The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20090628220346/http://www.ci.wilmington.de.us:80/neighborhood/Hilltop/wg_introduction.htm

The Hilltop Neighborhood Working Group is a community and government partnership in Wilmington, Delaware, composed of community leaders, City department officials, elected officials and concerned residents, who are focusing on the issues and concerns involving the Hilltop neighborhood.

This community, which is an area from Lancaster Avenue to 6th Street, and Jackson to Broom Streets, has suffered from neglect and indifference for years.  But Mayor James Baker and Councilman Charles "Bud" Freel have now identified this neighborhood as one of the keys to the revitalization and stabilization of the entire city.

Properties Identified for Revitalization in Hilltop Neighborhood

In April of 2001, Councilman Freel and Marcia Starks, Chair of the Hilltop Neighborhood Working Group, assembled a group that included residents, community leaders, Mayor Baker, Chief of Police Michael Szczerba, Commissioner of Licenses & Inspections Jeff Starkey, and other city department officials to take a bus tour of the fifty-five block area commonly known as Hilltop.  Leading the delegation, Councilman Freel took note of the work that needed to be performed on each block.  As the bus circulated through the Hilltop area, the entire group identified specific problems in the neighborhood and, with the support of community members, identified a number of drug houses, licenses & inspections code violations and various public works issues.

Since that initial trip, the Hilltop Neighborhood Working Group has produced an increase in police presence on known drug corners, identified over 286 properties in need of repair, helped coordinate the renovation of homes and properties, replaced lights, collected hundreds of tons of trash, removed graffiti, filled potholes, and helped to organize over 250 volunteers during the Fall of 2001 for a complete neighborhood clean-up.

Latin American Community Center
403 N. Van Buren Street
St. Paul's Catholic Church
1010 W. 4th Street

The Hilltop Working Group web page will keep you apprised of the continuing efforts of this group, and will serve as a link for information and cooperation among residents in the Hilltop neighborhood.  As this partnership works  throughout the year to bring new life & energy to this area of Wilmington, we encourage you to visit this web site on a regular basis, and witness the revitalization of an historic and beautiful neighborhood.