YOUTH: The Return of the Gang

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Some of the new gangs in New York are animated by antidrug vigilantism; often they were formed specifically to run drug pushers out of their neighborhoods, and most of them severely punish members caught using heroin or cocaine. There is little evidence of this in the Philadelphia gangs. That is partly because drugs seem to be less prevalent there. As one young member explained succinctly, "You can't nod and gang-war at the same time." When not warring, drinking wine and listening to records appear to be the gangs' principal definition of a good time.

The city's efforts to ameliorate the brutality of gang life and the gang neighborhoods have had mixed results. Of the nearly 200 Youth Conservation Workers that the city assigns to the gangs, few have been markedly successful in weaning youngsters away from their corners. Civic volunteers have established a leaders' council for settling gang disputes nonviolently. The meetings, however—scheduled for at least once a week—are so far taking place less than once a month. A North Philadelphia communications center called The Network tries to correct dangerous false rumors and get gang members into job-training programs. "The problem is solvable," says Mayor Frank Rizzo, "but it won't be done in my lifetime. I'd like to go out and raze every building out there and rebuild it all—schools, pools, parks, everything. But we don't have the money to do that."

Getting out of a gang can be difficult. Big Bosco would like to retire; he was the leader of the Montgomerys before red-shirted Smokey took over the running of the war with the Norris Avenues. "I'm trying to get out of it," he says, "but Norris says they're gonna kill me, so I might as well stay in for the self-protection." Big Bosco, elder statesman in search of retirement, is 18 years old.