My Problem is….

Find your problem or need in the list below. Follow the information provided to get your question addressed. Philadelphia is our city! Let’s work together to make it work for us!

TRASH

  • If you want to tackle trash on the ground yourself or with the neighborhood. Find help from a Block Captain/Clean Block Officer, Registered Community Group (RCO) or Neighborhood Friends or Association group. Go here…
  • For trash illegally dumped where you ‘need to do something about a trash crisis’ AND OR if the City Government ‘should be doing something or needs to know something about a trash situation’ that you are aware of — as long as it is in the street or on the sidewalk adjacent to a residence or vacant lot and not on private property: Report the issue or submit a service ticket to the City via the Philly311 system which can be done via phone, email (Philly311@Phila.gov), social media (twitter; https://twitter.com/philly311) or by the city’s 311 app – or go to the walk-in center at City Hall (rm 167). Customer service teams can be reached on the Philly311 phone line Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and there is language translation in the top 6 languages in Philadelphia to report an issue or a submit a service request — and to track the status and get updates for submitted requests.
  • Aside from calling 311, residents who want to report a complaint about illegal dumping (including construction debris) are encouraged to email the Licensing and Inspection (L&I) South District or visit its office (at 11th and Wharton streets) with a specific address to share, detailed comments and, ideally, a photo of the site or vehicles where an offense is taking place. Once L & I sends out an inspector, the department will determine which agency is most appropriate to address the issue, such as the city’s CLIP — or Community Life Improvement Program or the Department of Environmental Protection.
  • Reporting violators of illegal dumping is an option to consider. Why? (Why would someone do this?) Illegal dumping costs others –including you. Economically it generates fines to innocent landowners and can lead to the depreciation of housing values; socially and psychologically, blight can increase rates of depression and or dissatisfaction in local residents and, depending on the dumped contents, such dumping can involve a health impact (construction related particle dust for example can exacerbate asthma and other sinus conditions and toxic pollutants can join run off to storm drains poisoning the river and our drinking water). In all cases, acts of dumping also attack more dumping. IN SUM, illegal dumping that is a zoning code violation and a legal matter dealt with by Code Violation Notice-trained enforcement personnel at the local police precinct.
  • You can also report illegal dumping sites to Philly.com whose reporters report on this situation (which can help get action by the authorities and helps us as a city take better care of itself) at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Report_dumping_in_your_neighborhood.html

. Deteriorating Buildings
. Abandoned vehicles
. graffiti fallen trees
. potholes, and street cave-ins

Report the issue or submit a service ticket to the City via the Philly311 system which can be done via phone, email (Philly311@Phila.gov), social media (twitter https://twitter.com/philly311) or by the city’s 311 app – or go to the walk-in center at City Hall (rm 167). Customer service teams can be reached on the Philly311 phone line Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and there is language translation in the top 6 languages in Philadelphia to report an issue or a submit a service request .  311, in turn, sends the service request to the appropriate city agency or department –be it Licensing and Inspection, the Streets Dept., PECO, the Water Dept., or the Police Dept. 311 lets you track the status and get updates for submitted requests.

For any of the following neighborhood needs/wants:

  • sweeping of walks and gutters
  • Planting flowers on the block, in yards, in window boxes, in sidewalk urns, and around the base of street trees;
  • Maintaining and painting abandoned houses; Plant new street trees
  • Installing decorative security lights; Hanging flags or pennants
  • Painting curbs
  • Helping neighbors paint and renovate; scrubbing steps, Organizing block parties
  • Coordinating activities for children; installing and maintaining block litter baskets
  • reminding neighbors of trash and recycling collection days and material guidelines
  • Finding out it your block has a Block Captain.

  • Block parties (*the city decided to stop the idea of requiring approval from local police).

Seek information and resources from your Block Captain/Clean Block Officer. Go Here...

