SW Philadelphia residents sue a nuisance auto body shop and property owners behind their homes and demand action |
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Photograph of trash and debris in the shared alleyway taken on or around May 31, 2019 by Plaintiff Rodney Bell.
A concentration of auto body repair shops plague Southwest Philadelphia, presenting myriad environmental hazards. The City’s Department of Licenses and Inspection (“L&I”) attempts to sanction the businesses’ dangerous and unlawful behavior through inspections, violations, and fines, but enforcement remains elusive. L&I struggles to ensure compliance with the City Code, and owners appear to just budget fines into their business plans.
The result is a community where toxic fumes, deafening noises caused by welding and dismantling vehicles, cars in various states of disrepair blocking streets and sidewalks, and hazardous fire conditions are the norm.
The rear of Ramona Bell’s, Rodney Bell’s, and Marceline Dix’s homes share an alley with a sprawling auto body business in the middle of their dense Southwest Philadelphia residential neighborhood.
The shop litters their neighborhood, their shared alley, and even their backyards with junked cars, trash, tires, oilcans and debris. Noxious fumes and noise routinely intrude into their homes. Illegally dumped parked cars line the surrounding streets and block shared access in the alley. Occasionally, City enforcement has brought temporary relief—these particular property owners have been cited for 58 code violations since 2007—but disruptive, unsafe, and illegal practices inevitably resume.
On April 26, the Bells and Ms. Dix sued the property owners and White’s Autobody in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, alleging that the shop has created a private and public nuisance and trespassed on their property. They are seeking an injunction demanding that the defendants cease their nuisance behavior and abide by all local laws and regulations under their business license. They are represented by the Public Interest Law Center and pro bono co-counsel from Hausfeld LLP.
“This lawsuit is a last resort: we’ve spoken with the auto body shop employees and property owners, and with the City, countless times,” our client Ms. Dix said. “I brought this case because it is unacceptable for businesses to endanger my children’s health by flouting the law.”
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Our legal director Mimi McKenzie profiled in the Philadelphia Lawyer's Women in Law issue. |
Our legal director Mimi McKenzie received much-deserved recognition for her strategic acumen and leadership in this Spring's issue of the Philadelphia Lawyer, highlighting the region's top women in law. She was nominated by our senior attorneys Ben Geffen & Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg, our board member Robert Wiygul, and our executive director Brenda Marrero.
"And yet, Mimi's legal talent and skill pale in comparison to something more foundational: an abiding kindness and care for the lives of those she supervises. In an office with many young parents, she cares as much about her team's families, home lives, and happiness as she does our professional successes," our senior attorneys Ben Geffen and Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg wrote. "Mimi is a model for us all to follow."
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"Do you want some students to have more and others to have less?:" April school funding updates |
Right: Parents, educators, students and advocates joined PA Schools Work in Harrisburg to talk to their representatives about the need for fair and full funding for public schools.
As our legislators in Harrisburg return to the capitol and begin to work on this year's state budget, parents, educators and students from across the commonwealth are standing up with a clear message: fund our public schools this year, and get to work building a school funding system that meets the standard set by the Pennsylvania State Constitution. With a February 7 ruling in our school funding lawsuit that declared our public school funding system inadequate, inequitable, and unconstitutional, there's no more time for delay.
On March 28, superintendents from 29 urban school districts held simultaneous press conferences in locations across the commonwealth calling for a school funding system that meets their students' needs. Christopher Dormer, superintendent of Norristown Area School District, shared that Level Up funding--a supplement to the 100 most deeply underfunded districts--allowed his district to reverse a trend of staff cuts, leading to significant literacy gains. Sustained adequate funding would help his district build on this success. “This should not be a surprise to anyone, when districts have adequate resources to meet the needs of students, all students grow, learn, achieve and master,” Dormer said.
On April 10, Spotlight PA highlighted the challenges faced by rural schools in Pennsylvania. They found that nearly 40 elementary schools had closed in North-Central Pennsylvania in the last decade. “The pie is too small,” said Matt Kelly, a Penn State professor who performed an analysis of school funding in Pennsylvania as part of the school funding trial. “It’s not enough money, and then the way that the money that is there is being distributed is still not connected enough to what the actual costs districts are encountering are.”
On April 25, advocate Cheryl Towers made the case for why Pennsylvania should not expand school voucher programs that send taxpayer funds to private schools in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "What Pennsylvania students really need is for the state to support strong public schools—open to all, with locally elected school boards — in every community, regardless of wealth, that have the resources children need to meet their potential."
And on April 26, we joined more than 100 parents, teachers, students and advocates in Harrisburg with PA Schools Work and Education Voters PA. Pennsylvanians met with their lawmakers to discuss the importance of building a constitutional public school funding system. It starts with this years' budget. PA Schools Work is calling for a $300 million increase in Level Up funding, a program supporting the most underfunded districts that was flat-funded in the Governor's budget proposal, as well as a boost to basic education funding for all districts.
"I ask you, legislators: do you want students to have equal funding, or do you want some students to have more and others to have less?" said Guadalupe, a student from York School District, during a press conference in the capitol rotunda. We covered the press conference on Twitter.
Below: Flor Gonzalez, a parent in Reading School District and a member of Make the Road PA, speaking on Wednesday.
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Save the date! Our annual event will be held September 20, at the Fairmount Water Works |
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Mark your calendars! Join us to celebrate and support our work at the Fairmount Water Works on September 20 for our annual celebration! More information about honorees, entertainment, and tickets coming soon. Spread the word on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn!
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We're proud to be part of the Philadelphia Kid's Campaign |
Right: On April 21, we joined the Kid's Campaign for a press conference in Love Park featuring local faith leaders
As the March 16 primary election approaches, we're proud to join more than 70 local organizations as part of the Philadelphia Kid's Campaign--a nonpartisan effort that is not backing a candidate and that defines the election solely on the safety of children and youth. Through candidate questionnaires and forums, The Kids’ Campaign shares with voting parents and young adults the information they need to determine which candidate will keep Philly’s children S.E.C.U.R.E.: Safety, Education, Careers, Uplift, Recreation, and a healthy Environment. Read more, including policy papers and candidate responses to questionnaires, here.
On Monday, May 1st, Greater Philadelphia Extracurricular Collaborative, Fab Youth Philly & Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative will be hosting a candidate forum on afterschool programs & youth workforce development and a summer work resource fair. The forum will be held at the Friends Center located at 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia from 4:00-7:00pm. Register here.
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