Dear Friends, Neighbors, Residents & Business Owners in Society Hill,
Summer time is upon us once again and once again the Delancey Square Town Watch is launching our annual Summer Security fundraiser for our little nook of Society Hill.
This makes our 4th Summer in a row raising funds in order to hire private security to patrol our streets, acting as an extra set of Eyes and Ears helping to keep our neighborhood just a little safer during the hectic Summer months. In the last 3 Summers we’ve raised nearly $150,000.00 from residents and businesses as part of this community effort.
Having private security on our streets has proven to be a tremendous asset, resulting in positive outcomes, including but not limited to:
-A drop in car breaks ins
-A drop in vandalism, including graffiti
-A drop in package thefts
-A drop in public disturbances
However, 2026 could bring us an elevated level of these issues. As our City celebrates America 250 and the World Cup, we’re expected to have an influx of over 1.5 million visitors. This, coupled with the legislation recently passed allowing Philadelphia bars to remain open until 4 a.m. between June 11 and July 20, 2026, we could be faced with added challenges.
Our short-staffed Law Enforcement will be working overtime, so we must do our part. Having a team of seasoned security guards on the ground is going to be more important than ever this Summer.
These Security Officers are trained on how to properly inform 911 dispatch of an incident in progress, often resulting in quicker response times. They are also trained on how to approach those struggling with homelessness, offering outreach and contacting Project Home’s 24-hour assistance line. Often their mere presence can keep bad actors at bay by acting as a visual deterrence. They also provide us with detailed weekly reports that include images, which we then provide to all of you.
Overall, they create a sense of added safety, not only for our residents and business owners, but also to the many tourists who visit our beautiful neighborhood. In fact, this has proven to be so effective, that not only does Old City do this, but even our neighbors in Queen Village have started to hire security for neighborhood patrols.
THE COVERAGE AREA:
The Security coverage area is from:
-Front to 5th Street
-Spruce to Gaskill
-Head House Square
This includes monitoring all of the streets within this perimeter and the parking lot on Front street managed by the SHCA.
For those who live in Society Hill, just outside of this coverage area, we often get asked, “why is only this section patrolled and not all of Society Hill?”
There are 2 main reason for this:
1) Our Town Watch is a focused group that works within these boarders. We have over 50 residents who have taken the TWIS Services training within this area. By keeping the area condensed, we have been able to remain effective.
2) This particular section of Society Hill has unique challenges, which include:
a) Multiple disturbances that roll over from South Street between Front & 5th due to the many nuisance bars, and let’s not forget about the ATV’s and dirt bikes that tear through the area after show boating along South Street.
b) There are many bars in Old City between 5th and Front that often lead to disorderly conduct rolling into this area.
c) Penn’s Landing holds many events, and has several bars, which lead to disorderly conduct pushing into this area.
d) Between Head House Square and several other landmarks and near-by museums, our area sees heavy tourism.
e) We are often addressing either open-air drug use or people sleeping in Three Bears Park, Foglietta Plaza, The Vietnam Veteran’s Park, the grassy stretch along Front between South and Spruce, as well as our CVS and ACME Parking Lots.
Focusing on this area and ensuring we are doing all we can to keep this section as safe and clean as possible, can have an overall positive impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
SECURITY DETAIL & FUNDRAISING GOAL:
The Security detail is as follows:
-2 uniformed, unarmed guards – (Fully insured, licensed and bonded)
-1 guard on foot and 1 guard in a patrol car
-3 to 4 nights per week (Ideally Thursday, Friday, Sat and Sun – depending on the amount we raise.)
-6 to 8-hour shifts (typically 7pm to 3am, however we are considering adjusting the shift times week to week based on resident feedback from last year.)
The timeframe we typically aim for is 14 to 16 weeks starting roughly in June to Labor Day weekend, to as late as mid-September depending on the weather. We also hire private security on October 31st to man the barricade at 3rd and Pine when we have the street blocked off for the Halloween festivities.
Based on the above, this year’s fundraising goal is $50,000.00.
HOW TO DONATE & WHAT TO KNOW:
Donating toward Summer Security is easy and due to our affiliation with the 501c3 organization, The Society Hill Fund, your contribution is a tax deduction! If you’d like to learn more about SHF, please visit: https://societyhillfund.org
You can donate directly via the Go Fund Me link or, if you prefer to issue a check, please be sure to follow the instructions below.
DONATING VIA THE GO FUND ME:
1) Your donations are 100% secure and tax deductible.
2) You will receive a generated letter from GFM for your taxes.
3) You may remain anonymous, or you can leave us a message on the GFM page once you donate.
4) GFM will automatically add a donation for them. You can adjust this to be whatever you want, or make it zero. This is not required, only suggested.
DONATING BY CHECK:
If you prefer to donate with a check, please see below:
1) Checks should be issued to SOCIETY HILL FUND.
2) Checks may be mailed or dropped off to the following address:
250 Delancey Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Whether we fall short, reach the goal or exceed it, we will adjust the Summer Security schedule, meaning we will have security on the ground no matter what!
We will keep you updated on the GML as well as via our email blasts. Although the goal is flexible, if only 400 residents and biz owners donated $125 each, we'd hit that goal in no time. There are certainly many more residents than that in the coverage area so feel free to share this fundraiser with anyone you know that lives within the blocks referenced above!
Whether you can donate $25.00 or $1000.00 dollars, every dollar helps in creating a safer neighborhood for everyone.
Thank you!
Joe Dain
Co-Founder
Delancey Square Town Watch
P.S.
For those of you who are new to us, below is a link of me being interviewed by ABC Action News reporter, Christie Ileto in May of 2023 when we first launched this effort.