Delaware
Inside the monumental effort in Wilmington to ‘Resurrect Riverside’
Markevis Gideon lived in Riverside as a child in the 1980s.
“It was a lot of crime, a lot of violence for me,” Gideon recalled recently. “For me, when I got punished, I had to sit on the front steps to try to be acclimated with the environment. But it was something I just thoroughly didn’t enjoy. I hated it.”
Wenona Sutton of REACH Riverside grew up in the Bronx, which is perhaps New York City’s roughest borough, but was stunned by life in this part of Wilmington when she arrived a few years ago.
“One of the saddest things I saw when I came in this area was the Riverside housing community,” Sutton recalled. “There are boarded-up homes, living conditions that are a norm for community members that should not have been a norm.”
“And then when you hear the stories of how long this community has been sitting and how long help has not come, it just really makes you wonder how and why something like that could happen.”
City leaders embrace ‘Purpose Built’ model
Two decades ago, though, developers tore down and rebuilt Eastlake, across the boulevard from Riverside.
Although no comprehensive project to revitalize the entire area took place, Eastlake’s transformation did become somewhat of a delayed catalyst for Riverside’s rebirth in recent years.
“What we saw in Eastlake was that it’s possible, right?” Herring said recently. “A mixed income community in a community that used to be notorious for crime and poverty. And so the work that we’re doing right across the boulevard, we believe, is going to highly complement what was done in Eastlake.”
The other seeds of rebirth were planted around the turn of the 21st century when EastSide Charter School opened on the site of a long-mothballed public school that borders Riverside.
When the students at EastSide struggled, school leaders sought ways to improve their performance.
They studied a housing- and education-focused initiative that had dramatically revitalized one impoverished area in Atlanta and was being replicated in New Orleans, Tulsa, Birmingham, Omaha and other cities.
Known as Purpose Built Communities, the redevelopments are funded with a mix of tax credits and public and private investment, plus unrelenting will.
Among Purpose Built’s financial backers is billionaire Omaha resident Warren Buffett. During a 2017 Purpose Built forum, the CEO of the Berkshire Hathaway investment company raved about the Atlanta project, which revitalized an area where barely 1 in 10 people had a job.
“There hadn’t been a building permit issued in 30 years,” Buffett told the audience. “The fifth graders — 5% were reading at grade level. It was just a disaster.”
But after several years of investment, planning, construction, and collaboration, Buffett said, “there’s full employment. There’s a mixture of incomes. There’s a mixture of races. The school scores in the top 10 of that area.”
In 2014, Mike Purzycki joined a contingent from Wilmington that visited Atlanta to see that city’s revitalized area, also known as East Lake. At the time Purzycki headed the public-private group redeveloping Wilmington’s riverfront, where the new Blue Rocks stadium is an anchor. Purzycki was elected mayor in 2016 and is finishing up his second term.
“We came back pretty enthralled by this whole concept of building a project, but building supports and community centers and schools and the works,’’ Purzycki said while standing on Bowers Street, where the old Riverside ends and the new Imani Village begins.
“It’s a magnificent example of what happens when people have this indomitable will that says we are going to do this project. And all you gotta do is look around here and if you are not impressed, you just don’t have a pulse.”
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WILMINGTON, Del. (WPVI) — Three years after her son was fatally shot in West Philadelphia, Kameelah Torrance is still searching for answers and justice.
Samyr Walker, 19, was killed on September 4, 2022, while delivering food in his mother’s car. Torrance said Walker’s own vehicle had broken down the night before, prompting him to borrow hers to earn extra money.
“I get a phone call, I’m thinking it’s him,” Torrance recalled.
Philadelphia police said the shooting occurred around 1:45 p.m. at the Chick-A-Boom restaurant drive-thru on 46th Street and Lancaster Avenue. While waiting for his food, Walker reportedly had an interaction with another driver.
“What I’m guessing is maybe he was on his phone and he accidentally tapped the bumper, which is what happened,” Torrance said.
Police said the altercation escalated when gunshots were fired from the suspect’s car as Walker exited his vehicle to retrieve his order. A passenger in Walker’s car also returned fire. Authorities believe the motive was road rage.
According to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, detectives located the vehicle believed to be involved and interviewed both the owner and the reported driver. However, no arrests have been made.
The DA’s office said it has extended victim support services to Walker’s family and the affected community.
Torrance described her son, affectionately called “Meer Meer,” as “a very happy-go-lucky kid.”
“Every time you see him, he was always smiling, silly, liked to have fun, very family oriented,” said Torrance.
She said the lack of closure has made the loss even harder to bear.
“No closure, sleepless nights, it’s just been horrible,” she said. “It’s not fair that my son is gone and you’re walking around free, freely doing whatever. His life was cut short.”
Torrance said she still texts Walker’s phone number and mourns the future he was denied.
“He won’t be able to get married, have children, become something of himself. He was robbed of that and it’s not fair,” she said.
Police say the investigation remains active and ongoing. Torrance and law enforcement are urging anyone with information to come forward.
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Delaware
*Update – Victim Identified* State Police Investigating Fatal Crash in Dover – Delaware State Police – State of Delaware
Delaware State Police have identified 14-year-old Reis Yoc-Santos, of Dover, Delaware, as the teenager who died in the fatal crash involving a school bus and an electric bicycle that occurred Friday afternoon in Dover.
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has relevant information is asked to contact Master Corporal W. Booth at (302) 698-8451. Information may also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police or contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of a crime or have lost a loved one to a sudden death and need assistance, the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit / Delaware Victim Center is available to offer you support and resources 24 hours a day through a toll-free hotline at 1-800-VICTIM-1 (1-800-842-8461). You may also email the Victim Services Unit at DSP_VictimServicesMail@delaware.gov.
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Delaware
14-year-old boy dead, one teen hospitalized after e-bike runs stop sign, collides with bus in Delaware
DOVER, Del. – A tragic crash involving a school bus and an electric bicycle claimed the life of a 14-year-old boy in Dover.
Deadly collision with bus
What we know:
The crash happened around 4 p.m. on West Lebanon Road as a school bus was turning onto Royal Grant Way, according to police. The electric bicycle, ridden by a 16-year-old with a 14-year-old passenger, did not stop at a posted bicycle stop sign and collided with the bus.
The 14-year-old passenger of the e-bike was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The 16-year-old operator suffered serious injuries. Neither of the teenagers were wearing a helmet, police said.
The bus was affiliated with the Caesar Rodney School District and driven by a 75-year-old man from Magnolia, who was not injured. Twenty-one students on the bus were unharmed.
The road was closed for about four hours for investigation by the Delaware State Police Troop 3 Collision Reconstruction Unit. The investigation is still ongoing.
Ongoing questions for authorities
Authorities are urging anyone with information about the crash to come forward. Witnesses can contact Master Corporal W. Booth or send a message to the Delaware State Police.
If you have information, reach out to Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333. Victims and witnesses needing support can contact the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit at 1-800-VICTIM-1.
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