Subcommittee approves $2.15 million boost for Phoenix block watch grants; gated-alley program seeks $2.25 million annual allocation

Phoenix’s Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee voted unanimously May 7 to approve the Neighborhood Block Watch oversight committee’s recommendations for the 2025 grant awards and to increase the block watch program’s annual allocation from $2,000,000 to $2,150,000.

The vote followed a presentation by Assistant Chief Jeff Benza, the police representative to the oversight committee, and staff from Neighborhood Services and Human Services who described the application process, scoring rules and the volume of requests the program received for 2025.

The oversight committee recommended full funding for 158 applications, partial funding for 13 applications and denial for six applications. Benza told the subcommittee that a total of $2,154,711 is needed to fund the recommended awards. The 2025 application period opened in November 2024 and closed Dec. 7, 2024; applications that scored at least 5.25 out of 10 on the committee’s rubric were considered for funding.

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