Kensington Renewal

Please Share/RT: Dangerous house on E Westmoreland St

admin — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:37:55 +0000

Hey all, we could really use your help in spreading the word about this imminently dangerous property at 906 E Westmoreland St. It’s been set on fire, vacant for many years and–as you can see from all the natural light in the photos–no longer has much of a roof left.
From what we can find, the owner(s) of record: Francis & Martha Dutill or Steven Katzev haven’t paid property taxes since 1996, with more than $26,000 owed to the City of Philadelphia. Philly 311 Service Request #2656339 from 12/7/2012 has its status registered as “Completed”, but seems like this dangerous building is still…well, dangerous.

Philly has so many of these kinds of properties on its hands & we’re sure there are plenty of other properties equally deserving of the attention & limited resources of our fair city. Hopefully we (with your help!) can shed a little social network & media attention on these kinds of “abandominiums” that need to be demolished–as they’re just too damaged & dangerous for repair.

Thanks so much to Mayor Michael Nutter, Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sanchez, L&I Commissioner Carlton Williams & Managing Director Rich Negrin for fostering a city culture where citizens want to participate and “be the change they wish to see”.

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Chelsea Krost Show interview this Wed @ 7pm!

admin — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:25:44 +0000

You know Chelsea Krost from her appearances on Anderson Cooper, Wendy Williams & many more. Kensington Renewal founder Jamie Moffett gets to chat with Chelsea about home-ownership, building safe neighborhoods & how planting trees & flowers can help fight crime!

Tune in to The Chelsea Krost Show this Wednesday, March 27th at 7pm for this episode, titled: “Millennial Insider”. Also featured on the show are investigative journalist Lisa Guerrero, philanthropy entrepreneur Ebonie Johnson Cooper and recording artist Alexa.

PRESS: An Interview with Jamie Moffett

admin — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 22:46:37 +0000

Jamie Moffett visited the University of North Texas this January and was interviewed by student and former intern, Andrew Nelson, about his feature length documentaries, his community outreach organizations in Kensington and whats coming next in 2013 for Kensington Renewal. Check out the whole interview below!

PRESS: NPR’s Radio Times features Kensington Renewal & Jamie Moffett

admin — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:36:58 +0000

#innovateRT: Three Philly leaders innovating land-use

PRESS: Philadelphia Neighborhoods” Kensington: Economics of a Fractured Community”

admin — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:48:38 +0000

Hannah Eshleman and Dillon Mast from Philadelphia Neighborhoods, a publication of Temple’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab, wrote an article about the Kensington Renewal Initiative. The article covers everything from low homeownership rates, to banks denying loans to properties under $50,000, all the way to the new rehabilitated home at 921 E. Westmoreland St. Check out the entire article below!

“Righting the Blight”

admin — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:12:28 +0000

Isaiah Thompson from Philadelphia’s Citypaper writes about Bob Coyle, the known “slumlord” and how he defaulted on millions of dollars in mortgages of properties in the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. Because of this, all of his properties became abandoned, turning them into prime real-estate for drugdealers. With the homeownership rate low, the crime rate increases. With the help of community members, these abandoned homes will be rehabilitated and help to lower to crime rate. For the entire article, click below.

PRESS:VIDEO-CBS Philly “Buying A Home Still Difficult Even With Record Low Mortgage Rates”

admin — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 19:44:22 +0000

Eyewitness news-reporter, Anne-Marie Green interviews Jamie Moffett on the which came first, vacant properties or crime, in blighted neighborhoods of Philadelphia? She reports on how homeownership directly correlates to crimes especially in neighborhoods like Kensington and how Kensington Renewal fights to higher the homeownership rate and simultaniously lower the crime rate.

PRESS:Philly.com “Casey, Stumping Here, Calls for Easier Low-End Mortgages”

admin — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 19:22:17 +0000

Thanks to Tom Infield, staff writer for the Inquirer, for writing about when Senator Bob Casey stopped by for a press conference to discuss sub $50,000 loans, and then took a tour around the 900 block of E. Westmoreland St. with Jamie Moffett.

Photos: Senator Bob Casey Visits Kensington

admin — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 22:09:59 +0000

Thanks to Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. for stopping by the Kensington Renewal House and taking a tour of the neighborhood. We look forward to working with him more on mortgage banking reform.

PRESS:CBS Philly “Sen. Casey Visits Kensington…”

admin — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:44:29 +0000

Steve Tawa from CBS Philly reports about Senator Bob Casey’s visit to our neighborhood and his announcement on lowering mortgages to help lower income families become homeowners.