Neighbors continue vigilance, solidarity after recent marder

Some West Philadelphia neighbors have pushed fir ab extension of the Town Watch program. Two weeks after the murder of University research associate Vladimir Sled at 43rd Street and Larchwood Avenue, life goes on for area residents. While the attack has made many more cautious in their daily routines, most believe it will also spawn an increase in neighborhood activism and participation in local safety programs. Residents have asked organizers of Town Watch -- a volunteer neighborhood safety patrol -- to expand the program to include more streets in West Philadelphia, according to Barry Grossbach, a former president of Spruce Hill Community Association who lives at 43rd Street and Larchwood Avenue. Second-year Nursing graduate student Julia Hunter, who serves as a scheduler for Town Watch, said she has received several phone calls in the past week asking about the program. The group will hold its next meeting on Thursday. But Art History Graduate Chairperson David Brownlee said Town Watch has not been particularly active near his home at 43rd Street and Osage Avenue -- just two blocks from the site of the stabbing. For Brownlee and others, caution is not a new phenomenon. Many long-time West Philadelphia residents say they haven't changed their behavior significantly, because neighborhood crime has always warranted vigilance. "We have been cautious all along. Most of us had already set up our behavioral patterns," English doctoral student Robert Barrett said of the residents of his 42nd and Osage streets home. Still, Hunter said she has become more likely to watch the clock when her husband, Management Professor Chip Hunter, is out running errands and she will often look around before unloading her car of groceries or other purchases. She noted that the Halloween murder particularly scared many long-time residents since it occurred only an hour after many neighborhood children had been trick-or-treating on the same street. History Department Chairperson Lynn Lees, a member of Penn Faculty and Staff for Neighborhood Improvement, said although she plans to continue riding her bicycle to class every morning, she has decided to use Penn Escort when returning home after dark. Grossbach said such precautions are common for long-time community residents, who see the crime problem as something that "can happen anywhere." "It's something that this community has a hard time dealing with -- that crime happens here -- but to say that this is the 'Wild West,' that is not the reality," he added. And Hunter said residents' fear about the recent crime is probably temporary. "This always happens after a big crime wave, and then it kind of wanes," she said. "People here see this as one of the disadvantages of living here -- like having to commute 45 minutes to work every day. Instead we have crime. "People feel that is something they are willing to deal with in exchange for being close to the campus and the city," she added. According to Hunter, students tend to "freak out" more than long-time residents. And Grossbach agreed, saying that unlike West Philadelphia residents, students tend to react with fear. "You can either develop a fortress mentality and live behind a closed door, or you can get on with your life and understand that one has to be cautious," Grossbach said. He added that students who don't come from urban areas are often less street-smart and react differently than permanent residents might. "When something happens [students] are understandably concerned, but people who live in this community have a different sense," he said. Despite Grossbach's claims, many students said they are learning to cope with life in West Philadelphia, refusing to let crime keep them locked in their homes. College junior and Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Tal Golomb said while he will not live in fear, he does believe students should take steps to be safe. "I don't think people should be staying in -- they should be doing as much as we can to be safe," said the 42nd and Osage streets resident. "We ride our bikes and walk with other people. There is a lot students can do to help improve safety. If it's not Town Watch it is something as simple as leaving your porch light on." And long-time West Philadelphia denizens insist the neighborhood will survive last month's tragedy. "This is a community that will do what is necessary," said Grossbach. "It will not fall apart and an incident like this makes it more determined."

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