The intersection of 40th and Market streets is just two blocks from the upscale supermarket Freshgrocer, but to many Penn students it may as well be on another planet.
The corner has been plagued by drugs, illegal vending and violence in recent years, according to neighbors.
Often, Penn students simply do not cross the threshold to Market Street, despite the presence of a SEPTA blue line stop on the corner -- a fact that Undergraduate Assembly member Daniel Copes attributes to the corner's reputation.
"Many students are afraid I guess to use that because of the problems they've been having." Copes said.
A group of West Philadelphia residents and Penn staff and faculty are part of a continuing effort to transform the corner. The group, Friends of 40th Street, was formed last spring as a forum to discuss the future of the 40th Street corridor as a whole.
What they heard was a call for help from many of the senior citizens who live in the high-rise senior living facility at 3901 Market Street. The seniors felt they had been watching drug deals take place on their home turf for too long.
On Friday, in the community room of their building, Friends of 40th Street members met to discuss their progress.
John Leatherberry, a leader of the West Powelton Concerned Community Council, reported an influx of drug dealers from a new source: the Parkside Recovery Center. Parkside is a methadone clinic in West Philadelphia for those who abuse heroin and other drugs.
Leatherberry cited sales of "clinical drugs, valiums, different types of mood swing drugs to enhance the treatment [the dealers] get at Parkside" now taking place at the 40th and Market intersection.
These drug deals are something of a resurrection of illegal activity. Friends of 40th Street successfully worked to get Penn Police, University City District officials and Philadelphia Police to join forces and guard the corner with a watchful eye, a move that seemed to curb drug activity for a time.
Friends of 40th Street reported six drug arrests in the first three weeks of November on the corner, a significant improvement from the months before.
When Leatherberry called for applause for the policemen who worked this corner, the approximately 40 people in attendance at the meeting broke out into a hearty show of approval.
But they noted there is still serious work to be done.
Kathy Laws, a resident at the senior living facility, reported seeing drug deals in the weeks since extra police forces have been on the corner.
One community member said of the effort to clean up the corner, "It's like shoveling against the sand, but we need help."
Beyond police intervention, the group is working to set up a Town Watch organization, in which the seniors in the building would work as the eyes and ears of officers policing the area.
In conjunction with the Town Watch effort, Friends of 40th Street has joined up with Phones For Life, a non-profit organization which collects used cell phones and programs them to call 911 free of charge.
The group hopes seniors can use the phones to contact police when they spot a problem on the corner.
The Undergraduate Assembly is sponsoring a cell phone drive among students to help with this effort.
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