The Kensington Renewal Initiative (KRI) is a Philadelphia-based advocacy and community development organization founded by film director, Jamie Moffett. KRI was established to create a program model to rehabilitate blighted properties and dilapidated lots and transforming them into owner occupied homes for the purpose of significantly decreasing crime and drug activity in low income, urban neighborhoods throughout the United States. [1] At the time of KRI’s launch in 2011, the Kensington neighborhood was the poorest in Philadelphia and had the highest rates of vacant property, consequently resulting in the highest rates of violent crime and drug use in Philadelphia. [2] As a result of the collaborative efforts of KRI and its local and state partners, residents of one block in Kensington reported a significant decrease in the volume of criminal activity in the neighborhood in 2013. [3]
In 2007, Moffett moved into the Kensington neighborhood to establish his film studio, [4] Jamie Moffett Media Design and Production. [5] Moffett recognized the high levels of drug activity within the vacant house next door to his studio, and also among the hundreds of other vacant lots throughout the neighborhood at large. [6] Moffett discovered that hundreds of these properties were owned by notorious slumlord, Robert (Bob) Coyle. [7] After a failed attempt to purchase the drug-ridden lot from Coyle in 2007, [8] Moffett officially launched the Kensington Renewal Initiative to make an official, determined effort to lessen the crime correlated to the vacant properties by working to rehabilitate the homes and resell them as owner-occupied properties. [9] In 2012, Coyle was indicted and imprisoned, [10] and the Kensington Initiative rehabilitated its first home. [11]
Moffett, his efforts and KRI have been featured on NPR, [12] and NBC Philadelphia, [13] Senator Bob Casey Jr. was a strong supporter in Kensington Renewal Initiative’s effort to promote lower mortgage rates to prospective homeowners in low-income communities of Philadelphia. After a high-profile visit to the Kensington neighborhood during the 2012 Senate race, [14] Sen. Casey submitted a letter to the newly formed US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, urging them to address the challenges that qualified borrowers encounter in securing mortgages in areas with low property values. [15]
Kensington Renewal Initiative’s model for decreasing crime and drug activity in low income, urban neighborhoods takes a three- fold approach:
Jane Golden is an American artist who has been an active mural painter and community organizer since the 1970s.
Kensington is a neighborhood in Philadelphia that belongs to Lower Northeast. As with all neighborhoods in the city, the lack of any official designation means the boundaries of the area vary between sources over time and are disputed among locals. Kensington, as most long-term residents view it, refers generally to the area consisting of Kensington, East Kensington, West Kensington, and Harrowgate. The adjacent Fairhill and Norris Square neighborhoods are more separate but may be included in Kensington; Fishtown and South (Olde) Kensington were historically included. The most conservative boundaries of the neighborhood, shown in the map below, are Front Street and 5th Street to the west, the Amtrak train tracks to the North, Trenton Avenue, the Trenton Avenue train tracks, and Frankford Avenue to the east, and Cecil B. Moore Avenue to the south.
North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either Vine Street or Spring Garden Street, between Northwest Philadelphia and Northeast Philadelphia. It is bordered to the north by Olney Ave along Broad Street, Spring Garden Street to the south, 35th Street to the west and Adams Avenue to the east. The Philadelphia Police Department patrols five districts located within North Philadelphia: the 22nd, 25th, 26th, 35th and 39th districts. There are thirteen ZIP codes for North Philadelphia: 19120, 19121, 19122, 19123, 19125, 19126, 19130, 19132, 19133, 19134, 19137, 19140 and 19141.
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Olde Kensington, also known as South Kensington, is a neighborhood located in North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. South Kensington is north of Northern Liberties, south of Norris Square, east of Ludlow, and west of Fishtown. The boundaries of the neighborhood are Berks St. (north), Girard Ave (south), Front St (east) and 6th St. (west).
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Isaiah Thomas Sr. is a Democratic politician and At-Large member of Philadelphia City Council. He was born to a family of 10 children from the East Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia. He attended Frankford High School, Pennsylvania State University and Lincoln University. He was first elected to an At-Large seat on Philadelphia City Council in 2019. Thomas was re-elected to a second term with the highest votes in the 2023 primary and general elections. He assumed office January 2, 2024 and was elected by fellow members to serve as Majority Whip.
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