Business owners, local politicians, and concerned neighbors meet to discuss the future of Kensington

Cantina La Martina hosted a meeting with local leaders to address safety, homelessness, and vandalism in Kensington, focusing on collaboration and resources to restore community pride.

By Tiffany Rivera. December 3, 2024.

“The purpose of the meeting is to not only focus on the challenges but what can we do and what are the resources we need,” Mariangeli Alicea Saez, co-owner of Cantina La Martina. “This is the opportunity to talk and continue building the fabric of Kensington and our businesses”. Photo: Tiffany Rivera/Inti Media. 

Mariangeli Alicea Saez, co-owner of Cantina La Martina in front of her restaurant in Kensington. Photo: Burkett Photography 

On Friday, November 15, Mariangeli Alicea Saez and her husband, Chef Dionicio, the owners of Cantina La Martina, invited fellow community members in Kensington to discuss the issues on the avenue.

Saez has been working diligently with Neftali Ramos, Director of Kensington Coordination for the Mayor’s office, and ACT Philly to implement a plan to clean up the avenue, reduce the number of homeless individuals, vandals, and drug users in the area, and bring normalcy back to Kensington. 

Those invited included Kensington police officers, state representatives, and concerned business owners. The goal is to create a safer area so business owners and community members can be proud of the success they have created.

“The purpose of the meeting is to not only focus on the challenges but what can we do and what are the resources we need,” Saez said. “This is the opportunity to talk and continue building the fabric of Kensington and our businesses”.

Ramos stated the city has plans in the works, including a plan that will assist drug addicts in Kensington. 

“One of our strategies as well too is opening up the wellness centers that council gave approval of 100 million dollars to build upon State Road, so that way when we have people that are picked up off of the street, that we have somewhere to take them,” Ramos said.

Saez admitted she has dealt with a lot of stress and frustration from the influx of individuals experiencing homelessness and struggling with drug addiction who have been moved from the 3100 block of Kensington to the south of Kensington. Photo: Burkett Photography

In June of 2024, Mayor Cherelle Parker introduced a plan that will relocate those who are suffering from addiction to a new mental health treatment center in Northeast Philadelphia.

The building will neighbor three Philadelphia prisons; Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, and Riverside Correctional Facility.

“Our goal is not to arrest people who are suffering from addiction to just take them off of the street. It has to be a part of a bigger process essentially, and you know it starts with finding a place where we can take those people,” said Ramos.

Another concern is random acts of vandalism that have been going unnoticed by authorities, including a small fire near a Kensington middle school.

“There was a fire on Wolf and Clearfield across the street from Conwell Middle School, and that is still under investigation, so I'm not saying that was set by homeless people but it's things like that have community members on edge,” said Ramos.

As the months get colder, more rubbish fires are being set. Ramos hopes to eliminate as many fires as possible.

“We're launching what's known as the Kensington Fire Taskforce on Monday, November 18th, and what essentially that is going to be is a group of firefighters, officers, and sanitation workers paired up with mental health workers responding to these small rubbish fires and also trying to link people to services at the same time.”

Saez admitted she has dealt with a lot of stress and frustration from the influx of individuals experiencing homelessness and struggling with drug addiction who have been moved from the 3100 block of Kensington to the south of Kensington. 

This action has led Saez and other business owners to search for help.

“Every morning having to deal with people in front of your business and having to move them. They resist and don't want to move. If you tell Septa police they won't help you, “ she said. “Where do we go? Septa officers say it's not their line of work.”

In recent months, Saez and other buildings have experienced vandalism, theft, and assault. 

“Every morning having to deal with people in front of your business and having to move them. They resist and don't want to move. If you tell Septa police they won't help you,“ Saez said. Photo: Burkett Photography

“We had our fence broken, we had a banner of flags from Latin America ripped out. The front door has graffiti,” said Saez. “Our mural was graffitied. Someone came into our restaurant and called us racist and it escalated to where we were being threatened and food was being thrown.”

Kelly Mulligan, a Pre-K teacher at KenCrest Learning Center says parents are usually skeptical about signing their kids up at KenCrest because of the area. Photo: Burkett Photography

In addition to the wreckage, Saez and other citizens are concerned about the piles of trash, urine, and used needles that are on the streets. Kelly Mulligan, a Pre-K teacher at KenCrest Learning Center says parents are usually skeptical about signing their kids up at KenCrest because of the area.

“We have a great program and a great staff and we are trying to recruit new families to come in and it's difficult because they come and see what is going on in the area but they’ll come in and love our program. They love the staff and teachers,” Milligan said. “But they feel uncomfortable bringing their children in, so I'm here trying to change what is going on outside and getting the cleanup going.”

Saez said that the Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP), in charge of power washing the streets, isn't always diligent about cleaning Cantina’s side of the avenue.

“Being in Kensington, we don't get the same treatment. Power washers don't come to our business; they say it's not their scope of work. Resources are not equal,” she said.

Saez believes that creating relationships, setting goals, and never taking no for an answer has helped with the process. 

“Just having that relationship and those business connectors that have connected me with the business owners who are here has been really important,” Saez added. “It has been something that I have been advocating for, and Neftali, who is here, really took it to heart because of those conversations that we had.”

Although Kensington has a lot more to tackle, the resilience and strength of the community and business owners speak volumes about what their future holds.

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