PHILADELPHIA – May 11, 2022 – Today, State Senator Art Haywood (D-Montgomery/Philadelphia) released the following statement in response to a virtual meeting with Mayor Jim Kenney (D- Philadelphia):

“On 18 April, I led a sit-in with advocates outside of Mayor Kenney’s office at City Hall to demand action and reduce gun violence in Philadelphia. Soon thereafter, the mayor and I set a meeting to discuss our six demands. On 29 April, advocates and I met with the mayor and his team with mixed results. A path to weekly cleaning of blocks (with the highest levels of crime) and increasing violence interrupters on these blocks seems open. On the other hand, organizing agencies in a violence reduction partnership, as successfully achieved in Chester, does not. The state can do more to help as well. However, without broad collaboration from top leaders, I am very concerned. We will continue to work with the Kenney administration to reduce gun violence in Philadelphia.”

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