Not child’s play

The sight of smashed windows, torn tree branches and vandalized cars caused by rambunctious children plague Michael Johnson. To him, they are warning signs today’s youth – specifically the ones he has noticed in Greater Grays Ferry Estates and its surrounding areas – need a helping hand in filling their idle time.

"I’ve had children physically tell me, ‘We don’t have anything to do. We’re bored,’" said Johnson, of Germantown, who sees this problem escalating if a solution is not soon on the horizon.

Valuing the future of his two kids and other children residing at the mixed-income housing development at 30th and Morris streets, Johnson has formed the Greater Grays Ferry Brotherhood.

"What we want to do is take the children out of the negative mode they are in and place them into something positive," said Johnson, the group’s president.

Now a year old, the group provides children with activities designed to keep them occupied, including basketball and dance teams.

But Johnson said he still is faced with obstacles. The painstaking search for office space has been coupled with the fact funds for his cause continue to dwindle.

Johnson received another blow Aug. 8 when his van, which he uses to transport children to and from activities, was stolen. Inside was the basketball team’s uniforms, something the group raised money to obtain. The van was later recovered in Clifton Heights, but the uniforms were nowhere to be found.

Keeping his mission alive despite adversity, Johnson and his group have secured practice time at the Vare Recreation Center, 26th and Morris streets, for the roughly 25 members of its dance team.

The group’s Vice President Ecca Faulcon is concerned for his 13-year-old daughter, Genise, who resides in the development.

"I want her growing up in a community that’s strong and community-oriented rather than a group of houses that exist in a new neighborhood," said Faulcon, of the 1700 block of South 29th Street.

TO ESTABLISH A sense of camaraderie, Johnson said his group invited the Greater Grays Ferry Estates’ community to a block party on the 1700 block of South 29th Street last month. Because the fairly new development rests on the former site of the Tasker Homes project, many longtime residents surrounding the area feared a disorderly event.

"I personally went to every single house and I told them that any fears or concerns you had when it was the Tasker projects, you don’t have to worry about that," said Johnson.

Some 200 attendees chowed down on donated foods while putting past incidents of the area’s crime and rowdy behavior behind them, he added.

"Those old wounds took a while to heal, but when we had the block party, the ones that did participate were shocked at how orderly and respectful that event was," said Johnson, who noted children outnumbered adults at the party.

Johnson understands money is needed to get future projects off the ground. He has participated in on-site fund-raising, including selling crabs at residents’ houses, but was informed by the complex’s management that the sale was prohibited. Because the residents did not have a license or permission to sell food from their homes, the operation was shut down, said Kirk Dorn, spokesperson for the Philadelphia Housing Authority, which manages Greater Grays Ferry Estates.

The group also suggested a carwash, but Dorn said there are liability issues to consider.

"If someone were to be hurt at this carwash, PHA could be held responsible," said Dorn, who added federal dollars help pay the water bill at the Greater Grays Ferry Estates. "This group has a great cause and we’d like to help them anyway we can. If there’s something we can work out with them that doesn’t run across these issues, I’m sure we can get something done."

Responding to Johnson’s claims of vandalism by the area’s youths, Dorn said, "We have strictly enforced quality-of-life rules. If there was destructive activity or people causing damage to these properties, we would investigate it."

Both Johnson and Faulcon agree a new community center specifically for Greater Grays Ferry Estates’ residents also might end destructive behavior.

"The recreation centers in this community are not off-limits to them, but they fear going into these centers because the youth sometimes start trouble with them," said Faulcon of the residents.

Though not solidified, plans are in the works to construct a community center at the site, Dorn said.

Meanwhile, the group, which also participates in mentoring young parents, will stay focused on giving children a promising future.

"We don’t want to see the community become like the projects before it," said Faulcon.

For more information on the Greater Grays Ferry Brotherhood, contact Michael Johnson at 215-465-1931.