The construction crew that surrounds my home has illegally trespassed on my property many many times. They seems to believe that my back yard is part of their construction site and have made it impossible to use my back yard or front porch for over two years. This is only one small violation and abuse thay have done toward me and my person. They have put me in the hospital 3 times and displaced me from my home for months , bent and cracked my home, and on and on.

Today, May 20, 2008, they have tied Yellow Caution ribbons all over by backyard. Am I in danger? They always put me in danger. They obviously had to trespass to tied up those caution ribbons. I have not been able to live normally since they started this project.

Please help!!!!!!!!!!!

I hear medication works well.

I hear Union builders work well.
I hear Intelligent Planning works well.
I hear Clean Politics work well.
I hear Green Principals work well.
I hear Assessing Water and Soil issues First works well.
I hear Civil Rights work well.

I now feel your pain. I didn't quite understand until we had a nuisance construction site pop up on our street directly across from my house.

The city has no mechanism for dealing with problem contractors, they don't enforce their own rules and heaven forbid if the builders are politically connected, every complaint you make will be silently closed (as is the situation in our case).

Taxpaying homeowners have no rights in Philadelphia, even when it comes to issues of safety and health. The city needs to stop making new laws and enforce whats on the books.
The mayor and council (whom i helped elect) like to talk a lot of trash about neighborhood rights and the unnecessary blocking of streets and sidewalks but unfortunately its all a bunch of hot air.

If you continuously rave like a lunatic, you will face diminishing returns and be dismissed as a lunatic. You may have a valid gripe, but I question the efficacy of your approach. Good luck.

You're right-- The lone citizen had no rights and can be abused over and over without any protection or recourse.
In my case I became a free target of abuse.

I made up this Bill of Rights to Protect Citizens and the Environment near Construction Sites.

My experience has shown me where the system doesn't work and where the average Citizen needs more power against a corrupt system.

This is a work in progress, but I've gotten some good feedback on it.

Later I will post links to Mayors office , Zoning Reform, Hallwatch , etc so if anybody is interested in supporting this Bill of Rights ( part or partial) they can tell the politicians. If you have anything to add- please do so.

These rights and laws can help protect public health, the environment , personal property and give citizens greater knowledge and partcipation and power in the creation of the city and protection of the environment.

Rights of Citizens and Environment near Building Projects


1) Easy and quick Citizen access to environmental reports of sites located within eight blocks of their home.

2) Information and meetings need to be brought to the neighborhood and stop expecting neighbors to go all the way down to the Municipal buildings during work hours which is a hardship. Builders and City need to cater to the needs of the existing neighborhoods and the real people in them.

3) Notification, Access and Transparency of decisions of building sites made by City Planning and License & Inspections, City Council, and Zoning provided easily
to Citizens within eight blocks of residence.

4) One of the First Steps in getting any approval at City Planning is Environmental Reports. If Environmental Report is not adequate, timely, missing or false then
any proceeding decisions made by City Planning or Zoning is invalid.

5) Give Citizens the Right to demand a third party or neutral Environmental study to be made at site owners expense of any developing site within affected neighborhood.

6) Require that NO fugitive dust from Construction or developing sites escape the site and invade residential area or public areas. This is already Federal law but is not currently enforced in Philadelphia. Hold developing site and City responsible for enforcing effective dust control. Citizens can FINE the City and the Developer for invading dust.

7) Circulate information of known health hazards of dust and other common environmental hazards to local citizens so they can more easily protect and treat their health.

8) If a site developer violates the health of Soil, Air or Water and the damage is not reversible, then the violator must contribute to a project or fund that will clean up Air, Water or Soil elsewhere.

9) Site developers and the City must go to each neighbor within site influence and know the heath status, vulnerabilities and concerns of each neighbor, in order to
implement required protections and respect for each neighbor. (VERY IMPORTANT) Quick and effective responsiveness to neighbor concerns are required by developers and city.

