Is it Meehan school’s slop
or the district’s disaster?

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Shards of glass and racial slurs scrawled in graffiti mar the pavement.
Overgrowth spills out from the surrounding fence, and weeds sprout from the concrete.
Beer cases and food wrappers line the perimeter, and piles of partly charred copybooks reveal evidence of fire-starting attempts.
Is the spot a forgotten lot in one of Philadelphia’s inner-city neighborhoods?
Not quite. It’s the basketball court at the Austin Meehan Middle School.
But neither the school nor the school district wants to claim the property at 3001 Ryan Ave.
"It may or may not actually be our property," said Felecia Ward, school district spokeswoman. "At night, there are kids that hang out and drink. Apparently the previous principal (at Meehan) used to have them clean the lot up. Community groups have cleaned up. I think we, as a courtesy, have cleaned it up, but I don’t know if it’s ours."
Shawn McGuigan, assistant principal at Meehan, says it’s certainly not his school’s responsibility.
"It’s school district property," he said. "Our kids don’t really use it. I guess (the litter) is from the weekends."
Ward said it’s possible that the city Department of Recreation, which oversees the pool at nearby Abraham Lincoln High School, owns the court.
Calls to Terri Kerwawich, who heads Recreation District 2, which covers facilities in Mayfair and neighborhoods east of Roosevelt Boulevard, were not returned as the Times went to press this week.
Meanwhile, an aide to City Councilwoman Joan Krajewski said the office has received no calls about the blighted basketball court. Community leader Scott Cummings was looking into the matter as the Times went to press.
While they are still disputing that they own the property, McGuigan said school district officials had planned to come out and clean the site last week. A visit to the court on Friday showed that some of the major debris had been removed, though shards of glass, graffiti and overgrowth remained.
"They assured me that it will be cleaned up and maintained in the future," McGuigan said. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com