Broad & Liberty ran my piece on Broad and Snyder in South Philadelphia.
You can read the piece via the below link or the below text:
Paul Davis: South Philly’s drug addicts, aggressive homeless and assorted shady characters (broadandliberty.com)
In my previous
piece here, I covered the open-air drug
market and camped out drug addicts in Kensington. Sadly,
Kensington is not the only neighborhood blighted by drug dealers and addicts in
Philadelphia.
A woman who works
at Broad and McKean in South Philadelphia complained to me about the block
between McKean and Snyder on Broad Street.
“It’s a
disgrace,” she said. “It’s not safe to walk on Philadelphia’s main street down
here. There are junkies staggering about, aggressive homeless beggars, and God
knows what else.
“Where are the
cops and the city’s politicians? Why isn’t anyone cleaning up this once vibrant
area?”
I know how she
feels. Broad and Snyder is an eyesore now, but it was once a fine place to
shop, eat and socialize. While growing up in South Philly in the 1960s, Broad
and Snyder was a major social and shopping area. In addition to the popular
stores on the east side of the block-long strip, there was the Broadway movie
theater on the west corner that we all frequented back then. Many a Saturday
back in the day, we ventured to Broad and Snyder to shop, eat and watch
movies.
I attended South
Philadelphia High School (known as Southern) at Broad and Synder in the late
1960s. Before school, we had coffee and breakfast at the Dugout luncheonette on
Snyder Avenue just off Broad Street, and we ate lunch at one of the many
eateries on the Broad and Snyder strip. After school, we hung around Broad and
Snyder. We thought Broad and Snyder was a major South Philly hub.
After leaving the
Navy in the early 1970s, my first apartment was on Snyder Avenue just off Broad
Street. It was a good place to live then, and there are still many good
residents there who are disgusted and saddened by Broad and Snyder’s
dilapidation.
Many residents
across South Philadelphia, an area known for close-knit neighborhoods, and
strong familial and residential traditions, are outraged by the slovenly and
crime-ridden conditions on Broad and Snyder.
Gary Capuano, a
retired Philadelphia police sergeant who is writing a memoir of his time as a
police officer, laments the current conditions
there.
“I was born and
raised in South Philadelphia and still reside here. The area of Broad and
Snyder brings back childhood memories of my mother and I spending many a day
out together,” Capuano said. “Mom and I would go shopping and then grab
lunch. We would make stops at PSFS, LaBelle’s, Sun Rays, Dials, Thom McAn, and
Woolworth’s, pretty much doing the whole strip.”
Capuano also
recalls the stands along the curbside owned and operated by Asian merchants who
sold items at a discounted rate on the 2000 block of South Broad Street.
“For
lunch, mom and I would sit at a booth inside Woolworth’s or walk across
the street to Gino’s. This was back in the 70’s when it was safe to walk there.
“Try walking
around there today. You are taking your life in your hands. Broad and Snyder
has become Skid Row over the last few years. It’s now fraught with homeless,
narcotic users/abusers and shady characters. At times, it looks like a scene
from ‘Night of the Living Dead.’ I don’t ever recall seeing a boarded-up
business as a child on Broad Street, but now I do!”
Capuano noted
that today there are all kinds of street vendors popping up and setting up
shop, and they are free to peddle their goods.
“If memory serves
me correctly, this area is designated to be vendor-free and anyone who sets up
a table or stand is subject to a fine by Licenses and Inspection.”
Crime is also
rampant, Capuano noted. The former police sergeant spoke of a homicide
incident on a SEPTA bus and a rape that occurred by point of gun on the subway
platform, as well as a stabbing that resulted in murder this past
November.
“Combine the
homeless issue along with the narcotic users, their dealers and lack of
enforcement, Broad and Snyder is dangerous,” Capuano said. “Now, because of the
lack of police manpower, resources and accountability of our criminals, it’s a
recipe for disaster.
“How many more
incidents is it going to take before some type of action is taken? How many
more people need to lose their lives? This can be said as well for anywhere in
the city. There are no ‘safe’ neighborhoods anymore.”
Because of
rampant crime and drug areas, Capuano said, people will begin to move, and
businesses will begin to shutter. He suggested that one should look at Center
City, which has lost Wawa, Target, Starbucks, H&M, Rite Aid, Marshall’s,
Walgreens, and the Gap in recent years.
Capuano and many
others believe it is time to clean up the Broad and Snyder area and the other
neighborhoods afflicted with open-air drug markets and drug addicts.
Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor
to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column
for the Washington Times. He
can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.