FOR help or action with the following issues/needs taken care of by the City:

  • Birth, marriage & life events (adoption, fostering, death certificates)
  • Crime, law, and Justice (Get a police report, find an inmate, get a restraining order, get help with domestic violence)
  • Education & Learning (substitute teaching, early childhood education, charter schools, affordable childcare, library cards, learn English, free classes)
  • Permits, Violations & Licensees (dispute code violations, parking tickets, alarm fines and disability permits; wedding photo permits, media permits)
  • Streets, Sidewalks, Alleys (bike share, towed cars, block parties, pot holes, broken street lights, street closures, graffiti)
  • Water, Gas & Utilities (dispute water bill, rain check program, water payment program, senior water bill discount)
  • Business & Self-Employment (business taxes, licenses, paid sick leave, get an tax accountant, register a business)
  • Culture & Recreation (activities fund grant, youth recreation programs, events in parks, find a pool or rec center)
  • Mental & physical health (air quality, code blue, cooling centers, bereavement support for sudden infant dealth, families of sucide and murdered victims, vaccinations)
  • Property, lots & housing (appeal assessments,animal control, certificates of occupancy,building permits, etc.)
  • Working & jobs (file a sexual harassment complaint, internships in Philly, etc.)
  • Cars, parking & transportation (residential parking and disabled parking permits, hauling permits, dispute red light and parking tickets)
  • Diversity, inclusion & immigration (accessibility compliance, discrimination, become a citizen, LGBT Community Services, etc.)
  • Safety & emergency preparedness (EMS bills, code blue, contact animal control, get a smoke alarm installed, keep pets safe)
  • Zoning, planning & development (city zoning codes and information)

If a fix is required, report the issue or submit a service ticket to the City via the Philly311 system (see above Philly311@Phila.gov). For information or help with the rest go to the City of Philadelphia webpage and look under the service directory pull down menu at https://beta.phila.gov/ . You might also find information at the Programs and Initiatives webpage for the city (https://beta.phila.gov/programs/). OR Go here…

For assistance with any of the following state-based services:

• Guidance on how to access State legislation and state laws
• Assistance with problems when dealing with state government and agencies
• Assistance processing PennDOT motor vehicle titles, registrations, driver’s licenses  and learner’s permit renewals, disability plate/placards

• Applications for PA birth and death certificates
• Pennsylvania child abuse history clearance applications
• Pennsylvania criminal history applications
• Pennsylvania Tax Forms
• Informational brochures

• Guide to benefits and rights for senior citizens
• Property tax and rent rebate forms
• PACE/PACENET applications
• Pennsylvania Driver’s Manuals (Commercial, School Bus, Motorcycle, Driver’s)
• Pennsylvania transportation maps

• Veteran Assistance
• Resources for veterans and their families
• Persian Gulf Veterans Bonus Program
• Educational Gratuity Program
• Military Family Relief Assistance Program

• Absentee ballot applications and voter registration forms
• Forms from the Bureau of Consumer Protection
• Forms from the Pennsylvania Corporation Bureau
• Notary applications

• Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program
• Learn about FAFSA
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid
• PA529 College Savings Program
• PHEAA information and applications
• PHEAA’s Student Aid and Debt Management
• Valley Forge Military College Legislative Appointment Initiative
• GED Preparation & Testing

• Boating in PA
• 2014-15 hunting seasons and bag limits
• Information for anglers
• 2015 Trout Stocking Information
• PA State Park information
• Bicycle safety tips
• Hunter education courses
• Multi-year fishing licenses
• PA hunting information
• State game lands maps

Go here for contacts and information for these State-based needs…

For any of the following federal government-based matters…:

• Social Security
• Medicare
• Affordable Care Act
• veterans or military affairs
• Internal Revenue Service – federal taxes
• passports
• immigration issues
• Federal Emergency Management (FEMA)
• Congratulatory Letters
• Service Academy Nominations
• Flag Requests

Go here ….