Locals living in East Falls are unhappy with a proposal to move Philadelphia’s Special Victims Unit to their neighborhood.
Right now, SVU is located on Lehigh Avenue in Kensington. But councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. is behind a bill to move it to a location on Scotts Lane in East Falls. Neighbors made their case against the proposal at a heated meeting Tuesday night.
“The main concern is traffic. And bringing suspects, offenders to this neighborhood” said Denise Vernier.
“They want to bring this situation here without notifying us until the last second” complained Kevin Cahill.
Councilman Jones missed the meeting due to a family emergency. But he told NBC 10 neighbors “have a right to be concerned, as anything that would move in that neighborhood they should have input."
The new building would house SVU, The Department of Human Services and the Philadelphia Children's Alliance.
Officials say that would make it easier for them to serve sex-abuse victims with all the agencies under one roof
