Two officials from the city Department of Licenses and Inspections appeared at Monday’s Take Back Your Neighborhood meeting.
L&I’s East District supervisor James Titus and clerk Courtney Nicholas work out of an office at 7522-24 Castor Ave.
Among the complaints at the meeting was of single-family homes being converted into multi-family dwellings.
The L&I employees encourage members of the public to call 311 for complaints. Callers can remain anonymous. That number can be used to call for a smoke detector that will be installed for free.
The telephone number for construction-related questions is 215-685-0535.
To ask about business, housing and maintenance issues, call 215-685-0535.
To learn more about the details of any property in the city, visit atlas.phila.gov and type in the address.
State Rep. Jared Solomon credited David Perri, commissioner of L&I, with doing a great job making businesses along commercial corridors adhere to codes.
In other news from the meeting:
• Rep. Jared Solomon said he and City Councilman Brian O’Neill have each committed $20,000 for maintenance and restoration of the World War I memorial at the intersection of Cottman, Oxford and Rising Sun avenues. Solomon said U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle has made a financial commitment, too.
Solomon will have a back-to-school backpack giveaway on Thursday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m. to noon at Solis-Cohen Elementary School, 7001 Horrocks St.
• Mark Mroz, the community relations officer in the 2nd Police District, spoke of the Aug. 11 stabbing death of a 24-year-old man during a soccer game at Max Myers Playground. Mroz said the man was killed by a friend in a dispute over a jersey.
Mroz said there were two recent robberies in the area. AirPods were stolen from a man on the 6700 block of Akron St. A man selling sneakers through OfferUp had the sneakers and all his belongings taken when he met up with the “buyers” in the driveway behind the 2100 block of Unruh Ave.
Mroz said safe exchanges of online purchases can be made in any police district.
In response to a question about cars blocking back driveways, Mroz said neighbors should call 911 and a ticket will be issued if the vehicle is in violation.
Compared to last year in the 2nd district, Mroz said robberies with guns are up, while robberies without guns and thefts from autos are down.
Mroz credited Town Watch’s Greg Bucceroni with organizing a successful National Night Out kickoff event at the old Sears parking lot near Bustleton Avenue.
The following evening, during National Night Out at Fox Chase Recreation Center, activities included a community bicycle ride. Six bikes were raffled off to participants.
• State Sen. Tina Tartaglione will sponsor a community picnic on Thursday, Aug. 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wissinoming Park, Frankford and Cheltenham avenues. The event is free and includes a DJ, refreshments, back-to-school giveaways, child fingerprinting by the police and vendors.
• Catholic Community Services and Northeast NORC invite the public to a Grandparent Cafe on Monday, Aug. 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lawncrest Library, 6098 Rising Sun Ave. There will be a free lunch and raffle prizes.
• Bushrod Library, 6304 Castor Ave., will host a storybooth recording session on Thursday, Sept. 5, from 3 to 5 p.m. Interviews will be part of the library’s oral history and will be archived online at StoryCorps and the Library of Congress.
Meanwhile, Bushrod invites the public to check out the new voting machines on Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 2 to 5 p.m.
• The Northeast Older Adult Center, 8101 Bustleton Ave., will host a free concert by the City Rhythm Orchestra on Friday, Sept. 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. Bring a lawn chair.
• The Food Trust will run a farmers market at Castor Avenue and Hellerman Street Wednesdays from noon to 4 p.m. through November.
• Take Back Your Neighborhood will meet on Monday, Sept. 16, at Max Myers. School supplies will be donated to children and parents starting at 5:30 p.m., followed by the meeting at 7. ••
