Good sized crowd for a Saturday
Beth Grossman
I went over to historic Campbell AME church on Kinsey Street Saturday morning to check out the Community Ambassador Program. The community ambassador program is a Tony Payton initiative. It is designed to help the blocks communicate with each other to improve the quality of life in the 179th Legislative District. He believes that a cohesive effort to fight what problems plague the district is more effective than combating problems as they arise. It is intended to make this an ongoing effort.
I missed the first half hour of the meeting but when I arrived found Beth Grossman, Chief Assistant District Attorney on the Public Nuisance Task Force discussing what could be done about nuisance properties.
Jim Sanders, of Philly 311, was up next and discussed what 311 can and cannot do. He also talked about their new program,
Jim Sanders
Tony Payton
A significant benefit in getting a group of people together in one room is the opportunity to hear their ideas. I was impressed with some of the men there and their response to the “Take back the night” walk the previous evening. There were some voices that thought it was not an effective way of reaching the people who are involved in the type of violence Frankford has seen over the last few weeks. Seth Williams made the point that a walk through the neighborhood would not solve the problem. It will take something more.
There was a survey distributed soliciting information. You can download the pdf for page one here and page two here.
For further information about this program you may contact Simone Woods at Tony Payton’s office on Frankford Avenue. The phone number is 215-744-4901.
Simone Woods
215-744-7901
