Powelton Village Shares How it Deals with Rowdy College Students

Hearing about problems in Powelton Village sounds akin to complaints at a typical Manayunk Neighborhood Council meeting. College students party late at night (often at illegally rented or unlicensed apartments), leaving behind trash and infringing upon residents' quality of life.

One key difference between the two areas is the University City civic belongs to a district with professional staff cleaning and monitoring the area.

Powelton Village civic members George Poulin and Michael Jones discussed Wednesday how the University City District, funded by large-scale area entities, eases the burden of dealing with disrespectful young tenants.

"It's challenging, as you can imagine, because we're faced with an institution that keeps growing and can provide little on-campus housing," Poulin said, referring to Drexel University. 

"But these people are making money educating these students, and there's a direct link to the nuisance they cause. They should feel an obligation to fund part of it. Now getting them there is a whole other issue," Jones said.

How the District Works

Founded in 1995, the University City District covers neighborhoods surrounding the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel. The institutions, in addition to area hospitals, Brandywine Realty Trust (which owns the Cira Centre), and local property companies fund the professional staff charged with trash cleanup, property issues and safety.

A district like this picks up where the city leaves off. For example, the group organizes dumpsters strategically placed in University City to deal with student move-in, move-outs.

The UCD also employs "safety ambassadors" that interact with party houses. Although they can't issue citations, they do work with Philadelphia Police more easily than any one individual to mitigate problems. They can also raise awareness to problem areas.

"I don't need an open container violation or an arrest of someone... I need someone to say 'Hey, guys. Can you take it inside?'" Jones said.

Their group has also a designated employee that works with Licenses and Inspections to cut down on illegally rented units or shoddy properties.

Could Manayunk Do This?

The meeting Wednesday existed as a way for Manayunk residents to see how a special services district operates and if something similar could exist here. Although the Manayunk Special Services District is already in place, it primarily deals with Main Street issues.

MNC member Darlene Messina organized the talk. "I think this mirrors closely to what impacts our community," she said. "This talk isn't anything official, but it's for us to imagine if something like this is possible."

Messina said residents could start their own group within a neighborhood improvement district or work to become part of the MSSD, which is up for renewal this year. Either way, how to fund the organization is an issue.

The  in May. That idea mostly hinged on raising local property taxes to fund a project. On one hand, it hits residents in the wallet, but it also gives property owners more say over what the district does on a day-to-day basis. Although the Powelton civic has a say with University City District, it lacks daily involvement.

On Wednesday, the MNC floated the idea of area colleges, like Philadelphia University or St. Joseph's University, pitching in.

"Universities should know where their students live... Even if only 15 percent of their students live in Manayunk, they have a vested interest in this community," Poulin said.

The process to establish a special services district is involved and takes a community's backing to create. With the council's support, Messina will continue to work on furthering this conversation.