This article is adapted from a story entitled “Philly Block Captains Hope Cleanups and Care Will Keep Streets Safe from Gun Violence,” previously written for Love Now Media. We encourage you to read the original article on the Love Now Media website. 

Since childhood, Nate Riley has had a habit of sweeping his pavement. “Every day, left and right,” confirmed Riley. Then, he moved to the Logan neighborhood of North Philly in 2021. “And I noticed that wasn’t taking place on the block,” he said. 

Riley’s street had a block captain —  a neighborhood leader in the City of Philadelphia’s block captain program, which mobilizes residents to keep blocks clean and organized. But that captain was getting older and “phasing out,” he said. Riley wanted to make the block a place where people would not only pitch in on upkeep but also spend time together. “Because of the violence, there’s a sense of alienation between the ages,” he said. “Older people, they’re afraid of the younger people…they look at them more as being a problem instead of embracing them.”  

Philadelphia’s block captain program has been around for 79 years, according to city communications staff. But these days, block captains have an unprecedented task: helping Philadelphians rebuild a sense of community that was jeopardized during the COVID-19 pandemic and the gun violence crisis that has followed. When shooting rates were climbing, the Philadelphia Police Department denied permits for community events, including block parties. Gil Coleman, who served as a block captain in Nicetown for 20 years, said his block was on the “banned block party” list. “We kind of lost that event…because there was so much activity going on,” he said. “Why punish the whole block for the activities of a few? For safety, but you also lost the opportunity for that block to come together.”

In May 2024, Philadelphia’s homicides were down 36% from the same time in 2023, per data from the Office of the Controller. Block captains say that’s an opportunity to strengthen community connections and prevent those numbers from going back up. 

After Riley took his post, he signed his block up for Playstreets, a city-sponsored free lunch program, so that older residents could interact with children while distributing food. 

Residents become block captains by gathering signatures for at least 51% of their block and then requesting city approval. Currently, there are 6,000 block captains registered. 

Block captains might distribute information about block parties, community town halls, and other events by flyering or knocking on doors. Some block captains have created Little Free Libraries and turned empty lots into play spaces. Riley hopes to pay young people to help elderly people with spring clean-up. “Poverty creates crime and violence,” Riley said.

To have a little child be able to come out of her home and see it’s a clean environment allows for them to have pride.

Research conducted in Philadelphia found that addressing vacant lots reduced gun crime by 29%. Mayor Cherelle Parker spoke to block captains after taking office, echoing campaign trail promises about “cleaning and greening” the city as a public safety strategy. Organizing neighborhood cleanups is a common contribution for block captains. The city provides supplies for gardening and trash collection, and block captains spread the word.

Some block captains also install porch lights and security cameras, report abandoned buildings and vehicles, and organize neighborhood patrols to combat crime, according to Councilmember Curtis Jones, who has been involved with a block captain program since the 70s. “Imagine a vacant property on a block that gets utilized as a stash house,” Jones said. “A clean lot is not as attractive to the criminal elements.” 

Neighborhood cleanups are also a rare opportunity for people to gather in person, said Coleman of Nicetown.

“It was a time when the community or the block would get to see who their neighbors are, and that was a good thing.” 

Block captains in neighborhoods impacted by violence might work with their local community development corporation or neighborhood nonprofits to improve public safety. In West Philadelphia, for example, longstanding violence prevention organization House of Umoja leans on block captains to keep the streets clean and get the word out about upcoming events, according to leaders there. There is currently no directory of block captains in Philly. 

There have been calls for that list to be released, and some block captains have proposed a website or app that would allow these community leaders to communicate about events and exchange resources. “Connecting block captains to one another is key to making neighborhoods safer,” said West Philly resident Mecca Robinson. She is interested in taking on the role and plans to start attending meetups with captains on neighboring blocks. 

Both Robinson and Riley recently teamed up with Jon McKay, founder of Philly nonprofit Life Outside the Streets. He wants to train block captains and community members on how to de-escalate conflict between neighbors. “Now you got extra support. We’re bringing in a violence interrupter to support you,” McKay said, noting the training is still in development.

Riley said he would be interested in getting an education on trauma to help young people in his neighborhood. “No one is addressing the trauma and the mental health issue,” he said. “So we have that compounded with the negativity from the streets; we are where we are today.