I watch the issues posted on SeeClickFix for Frankford problems and I have posted a few things myself. The site is monitored by Philadelphia’s 311 people so theoretically, if you post it there, its almost like calling Philly311. There have been mixed reviews on 311.
Last week somebody posted that 4628 Melrose was falling down. I checked Google street view and it didn’t look so bad so I went drove by and it was standing pretty well. I contacted the original poster and he sent me some pictures. You can have a look below.
So what does it take to get a response to this problem. The building is falling down and dragging the rest of the block with it. L&I is anybody awake out there? Philly311 are you still watching SeeClickFix?
Philly311 wrote
Your request has been reviewed by Philly311. Upon research, we have found that this property was previously reported to the Department of Licenses and Inspections in February of 2010. A structural inspector issued violations to the owner of record. The property has since been inspected four times by L&I (twice in 2010 and twice in 2011) and a next inspection date was set for July, 2012. This is the normal inspection procedure for L&I. Updated structural inspections are generally conducted semi-annually, and if there is no change or further deterioration since the last inspection and no contact with the property owner then there is no action that can be taken on a privately-owned property except to continue to monitor for safety. I have entered a service request for an updated structural inspection to determine if further action can be taken. The ticket # for this request is 2162841. Please allow up to 10 business days for inspection. The status can be checked by visiting our website at http://www.philly311.phila.gov or by dialing 3-1-1. Thank you for this report.