The 11 ‘Neighborhood City Halls’ help to fulfill the Mayor’s promise of a municipal government that residents can see, touch, and feel

PHILADELPHIA —  Mayor Cherelle L. Parker joined the Office of Neighborhood and Community Engagement and partnering departments to open the first of 11 Neighborhood Community Action Centers (NCAC). Starting in the 9th Council District at the Logan Public Library, the team led by Director of Neighborhood and Community Engagement Hassan Freeman, will travel to each councilmanic district plus the riverwards to open this cross-departmental pursuit to give residents more access to City services.

“The idea of these Neighborhood Community Action Centers is to bring access to City services right to the people of Philadelphia where they live – in their neighborhoods,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “These ‘Neighborhood City Halls’ are a one-stop shop for municipal government right in the communities they serve.”

Residents can come to Neighborhood Community Action Centers for assistance with any City-related issue. Some examples include filing a complaint for graffiti removal, reporting an abandoned car, getting connected to benefits, or resolving a challenge with a City agency. In addition to assisting with city-related issues, the action centers will help connect residents with state and federal partners when applicable.

“As an administration, we want to be as accessible to Philadelphians as possible,” said Hassan Freeman, Director of the Office of Neighborhood and Community Engagement. “The action centers are the tip of the iceberg for the community engagement team. We will host public meetings every five weeks in each district for the community to have a chance to inform us of their needs. In addition, during our first year, we will have neighborhood walks where staff will walk every block in a district to identify and resolve issues.”

To support the work of the action centers Community Managers, who will staff the Action Centers, formed Advisory Boards. Modeled after the mayor’s work as a City Councilmember, these Advisory Boards of community members from different sectors will identify macro-level issues district-wide. Each issue will be logged from complaint to resolution.

Once opened NCACs will be located at seven recreation centers, two public libraries, one school district site, and one church building. The following eight will open in the coming weeks, with three more to be announced:

Logan Public Library, 1333 Wagner Ave.,

Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library, 68 W. Chelten Ave.,

Samuel Daroff School, 5630 Vine St.,

Church of Christian Compassion, 6121 Cedar Ave.,

Vare Recreation Center, 2600 Morris St.,

Martin Luther King Recreation Center, 2101 Cecil B. Moore Ave.,

Hayes Recreation Center, 9800 Roosevelt Blvd.,

Rivera Recreation Center, 3201 N. 5th St.