Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Grays Ferry, also known as Gray's Ferry, is a neighborhood in South Philadelphia bounded (roughly) by 25th Street on the east, the Schuylkill River on the west, Vare Avenue on the south, and Grays Ferry Avenue on the north. [ [http://sceti.library.upenn.edu/pages%20/index.cfm?so_id=5925&pageposition=16&level=2 Official 1968 map of Grays Ferry Redevelopment Area] ] The section of this neighborhood west of 34th Street is also known as The Forgotten Bottom. [ "The Forgotten Bottom Remembered: Stories From a Philadelphia Neighborhood." (2002) ISBN 0-9712996-3-3 [http://www.newcitypress.org/books.html] ] Grays Ferry shares borders with Southwest Center City to the North, Point Breeze to the East, and Girard Estate to the South. Gray’s Ferry is across from where the Mill Creek debouches at about 43rd street. There is a gang called Bottom Boyz that have caused many riots, crimes, and murders.

History

The area developed because it was an important crossing of the Schuylkill River. The river is now spanned by several bridges, [ [http://www.ushistory.org/philadelphia/railroad.htm History of Philadelphia Railroads] ] including the Grays Ferry Avenue bridge and several rail bridges.

Prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, this neighborhood was part of Moyamensing Township. Moyamensing was originally chartered by the Dutch governor Alexander d'Hinoyossa, and in 1684, William Penn confirmed the title. [ [http://www.ushistory.org/philadelphia/incorporated.html#16 Early Moyamensing history] from ushistory.com. ]

In the 1700s, Grays Ferry was the southern-most of three ferries that crossed the Schuylkill River to Philadelphia.

This neighborhood was once the site of the Schuylkill Arsenal. [ [http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=589 Short history of Schuylkill Arsenal] ] [ [http://www.dscp.dla.mil/history.htm History of Defense Supply Center Philadelphia] ]

Demographics

* Black, 56%; White, 39%; Other, 5%.
* More than 30% of the residents are under 18.
* Currently the neighborhood, which represents less than 1% of the city’s population, houses more than 10% of the city’s Section 8 residents. [ [http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2005-08-04/cover.shtml A Prayer for Grays Ferry - Mike Newall] ]

Tasker Homes and Greater Grays Ferry Estates

The Tasker Homes (also known as the Tasker Housing Project) were located at 29th and Morris Streets and visible from the Schuylkill Expressway. [ [http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2004-02-19/cityspace2.shtml Talk of the Townhouses (City Paper)] ] The housing project was a site of high-crime and a point of tension for residents in Grays Ferry. Originally, the housing project had 1100 units and followed the city's general model of high-density, low-income housing. [ [http://www.phila.gov/nti/TASKER.HTM City of Philadelphia: Neighborhood Transformation Initiative] ] [ [http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2004-02-19/cityspace2.shtml Talk of the Townhouses (City Paper)] ]

During Mayor John Street's administration, the Philadelphia Housing Authority began a program to remove blighted, high-density, crime-ridden housing projects and replace them with low-density, townhome-style public housing. In 2004, the Tasker Homes were demolished and replaced with the Greater Grays Ferry Estates. [ [http://www.phila.gov/nti/TASKER.HTM City of Philadelphia: Neighborhood Transformation Initiative] ] The new townhomes have increased tensions between working-class residents and recipients of Section 8 housing within the neighborhood. The reasons most often cited are memories of the problems with Tasker Homes, as well as the fact that many residents—white and black—do not meet income requirements for the housing. [ [http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2005-08-04/cover.shtml A Prayer for Grays Ferry - Mike Newall] ]

Racial tension

Over the years the neighborhood has been the scene of numerous instances of racial violence. The Irish Catholics living in the neighborhood's modest row homes clashed with African Americans living in the deteriorating Tasker Housing Project. There have been riots and beatings and, sometimes, killings. Tensions peaked in 1997, when Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan joined marchers to protest racial violence. As the housing market has boomed in Philadelphia, the neighborhood has begun to see some resurgence.Fact|date=April 2007

See also

*Rambo's Rock

External links

* [http://www.graysferrycc.org/ Grays Ferry official community website]
* [http://www.phila.gov/nti/tasker.htm Official Tasker Housing Project Website] - Information on the former Tasker Housing Project from the city of Philadelphia.
* [http://www.southphillyreview.com/view_article.php?id=2571 South Philly Review] "The place where you live: Grays Ferry"
* [http://citypaper.net/articles/2005-08-04/cover.shtml Philadelphia City Paper] "A Prayer for Grays Ferry"
* [http://sceti.library.upenn.edu/pages%20/index.cfm?so_id=5925&PagePosition=1&level=2 "Grays Ferry Redevelopment Area Plan", from 1968]
* [http://www.explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php?imgId=621 "Grays Ferry Near Philadelphia"] , a sketch from 1789.

References