Hi, I’m Leena Warren — a proud neighbor here in West Philadelphia. Earlier this week, I came across a group of seniors protesting on the corner of Belmont and Parkside, and it truly stopped me in my tracks. The story I’ve received from some of these homeowners is that a developer is reportedly trying to prohibit them from parking behind their homes — something they’ve been doing for decades.

Many of the seniors shared that they feel pushed out, saying the city is allowing developers to overbuild in our neighborhoods, leaving them with nowhere to park. Now, they feel like their private property rights are under attack.

Over 20 protesters were gathered around 10 AM on 10/23/25, holding signs and standing up for what’s rightfully theirs — the right to access and use their own property. And it made me think: is it fair that our elders have to fight for something they’ve already earned? Shouldn’t their voices matter when new building plans are approved — especially when they’ve been the backbone of these communities for generations?

I truly admire how they came together, united and strong, to defend what’s theirs. It reminds me that community still matters — and that even something as small as a parking spot can mean the world to a senior trying to get home safely at night.

So what I did next led to where we are now. I created a small video of what I witnessed on that day and posted it on TikTok. After getting thousands of views and hundreds of comments wanting to know more about the situation and offering help, and the request for information on how they could donate — I decided to take it a step further. I went to visit those elders at their homes to get their side of the story, and what I discovered was horrific: a developer coming in, threatening, intimidating, and allegedly working with the city to buy these decade-long homeowners out while illegally encroaching on their properties.

But more importantly, I found out the need of these brave protesters. Not only do they need our support, they also need monetary help.

Their goal is to pay for a lawyer, which they have been chipping in and splitting the bill between each neighbor, but also they’d like to afford a land surveyor to prove and determine property boundaries, so that this nightmare can come to an end.

I’ve been told damages to the concrete of the properties have been done from trucks coming through, damaging the foundation. Gates have been put up by this developer so that these homeowners are not able to access their properties, but since have been taken down by an unknown party in defense to fight back.

These people have built these communities for 50 to 70 years, living in peace, and now one person gets to come in and change what the community has created and grown from scratch without a care in the world about what or how they feel.

So I’m standing behind them — because protecting their peace of mind and property rights means protecting the heart of West Philly.