RAW FOOTAGE: Demolition Of Mantua Hall

PREVIOUSLY: TODAY I SAW two 16-ft. moving trucks parked back-to-back in front of Mantua Hall, their loading ramps extended so they almost touched each other. Every day is moving day now. The building is slated to be emptied by the end of the year, and while most families have already left there are still some stragglers waiting for the Philadelphia Housing Authority to approve their new scatter-site placements. PHA is paying for the families to relocate, so the moving trucks come in pairs and when one leaves another arrives. The shrill, intermittent symphony of ear-piercing smoke alarms going off about twice a minute on the floors above and below only added to the prevailing air of urgency and evacuation. Not that anybody seemed to give a shit. There aren’t many people left to be bothered by the noise. The people who are left were in high spirits, all smiles because they know they’re leaving soon. I passed a woman in the hallway, and she sent a faint smile toward my eye contact. I call out to her, “You about ready to get out of here?” At this, her smile bloomed into a wide crescent. “You damn right, I been here nine years.” MORE