Construction of a New 22nd Police District Station on the Diamond Street Historic District??? NO WAY!!! Construction of New Affordable Housing on the Diamond Street Historic District??? OH YEAH!!!

Enthusiastically supported by Councilmember Darrell Clarke, the Philadelphia Historical Commission approved the construction of a new public safety building at 2100 Diamond St. in North Philadelphia. The 32nd Ward RCO has appealed the decision, which is the FOURTH fight against this unwanted development after three successful denials since 2020. An appeal hearing has not yet been scheduled, but a sustained appeal would ensure that community voices are included and uplifted in this process.

We are asking for your signature to showcase community support for this appeal and to end the siting of a police station on Diamond St. for good. We continue to make the case that opportunities for housing and uplifting the heritage of the Diamond Street Historic District is significantly more beneficial for the neighborhood. If there is a new police station to be built, it should be built elsewhere.

The Diamond Street Historic District was placed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1986, and many of the architecturally-significant houses deserved investment rather than the demolition-by-neglect they received such as when the historic houses of 2100 Diamond St. were razed in 1997. The economic abandonment of our majority-Black neighborhood set forward negative impacts that still exist today.

Yet, many in our neighborhood have responded to their historical neglect by taking lead on heritage-driven cultural organizing to uplift not only what was lost due to past policy choices, but to achieve what the designation intended to make possible when it was fought for: “historic districts foster community pride and help improve and maintain the quality of life.” We believe that our elected officials should follow the people’s lead.

Per the nomination, "The row houses and churches of Diamond Street represent one of the most grand and stylistically intact avenue of Victorian architecture in the City of Philadelphia."

We demand the restoration of housing and the honoring of community assets that represent incredible Black-led contributions to the world. Our children deserve to be nurtured and surrounded by protected historic sites that affirm their lives and remind them of their potential. Not police stations that showcase the threat of arrest, imprisonment, and worse. 

We don’t believe that a new police station on Diamond Street fulfills the purpose of the Diamond Street Historic District. It’s the wrong solution set at the wrong place. We recognize that needed investments into community services can be best alternatively served by improving already existing nearby parks, public schools, and recreation centers. Sign on our petition to make sure the community’s voice is heard.