Philadelphia City Council approves bill requiring some Kensington business to close at 11 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA - A new bill passed by Philadelphia's city council will place a curfew on certain businesses in Kensington as part of Mayor Cherelle Parker's pledge to clean up one of the city's most troubled neighborhoods.
The legislation, if signed by Mayor Parker, will require about a dozen small stores, smoke shops, and take-out restaurants along the so-called "Kensington Corridor" to close by 11 p.m. and not reopen until 6 a.m. the following morning.
Businesses with liquor licenses will not be impacted, but late night shops along Kensington Avenue, D Street, East Lehigh Avenue, East Tioga Street, and Frankford Avenue will have to abide by the curfew or face a up to $500 a day.
City Councilmember Jim Harrity said the curfew will give Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel "breathing room" as he works on a larger plan to bring order to Kensington's troubled streets.
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"They congregate around these places because the lights are on, they have a reason to be there," Councilmember Harrity said. "They don't have a reason to stand out in front of an empty store at 2 in the morning."
Shop owners who declined to speak to FOX 29 on Friday said they're already locked up by the proposed 11 p.m. curfew. Some believe the curfew won't have an impact on the problems facing the neighborhood, described by one man as the "Walmart for drugs."
"[Crime] is still going to happen, no matter what, it's still going to happen early or late," Rasheed Wood said. "It's Kensington, that's what they do."