The first of 11 planned Neighborhood Community Action Centers (NCAC) opened at the Logan Public Library last week, as part of an outreach effort to give residents more access to city services.
Mayor Cherelle Parker joined the Office of Neighborhood and Community Engagement and partnering departments during last week’s opening, and announced plans to travel to each councilmanic district, plus the Riverwards, to open additional NCACs over the next few weeks.
“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,” Parker said. “These ‘Neighborhood City Halls’ are a one-stop shop for municipal government right in the communities they serve.”
City residents can come to Neighborhood Community Action Centers for assistance with any city-related issue, such as 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 needed.
“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.”
NCACs will open at seven recreation centers, two public libraries, one school district site, and one church building. Planned NCAC locations include: 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.); and Rivera Recreation Center, (3201 N. 5th St.)
