Fairhill, Philadelphia

Fairhill is a neighborhood on the east side of the North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The neighborhood is surrounded by the neighborhoods of Hartranft, Hunting Park, West Kensington, and Harrowgate. It is bounded by the AMTRAK railroad line running parallel and north of Venango Street to the north, Lehigh Avenue to the south, B Street to the east, and North 6th Street to the West. The neighborhood serves as the center of the Hispanic community of Philadelphia known as "El Centro de Oro."

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, the racial makeup of Fairhill is 21.42% White, 27.14% African American, 0.78% Asian, and 45.41% from other races. 70.25% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. It has the highest concentration of Hispanics of any neighborhood in Philadelphia, which is over 10 times larger than the overall percentage of Hispanics living in Philadelphia. The neighborhood is mainly made up of Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Colombian immigrants. Its poverty rate is 56%, which is about five times the national average, as of Census 2000.

In 2002 23.5% of the houses in Fairhill were occupied by the owners. 85% of the housing in Fairhill consists of row houses. 2.6% of the buildings in the area are zoned for commercial use; Steve Volk of Philadelphia Weekly stated that this stymies efforts to replace drug dealing with legitimate commercial activity.

Crime

The intersection of Third Street and Indiana Avenue in Fairhill is known for recreational drug dealing. Steve Lopez's novel Third and Indiana made the intersection well known. The intersection of 3^rd Street and Indiana Avenue was listed number two in a 2007 list of the city's top ten drug corners according to an article by Philadelphia Weekly reporter Steve Volk. Other intersections in Fairhill included in the list of the top drug corners included Fifth Street and Westmoreland Street in third place A Street and Westmoreland Street in seventh place.

Government and infrastructure

The United States Post Office operates the Fairhill Post Office in Suite 2 at 217 West Lehigh Avenue.

Education

School District of Philadelphia operates public schools. Fairhill School, a K-8 school, serves Fairhill. Residents zoned to Fairhill School are also zoned to Thomas Alva Edison High School / John C. Fareira Skills Center. Fairhill Community High School (FCHS), an alternative charter high school for dropouts and students at risk for dropping out, is located in Fairhill.

External links

• Fairhill and St. Hugh Redevelopment Area Plan, City Planning Commission, 2003