Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross speaks to Mt. Airy-Nippon-Bryan-Cresheim Town Watch member Steve Stroiman at a meeting in 2016.(Photo by Sue Ann Rybak)

by Sue Ann Rybak

They say it takes a village to raise a child. If that famous saying is true, then you want that village to be a strong, cohesive community where every one of its members feels valued and respected.

For 30 years, the members of the Mt. Airy-Nippon-Bryan-Cresheim Town Watch, which formally started on May 3, 1988 after a neighbor was burglarized on Valentine's Day, have made it their mission to not just keep their community safe, but one where everyone feels valued and respected.

The Local met with several members of the organization on Sept. 6 on the 100 block of West Mt. Airy to talk about how it has helped transformed the neighborhood into a safe and vibrant community.

Steve Stroiman, one of the founders of the town watch, said town watch is about “neighbors helping neighbors.”

For nine years, the organization patrolled their neighborhood. Elayne Blender, who was the parent of young children at the time, said the patrolling town watch gave her the chance to get some fresh air, meet her neighbors and socialize.

“I didn't get a chance to go out much at night and going out to patrol was something socially acceptable,” she said. “I looked forward to walking around for an hour with one of my neighbors.”

Stroiman said when the patrol’s numbers were dwindling he attempted to offer walkers a chance to win  dinner for two for free.

“That increased the number of people walking by zero,” he said. “I realized the patrolling town watch was not going to continue in any configuration. In order for us to continue to be a safe neighborhood, we really needed to get to know each of us better.”

The group continued to hold monthly meetings at members' houses. A binder listing each member's name, address, telephone number, email address and car vehicle with license plate number is listed in a book.

Mady Cantor described it as the “backbone” of their organization.

“This information is invaluable,” she said. “I use it all the time. "Steve gives it out to everyone who moves into the neighborhood along with a welcome gift.”

David Kutzik recalled how after a snowstorm the entire neighborhood shoveled the street so a neighbor could go to dialysis.

“It was the blizzard of 1996,” he said. “All the neighbors were out there shoveling by hand because the street wasn't plowed. I'll never forget. It was kind of an indelible impression. On the news that night, there was a story about a neighborhood in South Philly that hired a plow to clear the street.”

Not surprisingly, every year since then, the association has collected money to hire someone to plow that street and all the others in the town watch.

The organization also distributes a newsletter to approximately 250 households. It has since evolved into a very active listserv.

Elayne BLender recalled how the neighborhood came together to help an elderly neighbor, Billy Winterbottom, who lived on the 7100 block of Cresheim Avenue. Neighbors took turns taking him to doctor appointments, buying him groceries and checking in on him. Blender said after a while it became evident that Winterbottom, who had no immediate family in the area, could not live by himself.

Stroiman said he and a small group of neighbors were able to track down his brother, who he had not seen in 20 years, in Colorado. With the help of neighbors, Winterbottom moved to Stapley, an assisted -living facility in Germantown, and the former Unitarian Universalist House.

Stroiman added that one of the things he is most proud of is the town watch's ability to handle “neighbor to neighbor conflicts.”

“We have stepped in and not necessarily to resolve them, but to discuss them and see whether we wanted to bring in professionals such as the Human Relations Committee,” he said. “For example, in the 90s, some youths in the neighborhood were committing vandalism and making life difficult for senior members of our neighborhood. After three years of tearing our hair out and not knowing what to do, we came to the conclusion that we had to offer a carrot or a stick to these kids. We came up with a whole list of free summer activities and presented them to their parents. The stick was having the community relations officer go to each of their homes and take the kids to the neighborhood jail and show them that they at 13 and 14 years old would wind up in jail if the 14th district police heard any complaint from a neighbor. And that disbanded the group.”

In an earlier interview, Douglas Evans, supervisor at Northwest Town Watch Integrated Services, said the police need the community's help to keep them safe. “People don’t have to have a patrolling Town Watch,” he said. “You can have what we call an Eyes and Ears Town Watch. As you go through your normal routine, if you notice something usual or suspicious then you report it.”

Evans encouraged people to be proactive when it comes to crime.

“We all own umbrellas and it doesn’t rain everyday,” he said. “We all own snow shovels and it doesn’t snow everyday, but we know we might need them, so we keep those things.”

He said its the same thing with town watch.

“Just because nothing is going on, doesn’t mean you stop locking your door,” Evans said.

“We just ask communities and their neighbors to be organized and have a platform to voice their concerns.”

He said it was not enough to just know the neighbors across the street from you or beside you. He explained that you have to know the people who live behind you because that’s where most burglaries happen.

“Just think how strong a city we would have if every block had a Town Watch,” he said. “We would have the criminals on the run simply by having neighbors watch out for neighbors.”

For more information about Town Watch call Douglas Evans at 215-685-4524.

Sue Ann Rybak can be reached at sueann@chestnuthilllocal.com or 215-248-8804