Daily News | Business owners say weak enforcement is emboldening the violence on Philly’s South Street
each other and a crowd of people in the street on Saturday night, leaving three dead and 11 wounded.
failed to materialize. The record label owners “asked me if this is South Street all the time. ‘This is not the people that come to our bars and restaurants,’ I said to them. ‘These are young kids who have nothing to do, and it’s summer, and they want freedom to do what they want, with no repercussions.’”
“The complete lack of law and order on South Street and in too many neighborhoods” is the deeper cause, to McNichol. “Protect your citizens by creating AND ENFORCING laws,” he added, with emphasis. “Arrest individuals who commit crimes” and “keep dangerous individuals from committing repeat crimes. ... Allow police to do their job” so Philadelphians can “enjoy their city without endless fear, and businesses can prosper, not to crumble under the weight of fear.”, made a similar case.
Harris said that South Street draws visitors from neighboring counties and states and from up and down the East Coast. “If customers are not feeling safe, they are not going to come to South Street, and those restaurants won’t fill tables,” he added. “We get over a million visitors a year, tens of thousands every weekend.