10) The new site developers, whether City or private, must go to each adjacent neighbor and pay for a property/ home inspection before any demolition, excavation or building
proceeds in order to record prior status of adjacent home so that if any damage is done there is a record.

This happens in parking garages or when you rent a car. The rental agency or parking attendant will walk around your car and take notice of dents and scratches so that
when the car is returned to you there is a record to show if any new damage has occurred. The developer needs to pay for the inspection.

11) 100 year history of former site use needs to be circulated to neighbors within 8 block radius. Philadelphia has a long history of industry and environmental damages
that must be known in order to execute proper and healthy remediating. Too often the history of a site is hidden by both the city agencies and the developers and then proper remediating is avoided and the environmental health and rights of the community suffers.

12) If a group claims it is the Community or Neighborhood Group or the CDC, they cannot prejudice against or exclude any specific person from the services and support
and protections they claim to offer the community or neighborhood.

The MAJORITY of Citizens have the Will to make a better world. When they are given the knowledge,they will find the tools and make the world better. But when larger entities,like governments and coorporations cover up, cover up, and cover up, the Citizen can not take Action to make the world a better place.

When the City acts like Citizens don't count they are cutting off one of their most valuable resources for making a better City.

Clouds of dust off the site have been blowing today. The road is full of dust, so whenever a vehicle drives by, a cloud of dust blows onto my porch.

I attemptd to plant a tomato plant on my porch for the first time in two years, hoping against hope that I could have my porch garden again this year-- but I can see that the plant is failing - because of the dust.

If you are bothered by dust call Air Management. 215 685 7580

In the past, I have been told that the site is in complinance and nothing needs to be done. I have been told that Air Mangement DOES NOT deal with DUST.

Here's the regulations.

REGULATIONS OF THE AIR POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA These Regulations are adopted pursuant to Section 5-302 of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, which reads as follows:


4 REGULATION I GENERAL PROVISIONS SECTION I. DEFINITIONS A. The following definitions are in the Air Management Code and apply to the regulations:

1. Aerosol - A dispersion or suspension of small solid or liquid particles or any combination thereof in the air or other gaseous medium.

2. Ashes - The residue from combustion, including cinders, flyash or any other solid material resulting from combustion, as well as partially combusted materials and unburned combustibles.

3. Air Contaminant - Any smoke, soot, flyash, dust, cinders, dirt, noxious or obnoxious acids, fumes, oxides, gases, mists, aerosols, vapors, odors, toxic or radioactive substances, waste, particulate, solid, liquid or gaseous matter, or any other materials in the outdoor atmosphere.

4. Air Pollution - The presence in the atmosphere of one or more air contaminants or combinations thereof in such quantities and of such duration that they are or may tend to be injurious to human, plant, or animal life, or property, or that interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property or the conduct of business or other human activities.

5. Air Pollution Nuisance - The emission or discharge of one or more air contaminants to the atmosphere meeting one or more of the following criteria:
a. In excess of emission standards promulgated by the Air Pollution Control Board;
b. In such quantity and of such duration that they do or may tend to:
(1) interfere with health, repose, or safety;
(2) cause severe annoyance or discomfort;
(3) lessen food or water intake;
(4) produce irritation of the upper respiratory tract;
(5) produce symptoms of nausea;
(6) be offensive, or objectionable, or both, to persons because of inherent chemical or physical properties;
(7) be detrimental or harmful to health, comfort, recreation, living conditions, welfare, or safety;
(8) cause injury or damage to real or personal property of any kind;
(9) or interfere with the conduct of industry, commerce, or transportation.

At this point, your complaints are so numerous and varied, no one has any clue what exactly you want. For example, you mentioned kids breaking into your house. Some how you linked this to the construction. How are the two connected in any way?

I attemptd to plant a tomato plant on my porch for the first time in two years, hoping against hope that I could have my porch garden again this year-- but I can see that the plant is failing - because of the dust.

My friend's tomato plants are dieing because of the 40F nights we've been having.