We, the Awbury Arboretum Neighbors Association (AANA), are devastated by the tragedy of Kada Scott’s death. We offer our deep condolences to her family.

AANA is the Registered Community Organization for the community within which the Ada Lewis property sits.

This tragedy renews our longstanding concerns for safety and quality of life when buildings in a neighborhood are left vacant for so many years. The Ada Lewis School closed in 2008 and has sat empty all this time. This is not a debate about real estate, but this tragedy and this property are linked by the fact that abandoned and neglected buildings create real issues.

Let us take action now to address simple changes that can improve safety when buildings are left vacant. When a school closes, the city should require that adequate lighting and video cameras be installed, that there is consistent monitoring of the video footage with the findings reported to the appropriate city department, so that safety issues identified in the footage could be addressed. Failure to take action in this regard tears at the fabric of a neighborhood and over time erodes it.

For many years after Ada Lewis closed, AANA advocated for the school to be repurposed in a manner that would provide benefit to the neighborhood. Our monthly meetings often addressed this subject and in time, a range of possible uses for the site were clarified by the community: trade school, medical clinic, housing, etc.

Beginning in 2018, several housing development proposals were brought before the community. After much discussion, the community decided that it could not support two of these three proposals for multiple reasons. The developers did not successfully address neighbors’ many concerns, which included issues of density and parking.

The proposal from the third developer, Ken Weinstein, provided for single-family homes and as well, had undergone changes from the original plan that specifically addressed community concerns brought up in meetings with him.

Finally, the community felt satisfied that this was a sound proposal that would benefit the neighborhood. We were relieved that a buyer had come forward who had included the community’s voice in the outcome and we were hopeful that this empty building would no longer blight our neighborhood.

When AANA informed Cindy Bass that we supported Mr. Weinstein’s plan, her response was noncommittal. She indicated that the decision was up to the school board and that she hadn’t had time to read the proposal, a project that had been under community discussion for almost two years. Through this discussion, we recognized that, for reasons unknown, we did not have her support in our choice of developer. However, the community had spoken and AANA moved forward.

In 2020, we wrote a letter of support to the school board in favor of Mr. Weinstein’s proposal and that plan was accepted by the school board. In addition, many, many individuals sent letters of support to the school board. We understood that the sale of the property to Mr. Weinstein was due to be voted on by the school board in the near future. But the vote was tabled and the community has never been provided with a reason for this. A change in leadership for the School District of Philadelphia further delayed this process. We have continued to pursue this issue over the years with both our councilperson and the school board to no avail.

The character of this neighborhood has suffered from the ongoing issues that come with longstanding vacancies. In neighborhoods across the city, there are a growing number of vacant school buildings and there are steps that can be taken by the city to assist neighbors with preserving safety and quality of life in their communities.

We are frustrated by the lack of information and the failure to resolve our concerns over these many years.

We again demand something better for our community. We again demand that the proposal approved by our community be reexamined and acted upon or that we be given answers. In the meantime, we can only hope that the outdoor lighting installed on the Ada Lewis building last week reflects a realization that deterring crime matters.