A West Philly business group and Councilmember Cindy Bass are both canceling events over fear of gun violence
The West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative said "the risk is too great" to hold a large event this weekend. The group's other events planned for this year are also now on hold.
West Philadelphia’s largest business association is calling off a big summer block party over fears that the city’s rampant gun violence could bring tragedy to the festivities.
The West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative, which launched in 2015 and now represents more than 2,000 businesses in the neighborhood, wrote to members Friday that it would be canceling its West Fest Block Party at Sayre Recreation Center on July 16, just days after shootings on the rec center grounds and at a nearby funeral procession.
“Even with the support offered by the 18th Police District, I feel the risk is too great for us to continue this event as planned,” collaborative president Jabari K. Jones wrote in a statement.
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City Councilmember Cindy Bass on Wednesday night also announced she was canceling the remainder of her summer event, which began in early June, because of safety concerns. She represents neighborhoods including Germantown and Tioga.
“We did not make this decision lightly and seriously considered the impact it might have on you, your family and friends,” Bass wrote in a statement posted on social media.
“However, at this time, your safety is my number one priority and given the current climate, my office is looking into bringing you alternative community events that may be a more suitable replacement for the Summer Event Series,” said Bass.
The business association’s event at Sayre, which expected to draw hundreds of attendees, was one of several that the collaborative planned to host this summer. Those are tentatively on hold as well — and Jones further encouraged business owners to “withhold in-kind contributions or sponsorships” to other block parties this summer that don’t have adequate security plans.
A vocal critic of both District Attorney Larry Krasner and the city’s overarching response to violent crime, Jones first raised the alarm over the block parties after two police officers were hit by gunfire during the Independence Day celebrations on the Ben Franklin Parkway.
He told The Inquirer last week that he pursued hiring a private security detail in order to keep the block parties alive.
“It’s really unfortunate, but this is where we are as a city,” he told The Inquirer last week.
Gun violence has wrought tragedy upon numerous block parties in recent years, to the point that the Police Department began denying block-party applications on hundreds of streets that officials said might pose a safety risk.
Jones also pointed to the fatal shooting at a West Philly cookout during last year’s July 4 celebrations.
After that violence, the collaborative launched a program to fund surveillance cameras in high-crime business corridors across West Philly. But with this year’s unrelenting pace of violence, Jones said it all comes down to security measures.
Jones also noted that the fate of the collaborative’s two other block parties on the books this summer — Aug. 13 in West Parkside and Sept. 20 in East Parkside — will remain on hold pending security measures.
“I continue to monitor the status of crime in neighborhoods and the availability of security personnel to determine whether our scheduled events … can continue safely,” he wrote.
Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this report.