WHAT DOES KENSINGTON PHILADELPHIA HOOD LOOK LIKE ON A SATURDAY?

“The 7 Days Of Kensington”

This is a limited 7 day series in which I captured driving tour footage of the Kensington neighborhood everyday of the week during the summer month of August. I was born and raised here but sadly I will be leaving the city very soon to begin documenting the other 47 states America has to offer. I wanted to capture the Kensington Hood in a way where I show you Kensington without having to show you Kensington if that makes any sense. Most content viewers on the World Wide Web see of north Kensington span the same 10 blocks under the Market Frankford line train tracks where the crisis is most severe. Repeatedly, these videos get circulated and viewers believe that the footage they are seeing is the entire neighborhood of Kensington. Some people think that is how the whole city of Philadelphia is. Not many people know what the area that surrounds Kensington Avenue look like. So in this Kensington series you will see more than just the HELL under the EL!

This is my hometown but most importantly the neighborhood that I saw growing up. Unfortunately, it has received a lot of bad press for it currently being the opioid epicenter of the country. It was even nicknamed “The Walmart of Herion”. I hope next year when I visit Philadelphia this neighborhood would be in better condition than it is today. Subscribe to my channel to follow me on my journey!

Kensington is a neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its placement within the broader division of sections of Philadelphia is debated, but it is often considered as a dividing line between or belonging to both the Lower Northeast section of Philadelphia and North Philadelphia. It is generally considered part of the Philadelphia River Wards. Modern Kensington is larger than the former Kensington District, and unlike Kensington District it does not include Fishtown.

As with all neighborhoods in Philadelphia, the lack of any official designation means the boundaries of the area vary between sources and over time. Traditionally, Kensington is known for its large working class Irish Catholic community. Kensington was the location of the Philadelphia Nativist Riots in the 19th century.[2]

Kensington is also the birthplace of the K&A Gang, (currently known as the Northeast Philly Irish Mob), an Irish American organized crime network. Originally, Kensington was also home to a large English American community. For example, the six Episcopal parishes in the neighborhood (Emmanuel, Free Church of St. John, Good Shepherd, St. Ambrose, St. Luke’s, and St. Nathanael’s) were founded by 19th-century immigrants from England.

Along with Irish Americans, Kensington is also home to a large population of Hispanic Americans (mainly Puerto Ricans, Dominicans), African Americans, and Polish Americans. The neighborhood has also recently seen a large influx of young urban professionals and gentrification.