Zafir Hall cried in front of 96 men he barely knew in jail as he watched his home be demolished on television.
Hall, 22, grew up in the Norman Blumberg affordable housing complex in Sharswood, which was made up of three 18-story high-rise buildings. The towers were built in 1967 by the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
In March 2016, as part of PHA’s neighborhood transformation project, two of the towers were imploded. One of the towers — which was for senior citizens — still stands today, surrounded by an empty lot. It’s a constant reminder of memories, both happy and painful, of Hall’s time growing up in the towers.