PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia’s iconic block party culture may be another type of casualty of the city’s record-level gun violence. Before COVID-19 and the surge in shootings, the city had a reputation for robust street life. But those were the good ol’ days when block party approvals were routinely issued.
Philadelphia has become decidedly less block-party friendly since the Philadelphia Police Department has beefed up its oversight of the permits, issuing denials in areas that have known “criminal activity.”
So far this year, 263 block party requests were denied, about one in six, mostly for fear they could be victimized by violence, according to Streets Department data. While the percentage of blocks banned each year has remained relatively consistent, the number of requests have dropped dramatically, from nearly 6,000 in 2018 to only 106 in 2020, as COVID-19 spread. The numbers still haven’t bounced back.
Some blocks seeking a permit as a return to normalcy are running into police concerns for public safety.
The more stringent oversight is an effort to prevent gun violence like last year’s July 4 shooting of Sircarr Johnson, Jr., who had invited his West Philadelphia neighborhood to a free Independence Day BBQ to celebrate his fashion store’s anniversary. Johnson and Salahaldin Mahmoud, first cousin of State Senator Sharif Street, were killed amid the festivities as the gunmen sprayed over 100 bullets.
Police believed a rivalry between conflicting neighborhood groups was the reason for the shooting.
“I approve more than I disapprove,” explained Captain Robert McKeever of West Philadelphia’s 19th police district. “When a request comes to my attention, I look at crime 30, 60, 90 days out. I am only looking at violent crimes.” A onetime shooting incident won’t result in a denial but he said “quite a few incidents” makes for a critical threat and the party will be banned.
The practice is cause for heated debate among residents and neighborhood groups concerned about the tradeoff between public safety and community engagement. “Even though I understand the security concerns, I am opposed to [the policy]. The moment we concede [our neighborhoods] to bad actors, they win,” said City Councilmember Curtis Jones, Jr., chair of the Public Safety Committee. “We have to fight for the space we occupy to claim it.”
Each district’s commanding officer has the final say, although denials can be appealed.
Block party requests have been routinely banned for blocks like the 2500 Block of Oakdale St. in Strawberry Mansion, which was denied a permit in 2019, 2020 and 2021 — all for criminal activity. For others, it has been a mixed result. Germantown’s 400 Block of E. Rittenhouse was denied in 2019 but approved in 2021. And still for others, the party has never stopped, like the 4500 block of Osage avenue which hosts five block parties annually — the maximum number permissible each year.
“I think it’s complicated and problematic,” said JJ Tiziou, an artist and block captain of 4500 Osage Ave. “I understand the motivation, but a block party is one of the most important tools at the hyperlocal level for community engagement and knowing your neighbors makes all the difference. Block parties help to prevent crime, help people’s recovery from crime, and help a neighborhood be more resilient to crime.”
North Philadelphia and West Philadelphia, the city’s most prolific block party areas, were the locales hardest hit by permit denials. In 2021, 78% of shootings in Philadelphia occurred in 14 ZIP codes primarily in the same areas facing the greatest number of bans. Councilmember Jones admitted the permitting process may result in disparate impact. “Now we have to look at the policy and see how not to make it oppressive,” Jones said. “Just because something doesn’t mean to be racist doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a racial component.”
Philadelphia 3.0, a political organization supporting progressive candidates, has maintained a petition against the more restrictive block party permitting process since 2018 and has collected over 670 signatures. “It’s funny, but every few months we rack up signatures on block party permits,” said Director of Engagement Jon Geeting. “It’s as if when people read something about it or get denied, they sign the petition.”
One frustrated block captain who applied for a permit for July 2, 2022, to celebrate Independence Day wrote, “(I) was denied (and) never in my life (in) all the years of being block captain was (I) denied a permit …”
According to Pew Charitable Trust’s State of Philadelphia 2022, 70% of residents list crime, drugs, and public safety as the city’s most pressing issues.
“The less we socialize the more difficult it is to get people to sit, converse, and connect,” said Vanessa Williams, co-captain of the 200 block of North 62nd Street in West Philadelphia.
That lack of connection can drive violence, Williams added. “When you think violence is the only way to solve a problem, you’re in dangerous territory.”
Williams said their block has hosted block parties for the past 12 years that she has been a resident and has never been denied a permit.
Gregory J. Allenis the founder and president of Overbrook West Neighbors, a community development corporation, and a longtime resident of Overbrook in West Philadelphia. Allen said that a denial of a block party permit should be a signal of trouble and the impetus for intervention. “Crime is a symptom,” he said, “not a cause.”
Although three out of four blocks have had no shootings since 2015, some argue that public safety requires the cancellation of outdoor events such as popular West Fest Block Party in July. Jabari Jones, president of the West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative, said he didn’t feel he could guarantee public safety, even with additional support from his police district, after two shootings and a stabbing incident had recently rocked the community.
Others, like the Nicetown Community Development Corp., took a show must go on attitude. They successfully hosted their 20th annual Give Back Community Outdoor Festival last weekend for hundreds of community residents but hired additional security.
The city of Philadelphia’s $5.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2023 includes $184 million for gun-violence initiatives such as afterschool programs and community grants. Tiziou thinks that building up the block captain infrastructure and working closely with police departments on the resources necessary to host events, even on blocks with criminal activity, would be a better path forward.
“Why don’t the police bring the burgers,” he suggested.
