Various topics discussed at the 15th PDAC meeting

Residents raised several complaints at the 15th Police District Advisory Board meeting on Monday.

A woman in the 3200 block of St. Vincent St. complained that residents of a rental property were selling food in front of her house, playing loud music and had a propane tank that caught fire inside the home.

For the second meeting in a row, there were complaints of Chinese people walking into people’s yards to take recycling bottles out of buckets and throwing the lids on the ground. One man said he would take his dog outside when he saw people rummaging through recycling buckets. As during last month’s meeting, leaders of the 15th PDAC said a local Chinese businessman planned to distribute flyers to discourage people from taking recyclables off of people’s porches.

A woman in the 3300 block of Hartel Ave. complained that people double-park on the block for hours.

Just a block away, in the 3300 block of Ashville St., a woman said a home is hosting late-night parties, with young children outside in the middle of the night. The family leaves food outside, she said, and has a pool with green water. The family doesn’t speak English, the woman said, and cars are double-parked in the back driveway. The landlord hasn’t been helpful. Neighbors have contacted several city agencies, and the woman who was at the meeting said people are leaving the city because of these kinds of quality-of-life issues.

“Why aren’t we getting answers?” he asked.

One man said people need to start “voting Republican.” Reuben Ray, the quality of life officer for the 15th Precinct, will investigate the problems. Another suggestion was to call the city’s vector control division at 215-685-9000. Staff could toss mosquito-repellent tablets into the pool.

In other news from the July 29 meeting:

• The group heard from two representatives from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. For more information, call 215-MU6-4670 or visit phila.gov/pchrIn case of emergency, call 911.

• The 69th annual Hero Thrill Show will be held on Saturday, September 21, from noon to 5 p.m., at the Wells Fargo Center. Tickets are $15 for individuals and $35 for families (up to five people). Proceeds go toward college tuition for the children of Philadelphia police officers and firefighters who died in the line of duty. For more information, visit espectáculodeheroestres.org.

• Attendees included representatives from City Councilman Mike Driscoll and state Reps. Jared Solomon and Joe Hohenstein. ••