The 1985 MOVE bombing, locally known by its date, May 13, 1985, was the aerial bombing and destruction of residential homes in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, by the Philadelphia Police Department during an armed standoff with MOVE, a black liberation organization. Philadelphia police were shot at as they attempted to evict MOVE members from a house. Philadelphia police aviators then dropped two explosive devices from a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter onto the roof of the occupied house. For 90 minutes, the Philadelphia Police Department allowed the resulting fire to burn out of control, destroying 61 previously evacuated neighboring homes over two city blocks and leaving 250 people homeless. Six adults and five children were killed in the attack, with one adult and one child surviving who were occupants of the home. A lawsuit in federal court found that the city used excessive force and violated constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

  • cabbage@piefed.socialEnglish
    35·
    1 month ago

    What did they build in the location after they evicted and/or killed all those people? What does it look like today?

    • Zombiepirate@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      68·
      1 month ago

      After more than a year in temporary housing, residents returned to their rebuilt homes in the fall of 1986. That winter, the roofs started leaking.

      Next came discoveries of defective plumbing and wiring, bad flooring, nails popping out of walls, burst pipes, flooded basements and backyards and broken appliances. Replacement trees have since uprooted parts of the sidewalk and are strangling pipes.

      Today, after spending more than $43 million on redevelopment, the city has two blocks of boarded-up eyesores to show for its efforts. The homes built to replace those lost in the bomb-ignited inferno were so shoddy that officials stopped making repairs and offered buyouts.

      “There’s nothing nice about this block anymore,” said Bostic, 89. “All the people are gone.”

      MOVE Bombing Still Leaves Philadelphia Scarred

      • aramis87@fedia.io
        36·
        1 month ago

        That was in 2010, and if you go down the street on street view, there’s still a lot of boarded up houses there.

          • cabbage@piefed.socialEnglish
            13·
            1 month ago

            Well, often they would replace black residential areas with stadiums, high rises, or whatever the fuck downtown DC is. I just didn’t expect them to bomb and burn it and then… Do nothing. But I guess the MOVE story is very particular.