Grace Zweitizig
Philadelphia has a long history of complicated police and community relations. There is a history there full of hurt and distrust, and it leads to mixed opinions on the plan to rebuild the 22nd District Police Station in a new location. The station currently stands on 17th and Montgomery but the building has needed serious updates for a long time, especially since this is the busiest station in the area.
Where will the new station go?
The proposed new station will be built in the Diamond Street Historic District, which has some neighborhood citizens upset and anxious about what this means for the community. After the BLM movement and other events surrounding it, we have seen plans for community-centered police stations popping up, in hopes of improving the relations between the police and the neighborhoods they are in. The only thing everyone can agree about on the subject is that the police station must be rebuilt. This police station will be the first of its kind in Philadelphia.
The Diamond Historic District began blossoming in the 1800s as a place for the emerging middle class. The area has been through ups and downs since its development. A study from 1984 looks at the original plans for Diamond Street and brings up the current state of the buildings. Many were falling into disrepair. The area was being affected by poverty and a struggle to keep these homes restored through public funding. The sites on the lots were demolished 20 years ago and have remained open since, becoming a place for litter to collect.
An example of the Historic Diamond District, the 1980s.
Citizens of the area have had various arguments against the police station being built there. One is that the police station will take away from the rich black history of the area because it is home to many of those black historical sites. Other arguments from members list different ways the city could use the lots, like building more affordable housing. One community member said that she cares about the preservation of the historic district, but that the police station isn’t an erasure of anything historical because those buildings were demolished long ago (File, 2024). The main argument for the new police station in this area has to do with the accessibility of the area, considering the high rate of crime in North Philadelphia especially violent crimes and gun violence. The new location would allow officers to respond more quickly. An important difference between the two stations is that the new one will be on a two-way street, unlike the current one which is on a one-way street. The City Controller Christy Brady found that police response times were 2 times faster in white neighborhoods than they are in black and brown neighborhoods.
The concern over the new police station being built in a majority-black community of the area is not unfounded. In 2020 during a protest for the death of George Floyd, the police used tear gas and rubber bullets on protestors, as well as arresting and detaining many. After 2020, many Philadelphians joined in a lawsuit against the Philadelphia Police Department. A major part of this lawsuit that came after this was the police department’s agreement to leave the 1033 program which arms the police with military-grade weapons and equipment (Welle, 2023). Redlining occurs when certain financial services are withheld from a neighborhood, particularly with ethnic minorities.
“When you have people who have been redlined, disrespected, and discriminated against and treated as trash, you’re just giving them another excuse not to trust not just the city, not just the police, but the process,” (Moselle 2024).
Mrs. Loney’s concerns voice the concerns and frustrations of many who are against the police station, particularly because of the way they went about it the first time without much input from the people who live there. The police station and staff of the PAL will have to make heavy efforts to connect with the community they are entering if they hope to be successful in building trust. It will take time for people to want to participate in the facility and feel that it is there to help people, not harm them. The city proposed this in 2020 originally, but a large part of the rejection was because many felt the community was not considered at all.
22nd District Police Station on 17th and Montgomery.
The proposed police station is a massive upgrade compared to the current building. This station is widely considered the worst police headquarters in the city. It was already decided that they would not renovate the current building, and it has not yet been decided what will go there next (Estrada, 2019). The idea to rebuild the 22nd District Police Station has been in talks since 2017. There were previous plans similar to this that were created in 2020 but those plans were not approved, the reasoning being that there hadn’t been enough communication or involvement with the community. One big difference between the approved and rejected plans is the added PAL (Police Athletic League) which benefits the children of the community. The community and members at the time felt that the station wouldn’t be a good fit for the neighborhood. There are many emails available that outline the citizen’s issues with the police station back when the plans were first presented. At the time there was a serious outcry against the new station. The historical committee themselves had concerns with approving a police station with the state of the city and the United States overall in 2020 because it didn’t feel right to place something that was so polarizing when the community had not been considered much. When the new version of the plan was presented including a community center and a green space and play area, many more were supportive because of the safe space for children. (Moselle, 2023).
What do the community members want instead?
