There are rentals but they are expensive -- all these new constructions have studios and 1 bedrooms for $2000 +

If that's your budget it shouldn't be a problem--I just looked on trullia.com and there are 5393 rentals in Philadelphia.

Public schools in general are terrible in Philly, with a few exceptions. I would not recommend families with children moving into the city itself unless they can afford private school tuition on top of housing costs which can be high in the safest neighborhoods. (Although cheaper than other cities like DC, NYC, SF, Boston)

Aside from the whole bicycle/pedestrian/car thing, who the police commissioner is makes a big difference, we saw that under the Nutter administration.

I'm with you. This is down on the list of priorities in Philly as a whole right now. Crime, poverty, education, opioid epidemic, homeless and trash at least are above it.

The mayor appoints the police commissioner.

Have any of the candidates even addressed the lack of cooperation or the duties of the PPD? (Other than Rynhart's financial report)

thanks for clarifying.

I don't think this is a car vs. anti-car issue. It is wrapped up in the role of the PPD in Philly. Has any candidate explicitly commented on what the PPD is supposed to be doing in the city and how they (mayoral candidate) will improve the quality of life and/or deal with crime?

I heard last year that PPD was not supposed to stop or deal with low level traffic violations. I thought the directive is that the PPD ignore all but the most serious of crimes. Am I wrong?

Doesn't matter. Here in Philly no bystander would have helped her. This bus driver deserves a raise!

I've tried that app and had no success with it. But what about people without a cell phone (not me)? They end up taking the bus, but call for a ride is a model I don't like. If the OP is coming from NYC, where there are still a lot of taxis you can hail on the street, it might be a shock.

True. I haven't gotten off at every station, but at my BSL station,Walnut/Locust, and Suburban and Jefferson (East Market) RR stations there are junkies and homeless people all the time. On the MLF, I've seen them at all the stations through CC and also at 69th St. terminal, but I don't ride either the MFL or BSL much since the pandemic.

Not necessarily for jumping the turnstile but for those people who are smoking, doing drugs, etc.on the subways and otherwise involved with criminal activity if the pendulum swings the other way (anti-crime) with leadership in the next generation. The system will probably close down (due to bankruptcy, low ridership) before there is anti-crime leadership. My point is that if we wanted a different way of life in the USA, we'd have it. Most people care about themselves (and maybe their immediate family) and that's it. I don't see that changing in at least a generation.

Eventually they are going to get locked up. The more violence and anti-social behaviors that occur, the less sympathy there will be for them. I don't think we are at a point in the USA in which society is going to turn around and embrace a new kind of way to deal with breaking the law or in which the American people are going to change from being individualist, you are on your own, to "it takes a village," in the next 5-10 years. We've seen a multitude of mass shootings, even of children and nobody has done ANYTHING to help, other than train children and teachers to hide. If we aren't willing to protect our own children from being gunned down, we aren't going to help a junkie who is harassing people, shooting up or engaging in other anti-social behavior on public transportation.

I could be wrong, and I'd be happy if I were and something is developed that changes things for the better. I think it is more likely that the pendulum will swing in the other direction and there will be a harder crack down on violent crime and the petty crimes as well.

The police are MIA so we can't rely on them.

Free rides for everyone will not work because those that are making the rides uncomfortable for a lot of people will still be on there. Even if it is free I'm not riding it while junkies reign free and the rest of the anti-social behavior and misdemeanors are happening on the BSL or MFL. I'd rather walk or take the bus and I don't need to see or experience all that negativity if I can help it.

Typical. I used to live in a 400 sq. foot studio and my electric bills (including heat) were about $200 per month and still it was too cold, like about 58! I had huge windows. They had switched from radiators. I moved out that year. I will never move to a place with electric heat. Inefficient and too expensive.

This is a thread about Temple. The majority of students and parents seem to want more police as do many residents in the city. It's a complicated issue so I apologize if my response is contradictory in certain points. I don't think it is a either/or and that type of thinking is not going to help. The crime situation DEFINITELY can get worse, not just at Temple but around the city.

I remember the incident. For sure it was wrong. However, the all or nothing is not going to be positive for the city. There needs to be an attempt at a truce, getting rid of the bad cops and building up the decent ones.

Also University City is not crimeless. There are plenty of incidents, especially a bit further north near Drexel, which also has their own police, but they don’t make the news. Penn has their own big shuttle buses, like Drexel, but also small vans that Penn students and employees can take. I’m sure this cuts down on a significant amount of incidents since they can get a ride home at night. Their campus also has more housing in it so they are within the Penn police domain. A lot of Temple students are living off campus and walking around to get to their homes or to take public transportation.

I think many young people in Philly were caught up in the protests and the police brutality cases that should not have happened. They had been under lockdown for a few months and going to protest was a way to get out of the house for a good cause. Although I do not approve of police brutality I was never behind defund the police in Philly or any big city for that matter. PPD has some serious problems that need to be dealt with, but there was already a ridiculous amount of crime. To think that it wouldn’t increase if police presence were reduced in Philly was naive.

I was in a local establishment a couple of days ago, and I live in CC, a supposedly “safe” area. This was about 9:00 pm. When I walked in no one was there and I placed an order. 5 minutes later the employees are upset because several young men came in and declared they needed to charge their phones. They were not buying anything. Charging their phones meant moving furniture in the place to use an outlet! WTH? The two customers behind me quickly left. The employee told the young men to leave and that could not come in there every night. They refused. Most likely they were armed and with only 3 employees what could they do? The employees were talking about the lack of a security guard in the place. I know they were scared.I consider myself lucky to get my stuff and get out of there. I walked home pretty fast. This is not something I have ever seen in the 15 years living in the area, and the first time I felt unsafe in a business.

Put the /s there.

I worked at Temple for about a year in the mid-aughts before it was built up with the dorms. Every staff and faculty member vacated the campus as soon as their job was done! You did not hang around there a minute longer than necessary especially after dark.

I honestly am not surprised and feel for the Temple students. For the most part they are just trying to get an education at a school that is not that expensive. Penn is probably the safest campus in the city and that's due to their Penn police force which is quite visible.

Other places not mentioned: Trader Joe's on Arch and Broad St., just a block from City Hall, depending where you are in Rittenhouse and around the corner, Reading Terminal Market. The Arch St. TJ does not get as crowded as the one on Market, which is always crowded. Also, on 19th and Spruce there is a small grocery store "Food and Friends." I've never shopped in it but passed it many times. Also between 15th and 16th on Spruce, another small market, Spruce Market. I used to get bread at Metropolitan Bakery on right off Rittenhouse Sq. There are so many places to go in walking distance--however prices might be higher than you are used to. One of my friends in the Northeast laughs when I talk about how cheap the produce is in the Italian Market compared to all the grocery stores I can walk to. Where they shop in the Northeast is cheaper than the Italian Market, which is the cheapest you can get walking distance (a hike) from Rittenhouse. Reading Terminal Market has some good deals but still not as cheap.

Also moved with Mambo but it was several years ago. They were great, even unscrewed my Ikea bed and put it back together in the new place (and it was put back together than it was when I originally did it!). Very nice and it took at most 2 or maybe 3 hours for my 1 bedroom. I had mostly boxes though and just went a block away.

If they PAY, they have a right to ride. They do not PAY.

It is a bandaid, but it would at least clean up SEPTA which is a start.