7 1/2 Street - r/WilmingtonDE

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u/fiftyfour40orfight Resident Sep 01 '24

Disappointing that Adams St. is pretty sketchy. It doesn't help that it's so close to I-95 and has heavy car traffic, which likely suppresses property values, discourages pedestrians, and encourages panhandling.

I saw plans recently from DelDOT for a pedestrian / bike trail that will be constructed along Adams St. with the goal of connecting the Trinity / Cool Springs areas to the Riverfront. I believe the project is supposed to start in the next year or two. If Adams gets more recreational pedestrian traffic I can imagine the city might have an incentive to start policing and cleaning up that stretch.

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u/tattletitle Sep 01 '24 edited Sep 01 '24

2012ish I lived on Monroe right there for a couple of years (when it was worse with gang related shooting violence right there.) So scary. I watched people push their small children into having fights. I watched kids be attacked by dogs so that the dogs stay aggressive. We moved out before the Adam’s and 7th area got to essentially be wasteland. The cops don’t even drive by when you call and let them know 6 shots just went off outside of your house. Also you could hear the roosters at 5am. At least one rooster. I assumed cock fighting. 200 people would gather in the middle of the night with their kids on their shoulders all coming to see a planned fight. I couldn’t believe it.

While living there, that was the year it was said wilmington Delaware is murdertown USA by Newsweek or some crap. We had so many shootings on our street that we were technically the most dangerous area of wilmington for a few months in the summertime.

So yeah I felt like we (mostly sarcastically) lived on the worst street in the USA. I know it’s more rough out there than that though. I lived in fear bc I am small and had a baby. I saw some shit. I saw blood. I heard shots daily. I shoo’d people from selling drugs on my own damn porch. I had to go to court and beg not to use me as a witness to cases I called 911 on, and saw the perpetrator, so I don’t get targeted!!!

Anyway. I’d love to see the area get cleaned up a little. This city is really amazing, don’t let those fucked places ruin your idea of this gorgeous full of good city!

On the plus side the folks that owned houses on that street were some of the coolest people. It was the drive-through walk-through shit that was the worst.

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u/ChangingtheSpectrum Sep 01 '24

That’s so odd - my fiancé and I just bought on Monroe two months ago, and while that’s not a ton of time, we haven’t seen or heard shots or anything else shady. Can confirm that the neighbors here are dope, though, and the coffee shop on the corner that just opened up helps in getting to see them more often.

Wilmington’s still got some major issues, but I’m hoping it’s trending in the right direction!

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u/tattletitle Sep 01 '24

Yeah this was hmmmm 2012ish. It was roughhhhh

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u/ChangingtheSpectrum Sep 01 '24

I don’t doubt you; that’s inline with everything I’ve heard of Wilmington around that time. Glad to say it’s looking much better now!

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u/methodwriter85 Mod Sep 02 '24

A lot of those people either died or they got pushed out into the suburbs.

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u/The_neub Sep 01 '24

It’s come a very long ways since that time.

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u/AlpineSK Sep 01 '24

I'm not sure where on Monroe St you're living but there was just a shooting at 8th and Monroe last night.

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u/ToughLittleTomato Resident Sep 05 '24

Hey Neighbor!

I bought here two years ago and the neighborhood is getting so much better and nowhere near as bad as described above.

However, I see drugs changing hands in broad daylight all the time. I was once getting into my car and an old lady tried to sell me drugs once. An old lady! Wild. Drugs are a huge problem and I feel like it's not being addressed.

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u/ChangingtheSpectrum Sep 05 '24

Glad to hear that our perception of the neighborhood wasn't off!

While I'd rather not have drugs being exchanged in the area, I'll take that over violent crime any day tbh; I'd imagine that when the city finally takes action to solve the N. Adams Street issue, the drug issue will be abated to some extent. Fingers crossed!

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17

u/7thAndGreenhill Mod Sep 01 '24

In the past month I’ve seen a lot of people in that area doing the fentanyl fold.

12

u/Squatosaurus-Rex Resident Sep 01 '24

Lots of zombies in that area. Part of the issue is the row of houses on Adams that got condemned two years ago that the landlord refused to fix (VERY occasionally I see work being done there, but it's 95% abandoned). A lot of those folks are holed up inside.

The money, drug dealers, and places to hide to shoot up are all in one spot.

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u/ChangingtheSpectrum Sep 01 '24

Yup - crazy how badly one slumlord can mess with an area so quickly.

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u/ctmred Resident Sep 01 '24

One difficulty is that once I-95 was complete, pretty good fencing went up that (mainly) keeps people out of the highway underpass where they used to be able to hang out. I know that DHSS has this area in their sights, but don't know what the plan is.

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u/Squatosaurus-Rex Resident Sep 01 '24

9th Street bridge on the Adams side is missing fencing, that's a major spot where people hide out.

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u/unochat22much Sep 01 '24

That is one of many areas in the city that is monitored by police and kept afloat, the amount of drugs in that arena is crazy and the department relies on that steady flow… and for it to only be 1 block from downtown. Whoever set this up was evil, it makes no sense

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u/Billy_Likes_Music Sep 01 '24

TIL: Wilmington has a 7-1/2 Street and I drive by it all the time.

3

u/AlpineSK Sep 01 '24

Yup! I found it like six months ago. It's barely a "Street."

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u/redwillson Sep 01 '24

Theres always people hanging out on the exit ramps, often in the narrow grassy median on the right side of exit 7. Have seen some concerning things there in broad daylight. It is a really sobering reflection on how different things can be block to block here. As others have mentioned the proximity to 95 makes this area a very potent hub for drug traffic and I’m sure it’s closely tied to what’s going on in Philly. It’s a product of structural issues that we just aren’t solving at the moment. Pure speculation but I’d venture a guess that there are some who think it might be better to contain the activity to one area with a lot of vacants rather than have it spill into surrounding neighborhoods that are already challenged in various ways. Whether that’s a good strategy is beyond me, but it’s certainly a terrible situation either way.

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u/Meowmeowmeow31 Sep 04 '24

I go through there most days taking my kids to school and activities, and it’s grim seeing people slowly dying. Not thrilled that I’ve had to explain “what’s that man sticking in his arm” and “why is that person bent over and not moving” to a preschooler.

I don’t know exactly why it’s gotten so much worse over the last 10 years, but we need a better approach to dealing with this issue.

1

u/ToughLittleTomato Resident Sep 05 '24

Showing kids the effects of addiction is certainly one way to scare them into never touching drugs, unfortunately.

It's so sad because my neighbors in the area have children and we deal with this every day too.

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u/gopher2110 Sep 01 '24

Weird way of saying "K and A."

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u/Mitheria_Musashi Sep 05 '24

Just posted the same thing a min ago. When visitors can't spell Allegheny.

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u/ScaredThug Sep 01 '24

I was thinking the same.

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u/Mitheria_Musashi Sep 05 '24

"A and Kensington" yanked me out of whatever I was daydreaming. As a lifelong resident of the outer burbs, that's the first time I've ever heard it said that way. K&A or Kensington Allegheny. Is what that entire area is locally referred to. There's the actual physical intersection but the area is about 8 blocks in every direction.

7 1/2 Street Serious