept. 6 burglary in the same area were also found on the suspect. Smith is charged with both crimes.

On the positive tip, 704 S. 49th seems to be shut for good. Hurray!:clapping:

Things at 49th and Baltimore are much quieter these days (though I saw the not totally untypical one lonely prostitute eary yesterday morning).

Is it me or is 704 S. 49th street active again? I walked past there today and saw quite a few people standing around that door.

Yes it is. There was a bust there a few days back and they already back in full swing 2 days after the bust. Boy, that "recording studio" sure has a lot of quick "to go" sales. :shock:

Thought so. Let's continue to keep an eye on them and phone in reports. I saw that guy with the dreads in front of the place earlier today.

I walk by this place everyday now coming home from work, having just moved to 49th st. I love the neighborhood, and even 2 block North of Baltimore its totally different. I have been feeling the shift of some dangerous types in our block though (500 s.) in the evening as a result of whatever is going on.

I never noticed a blip in the activity of this place, even though you claim there was a bust. Please provide the number we should use to phone in complaints... I will call eveyday I see it open.