114 articles
Philadelphia School District settled for $650,000 over the 2021 selective-school admissions overhaul. No wrongdoing admitted; deeper questions still open.
This Sunday at 830am, we set out to finish up the job we started last week. Today, we visited 16 potential abandoned cars spread over 3.5 miles, and found 14 were already gone!
After You Call: A Deep Dive on Philly 311 · Part 7
A small number of Philadelphia addresses generate a disproportionate share of 311 complaints — sometimes the same complaint, year after year.
A citywide map of Philadelphia single-family properties with no Homestead Exemption on file. Each missing exemption is ~$1,400 a year.
Philadelphia's 2027 property reassessment: mean +7.0%, median +4.2%. ZIP medians ranged -2.7% (Fishtown) to +11.5% (Kensington); worst tract +44.4%.
Some places in Philly — the kind that grow on you over time rather than the tourist spots.
On a spur of the moment decision, my family and I decided to do our part to help identify abandoned cars in the open 311 tickets. A story of 3 miles, 90 minutes a 19 month old, and 15 abandoned cars
After You Call: A Deep Dive on Philly 311 · Part 6
Income tier predicts only 19% of Philadelphia 311 wait times. The other 81% is zip-by-zip — Fairhill outpaces higher-tier zips; Elmwood waits 17.9 days.
My car was broken into twice in Fairmount. Both times the window got smashed. Then this summer — nothing. The 9th District weekly report explains why.
How long does Philadelphia 311 take in your neighborhood? Use this interactive tool to explore 311 wait times by ward, ZIP, department, and issue type.
After You Call: A Deep Dive on Philly 311 · Part 5
7 of Philadelphia 311's 27 published SLAs are met less than half the time. Two are 1-Business-Day safety promises. The published numbers are fiction.
Philadelphia spent $120M on the 250th anniversary of American independence — $15.5M on a single concert. What that money could have funded instead.
After You Call: A Deep Dive on Philly 311 · Part 4
23,229 of 75,929 open Philadelphia 311 tickets haven't been updated in 365+ days. 88.1% untouched in 30+ days. The system stopped.
Philadelphia sanitation workers earn the 4th-lowest wages among America's 20 biggest cities — below the MIT living wage for a single adult.
I take the 6am train out of Philadelphia a few times a month. Here's what I've noticed about the station and the ritual of leaving.
After You Call: A Deep Dive on Philly 311 · Part 3
Lower-income Philadelphia neighborhoods wait 16 days longer for 311. Two-thirds of the gap is the work itself — abandoned cars, blight.
After You Call: A Deep Dive on Philly 311 · Part 2
L&I and two other discretionary complaint categories explain most of Philadelphia 311's 2.6-day income gap. Routine departments are nearly equal.
Philadelphia banned indoor casino smoking in 2007, but the 20-foot buffer around entrances clusters smokers at the door. The ban's edge is the loophole.
After You Call: A Deep Dive on Philly 311 · Part 1
Of 1.3M Philadelphia 311 records since 2024, 57% are phone calls, not service tickets. The contact center logs one every 38 seconds.
311 is Philadelphia's equalizer — one number, same service for everyone. So why do poor neighborhoods wait 50%-300% longer?