The Fox Chase Town Watch and Civic Association last week welcomed personnel from the 2nd and 7th police districts.
Al Fiorentino, community relations officer in the 7th district, was at the meeting along with Lt. Edwin Perez, Sgt. Matt Lowe and community relations officer Mark Mroz, of the 2nd district.
Steve Phillips, president of the Town Watch, is working to address retail theft at the Wawa at 7913 Oxford Ave.
Lowe said the Oxford Avenue Wawa leads the 2nd district in retail theft, with 41 reported thefts in a recent 28-day period. In second place is the Wawa at 6800 Rising Sun Ave., which sees a lot of thefts from Fels High School students.
Phillips emailed Wawa CEO Chris Gheysens and president Brian Schaller about his concerns, and said the company has agreed to meet with Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel and School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington.
Meanwhile, Mroz said that earlier in the day, the 2nd, 7th, 8th and 15th districts targeted the problem at the Oxford Avenue store from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Officers watched surveillance cameras and radioed officers stationed near the store to detain culprits. In all, there were eight arrests.
Mroz, noting that Wawa is known as Walk Away With Anything, said the company will be hiring a new security company with guards having the power to detain thieves. Mroz would like to see Wawa lock one of the exits at certain times, prohibit young people from entering with backpacks and limit the number of students allowed in the store at one time.
Phillips, who said some of the crooks time their thefts to be able to escape on a SEPTA bus, announced that Wawa’s head of security will be the guest at the Town Watch/Civic Association meeting in February.
In other news from the Nov. 12 meeting:
• The civic association voted 10-8 to oppose the opening of an ice cream and water ice shop as part of Unity Market and Cafe, 222 Hartel Ave. (at Burholme Avenue). The former Unity-Frankford store property had been vacant since 1986 until the market opened in 2023. The owner wants to open a walk-up window to sell ice cream and water ice out of a small detached garage on the property. Those opposing that use worried that a new owner could sell prepared food if the business is sold. They noted that the owner made changes to the garage without a permit. And they didn’t like the longer hours for the ice cream and water ice shop. A Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing is set for March 25.
• The civic group unanimously approved a special exception for a proposed coffee shop at 7975 Oxford Ave. The site is the former home of an Allstate office. Cake and pastries will also be on the menu at Aveek Coffee. Customers can eat in or take out. Hours would be daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. A zoning board hearing is scheduled for March.
• The Neighborhood Community Action Center, at Hayes Recreation Center, 9800 Roosevelt Blvd., will host a meeting with the city Department of Licenses and Inspections on Wednesday, Nov. 19, from 6-8 p.m. Call 267-496-3961 or email [email protected].
Tom Campion, manager of the NCAC, was at the civic meeting. Others on hand included Jill Henon, representing City Controller Christy Brady; Sean Roche, representing state Sen. Joe Picozzi; and Michelle Mahoney, representing state Rep. Sean Dougherty. ••
