[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 4, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING PORT RICHMOND ON PATROL ``PROP'' ON THEIR 25TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 4, 2014

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join 
me in recognizing the Port Richmond On Patrol, better known as 
``PROP,'' as it celebrates 25 years as a town watch and civic 
organization in the City of Philadelphia.
  In 1988, in the wake of the Sean Daily murder that rocked the close 
knit blue collar neighborhood of Port Richmond when a 17 year old local 
teenager was beaten and killed by another group of teens, a handful of 
neighbors sprung into action to keep their neighborhood safe.
  Three women were instrumental in the birth of PROP: Phyllis Hackimer, 
Helene LaBenz, and Jackie Saier. These women were involved from the 
very beginning, working to keep their neighborhood and their kids safe 
and secure the streets of Port Richmond. PROP Townwatch started out at 
Phyllis' kitchen table with coffee and pound cake. The first meeting 
drew hundreds of people wanting to be the eyes and ears of Port 
Richmond in the 24th Police District.
  Through the years, PROP patrolled the streets of Port Richmond every 
Friday and Saturday night, both in personal vehicles and even on foot 
patrol, and then initiated the ``Eyes and Ears on Your Block'' program 
that invited neighbors to look around and hear what's happening on 
their block and street and encouraged them to report suspicious 
behavior.
  Hackimer and LaBenz have shared a stoop on Port Richmond's 3600 Gaul 
Street for decades and raised their kids alongside one another as next 
door neighbors and friends. Saier, who lives at Almond and Westmoreland 
Streets, is a walking encyclopedia of Port Richmond history and family 
ancestry and can usually be found on her porch watching over A&W 
playground.
  PROP has always put the betterment, safety, and security of Port 
Richmond as their goal and mission statement and have consistently 
worked hand and hand with the Captain and Police Officers of the 24th 
Police District.
  PROP was also one of the first town watches in the City of 
Philadelphia to embrace and participate in the National Night Out 
Program, which they still help organize every August in a citywide 
event. Furthermore, PROP is a proud ally of Operation Town Watch, an 
organization dedicated to the development and promotion of organized 
law enforcement-affiliated crime and drug prevention programs. Members 
include: Neighborhood, Crime, Community, Town and Block Watch Groups; 
law enforcement agencies; state and regional crime prevention 
associations; and a variety of businesses, civic groups and concerned 
individuals working to make their communities safer places in which to 
live and work.

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