Noxious fumes and noise routinely intruding the home. Junked or illegally dumped cars lining the streets. Oil cans littered all over and staining the sidewalk. And tires, trash and debris in every direction. For many low-income communities of color across Southwest Philadelphia, sharing a block with unlawfully operated autobody shops is the norm. 

The Public Interest Law Center uses high-impact legal strategies to support Philadelphia communities facing discrimination, inequality and poverty. The Law Center saw that the high concentration of autobody shops in residential areas was creating myriad environmental hazards. Concurrently, our environmental team at Hausfeld was exploring ways to partner with non-profit organizations to make a difference in our local communities. So we teamed up and got to work.