Another citizen named Jacqueline Wiggins was interviewed and emailed the zoning board about not approving the police station. In her email and in her interview she brings up that the community center and the police station just aren’t the neighborhood’s #1 priority, especially when they are dealing with issues with inadequate housing and not having the schools the children are in filled with mold. Creating something positive for children out of this police station was a priority of the approved plan which includes a PAL. The PAL would incorporate a community and outdoor recreation space, an indoor basketball court, and study rooms for after school. In other PAL centers in the city, children have spoken about the benefits it has afforded them, mainly as a safe haven (Bailey, 2023). The idea for these types of combined facilities has been around for a long time, and there are plans tracing back years across the country in an attempt to improve community and police interactions. Green space is limited in Philadelphia, especially in this area, and many of the open lots have become places where trash collects. The proposed plan includes outdoor spaces for children to play and many trees to be planted. This would help with the alleged trash and just overall unused space that is in the lots that are sitting there now. The lots that are to be used have been owned by the city or sold to the city, and the specific lots that are going to be used have been empty for 20 years.
Plans for the new 22nd Police District Station to be built at 2100 Diamond Street.
Members of the community voiced their concerns about the police station being built in this neighborhood. A concerned citizen said that the specific area needs affordable housing for the elderly, not a police station. The city council president thinks that this will help to keep the areas where the station is being built in shape and that the overall response time of the police station would be quicker because of the new location’s centrality (Moselle, 2023).
A Waiting and Watching Game
Philadelphia is home to many beautiful historic areas and the city itself is rich with history and culture. We also have one of the highest crime rates in the entire country, but in the last two years, we have seen a decrease in violent crime, particularly murders. There was a 20% decrease in 2022 and a 29% decrease in 2023. The district attorney accredits these decreases to the end of COVID-19 restrictions, but there is a larger issue with the amount of guns in the city. For every gun confiscated by police in Philadelphia, there are 2-3 that were legally purchased, not counting the ghost guns throughout the city. (Macdonald, 2024). The City Police Commissioner has said that the decrease in crime can be partially accredited to the increase in officers on street patrol. These efforts are not only to prevent crime but to allow for the police to be more involved in the community (Pradelli, 2023). This will hopefully improve relationships and trust between police and those they are supposed to protect and serve in the area. The community center is the city’s attempt at uniting the community and the police and hoping that this will be the beginning of improving overall relations. The center includes places for children to study and do homework in a safe space, which is important when we see the literacy rate of the city. The entire plan will cost 32.5 million dollars as of right now, which is a number that some citizens could see better used towards something else. The other question this poses is if this will be the first of many types of stations in the city and if they will try to continue this model as time goes on and they continue to remodel and move stations. We will see as this station is built and the center begins to try and build new relationships in this area.
Resources:
Moselle, Aaron. “Historical Commission Approves Plan for New Police Station in North Philly.” WHYY, WHYY, 12 May 2023, whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-historical-commission-police-station-22nd-district-strawberry-mansion/.
Philadelphia Historical Register, 1986. “Diamond Street Historic District – Philadelphia.” Phila.Gov, www.phila.gov/media/20190213121658/Historic-District-Diamond-Street.pdf. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.
Welle, Treasure. “Philadelphia Reaches $9.25 Million Settlement over Police Misconduct during the 2020 George Floyd Protests.” CNN, Cable News Network, 22 Mar. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/us/philadelphia-police-misconduct-settlement/index.html.
Hazelton, Lynette. “Reversing Its Initial Denial, the City’s Historical Commission Approves Controversial 22nd Police District Construction Proposal.” Https://Www.Inquirer.Com, 23 May 2023, www.inquirer.com/news/22nd-police-district-philadelphia-historical-commission-20230523.html.
No Police Station in the Diamond St Historical …, www.phila.gov/media/20200612163729/2100-Diamond-St-Public-Comment-1.pdf. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.
Brady, Christy. “Review and Analysis of the Philadelphia Police Department and Other Related Police Spending.” Office of the Controller, 10 Jan. 2023, controller.phila.gov/philadelphia-audits/ppd-review/.
Bailey, Wakisha, and Rory Hardenstine. “Philadelphia Police Athletic League Working to Keep Kids Active and off the Streets.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 29 Sept. 2023, www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/philadelphia-police-athletic-league-pal-focusing-on-the-future/.
MacDonald, Tom. “Philly Homicides Drop 20% Due in Part to End of Covid Restrictions, Da Krasner Says.” WHYY, WHYY, 5 Jan. 2024, whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-homicides-down-20-percent-2023-da-larry-krasner/.
Pradelli, Chad, and Cheryl Mettendorf. “Violent Crime Rates Decrease Significantly in Philadelphia for 2023, Authorities Say.” 6abc Philadelphia, 29 Dec. 2023, 6abc.com/violent-crime-philadelphia-police-gun-violence-district-attorney/14235716/.