Glenwood, Philadelphia

Glenwood is a neighborhood in North Philadelphia. It is located in the vicinity of North Philadelphia Station to West York Street.^[1]

In 1988 two residents of the 3100 block of Percy Street, Reverend Clarence Hester, a Baptist minister and activist, and Carrie Hartsfield, an insurance worker who retired, cofounded the Glenwood Community Development Corporation in an effort to improve the area. Hester defined Glenwood as the area bounded by York Street to the south, Germantown Avenue to the east, and Glenwood Avenue to the north and west.^[2] Glenwood is a low-income, predominately African American neighborhood. The area has one of the highest crime rates in the city.

Demographics

As of the 2010 Census, Glenwood was 89% non-Hispanic black or African American, 6.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 2% white, 1% Asian, and 1.3% all other.

Crime

The crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s changed the character of the neighborhood; it became considered to be on the western fringes of the Philadelphia Badlands. Hester said that when recreational drug presence appeared in his area, many residents left. Many houses became vacant and left to children, and many drug dealers moved into the area. Afterwards Hester began campaigning against drug dealers in the area. Hester persuaded W. Wilson Goode, then the Mayor of Philadelphia, to order the demolition of 82 properties, including former drug houses, at the intersection of Hutchinson Street and Percy Street. Frank Rubino of the Philadelphia Weekly stated in a 2007 article that Glenwood had "Crumbling, boarded-up" row houses with signs reading "KEEP OUT!," broken windows, lots with trash, porches with iron grating, graffiti, murals erected for people who died, discarded malt liquor bottles and tires, and stray cats. In the same article Hartsfield described Glenwood as "absolutely an ugly neighborhood," adding that "it's ugly and it’s dirty."^[2]

References

Coordinates: 39°59′46″N 75°09′23″W / 39.9960°N 75.1564°W / 39.9960; -75.1564