Illegal car meetups causing chaos in Philadelphia at center of City Council meeting
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- City-wide illegal car meetups that left behind chaos last month were the center of a public hearing involving City County, police, and frustrated Philadelphians on Tuesday.
Residents like Sarah Napoli of Center City said the noise from those late-night meet-ups leaves her rattled. She also said they happen multiple times a week.
"You can't sleep. If we're talking about being a taxpayer and you're paying into the city, you're getting what? Your life is not what it should be in a humane way," Napoli explained during the meeting.
Other people from across the city who testified added that it's not just cars. There are similar issues with groups of people on motorcycles and ATVs as well.
Police officials made it clear that despite the chaos that unfolded in late September, they are pouring significant resources into this issue.
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"We have aggressively taken nuisance cars, the drifting, into play. Maybe we haven't advertised it as much as we should have but the statistics that the officers are putting up, it's incredible," said Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Francis Healy.
So far this year, the police department has deployed dozens of operations targeting these meet-ups.
That has resulted in 1,400 car stops, 22 vehicle confiscations, 500 citations issued, and 80 arrests.
Officials say those numbers don't include operations targeting ATVs, dirt bikes, and motorcycles.
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Councilmember Jeffery Young says while he certainly believes more needs to be done, he's encouraged by what he heard on Tuesday.
"It was good to hear that spike strips will now be used at some of these meet-ups in order to prevent this activity from occurring. Use of drone technology is also something that can help," said Young.
Shaun Cerborino of Brewerytown says he just hopes the concerns of the average citizen are heard.
"We are kind of having a safe streets movement with all of the pedestrians getting hit, and the bikers getting hit and killed, that I think people are kind of fed up with it," he says.
