On Friday, Oct. 2, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation held a news conference to discuss copper wire thefts that have stripped hundreds of streetlights of power over the past year. Areas like Hunting Park, Bartram’s Garden, and other locations have been targets.
The streetlight outages are linked to disruptions in youth sports programs, affecting lighting, facilities, and scheduling for local teams preparing for playoffs.
CBS News Philadelphia spoke with the North Philly Aztecs, a nonprofit football program for children ages 5 to 14. The team was forced to practice in the dark last Friday evening after the park’s street lights were stripped of wire.
“I feel kind of upset because I feel the kids out here need to have lights out here when we have practice,” 12-year-old Ryan Barnes said.
“We need this copper out here, and people running down here taking this stuff from these kids, and ultimately at the end of the day, it’s impacting, you know, the entire community,” North Philly Aztecs head coach Richard James told CBS News Philadelphia.
While copper thieves get only a few pennies for what they remove, officials said replacing wires requires heavy equipment and time.
During the news conference, city leaders outlined several goals to prevent future disruptions, protect infrastructure, and maintain park and program operations.
“We are also switching to aluminum cable, with approximately a fifth of the value of copper,” Streets Commissioner Kristin Del Rossi said in a statement. “This significantly reduces the incentives to target our infrastructure.”
Authorities urge residents to call 911 when they witness wire theft in progress.
City officials said they are working to keep the thefts from impacting more parks and programs.