Photo courtesy of Annamarya Scaccia.

[Editor’s Note: This is the final post from our intrepid writer and Cedar Park resident Annamarya Scaccia, who brought her Brooklyn-born nose for news to West Philly seven years ago. Like many people in the neighborhoods this time a year she is moving on (in her case to graduate school). To her and to you we say goodbye and good luck. Thanks Annamarya.]

My fiancé, Dick, and I have this inside joke: If we find ourselves finally getting to know our neighborhood, we’ll find ourselves gone in a year or two.

It’s actually not as much of a joke as it is living truth. We’ve moved away from every community we’ve lived in within a short time after we’ve started to settle in — a process that would usually take months, if not years, after we’ve actually moved into a place. It’s not intentional in any respect; it’s an unconscious pattern we’ve just noticed. Maybe we have a serious case of undiagnosed wanderlust.

As of this week, we’ve found ourselves in that position once again. Even though we’ve lived in West Philly for seven years, we’ve really started settling down in the last two. And, like clockwork, we’re moving on, back to New York, where I’m from, so I could pursue grad school.

But this time, it doesn’t feel like just another moment in an inadvertent pattern. Instead, this time it feels like we’re leaving home.

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A reader’s husband had his iPhone stolen on Tuesday, April 1. Thanks to phone tracking, they knew where it was. They tried to get the police to go after it. The police didn’t seem interested. Is this a case of “Big city, a lot of crime” or a missed opportunity? Read the letter below and a response from a West Philly police officer.

If West Philly police want to stop crime, why do they take it so lightly?

My husband’s iPhone was stolen last night. This morning, the thief called one of the contacts in the phone book on the phone, someone who happens to live nearby. Our friend took the bait to buy it back trying to be helpful. In a park at 48th & Lancaster, he gave the guy $20. The guy threw him just the case and ran away. Our friend came to our house at 5am today to tell us the story. We tracked the phone on “find my iPhone”. Seeing it still at the same park, but starting to move down 48th St, we called 911. When asked what to expect, they said an officer will call us within an hour to take a report. I pointed out that we knew where a thief was located at this minute. I was given attitude, “It’s just a stolen phone, ma’am.” I pointed out that I am the one trying to be helpful if police want to affect crime in the area. The 911 operator backed down a bit and said that it’s not how it works. Police do not go retrieve stolen phones. They will take our statement for our insurance purposes.

I know it is just a phone. But really!? We received the same attitude after a break-in to our house in 2005 – “here is the statement for your insurance”. As for the phone, we locked it, so he had no choice but to call us and try to sell it back, stating he just purchased it on 46th & Market, but that is silly, as we were tracking it. Even if I played along, I did not feel comfortable for either of us to meet him. I offered him a chance to be a nice person and leave it at a business for us, but I guess he’ll sell it somewhere and we will buy a new one.

Seems like a missed opportunity by the police to me. Should we do something different next time?

Here’s a response from officer Joe Murray from the Southwest Police Detectives.

The only thing I’ll refute is that we definitely don’t take crime lightly. This is the dispatcher’s fault and we would obviously love to track the phone. They have every right to feel outraged.

The only thing I’d do differently is drive right to the district or Southwest Detectives and tell a cop directly. It’s happened before and we’ve gone out and recovered the phone.

Back in November, West Philly Local reported on the Meatless Monday resolution that City Council passed urging residents to avoid eating meat just one day a week (Editor: you can read it here). The end of the article mentioned the next goal: get the Philadelphia School District to implement Meatless Monday.

I’d like to voice my support for Meatless Monday in Philly schools, now that the campaign is in full swing. I want the healthiest food possible available to children in our city, and adding more plant-based foods to the menu will help make that happen. While it would be great to serve organic, fresh, non-GMO fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, I recognize that the District doesn’t have the means to do so. However, taking meat off the menu one day a week is an easily achievable step the District can take towards healthier meals.

I encourage everyone to visit www.PhillyMeatlessMonday.com to learn more about the campaign and to sign the petition urging the School District of Philadelphia to join many others that already participate in Meatless Monday.

Krystina Krysiak
West Philadelphia, PA

Reader Max expresses his concern about some young men riding motorcycles/dirt bikes too dangerously on the neighborhood streets. Here’s what he writes:

“I am a resident of West Philly and am writing to bring an issue in the open since I feel like I am not the only person concerned about this. There are groups of young men riding dirt bikes all around the neighborhoods (Baltimore to Market, 48th to 56th and beyond).

These people are riding very dangerously, they often run red lights, they run on one wheel, they are disturbingly loud, they ride with no helmet (so when they get injured who is paying for their hospital bills?). I see them often, too often, missing accidents by a hair, being this close to injuring by-passers. What worries me is that I have seen them riding past police cars and NOTHING was done by the police.

Is this more than what it seems? Is this an organized group or some kind of gang practice? I don’t know. I’ve tried to call 911 but they pass by quickly, so any 911 call is ineffective. What can be done about it? Are other residents concerned as well? Is it reasonable to expect a more prompt response from law enforcement?”

The following commentary is in response to a fatal shooting early Saturday morning near 49th and Springfield. The author, Renee Tapp, is concerned about the horrific crime and what she perceives as apathy among residents.

On Friday night I awoke to guns shots and by the time I looked out of my bedroom window, a crime scene had been established by the police. After reaching out to the community through West Philly Local about the constant violence occurring on the Springfield corridor, I was shocked by the lack of interest or response from the readership of this blog.

It is my concern that this neighborhood is only interested in crime that happens to members of the community. At this time, I understand there is only a limited amount of information to share, however I worry that the readership has been able to dismiss this crime because the victim wasn’t from our neighborhood. For me, it does not matter where the victim is from, but rather someone perceived our neighborhood as an acceptable place to commit murder.

A human being was killed outside my house on Friday. Either direction on Springfield Ave resonates with the aftermath of a tragedy. As November begins, I am forced to ask, how much has changed since the rape and robbery near Springfield in September? I do not feel more safe now than I did then.

I would hope that the problem solving that has been so prominent on the blog in the last few days addressing non-crime issues, such as dogs off leash, can extend to addressing the on-going crime in our community. Or perhaps, we should continue to ignore these persistent problems until it is one of us, and then feign shock at how this could possibly be.