The folks in Passyunk Square are chasing an interesting goal in 2012: proactively dealing with blight in an organized fashion.

Members of the Passyunk Sqaure Civic Association (PSCA) are asking people who, if they’re in the PSCA area—that’s bordered by Washington Avenue and Tasker Street on the north and south, and by 6th Street and Broad Street to the east and west—and happen to chance upon a blighted building or vacant lot, to fill out this Boarded Up/Vacant House Reporting Form.

8th and Federal

The initiative developed after the question was posed at the PSCA January general meeting: What is the PSCA doing about vacant lots and abandoned properties? According to its site, PSCA sent out a team to survey the neighborhood a few weeks ago. The findings from the survey and this community initiative will lay the foundation for framing out a plan to approach the issue of eliminating blight and abandonment in the neighborhood while preventing future dilapidation.

“We’re pretty fortunate that there are not too many properties like this around here,” said PSCA president Christine Knapp. “The market’s kind of taking care of the neighborhood.”

900 block of Federal St., across from Capitolo Playground

Knapp said a number of properties had been bought and renovated over the past few years. And while PSCA members are not exactly sure what the next steps will be once they collect said information, the first step is reporting broken windows and boarded up doors to Philly311, the City’s information portal.

Just another example of a neighborhood group taking proactive steps to manage and improve their community. We like it.

–Lou Mancinelli