August 15, 2025—In the face of a prolonged affordable housing crisis, the city of Pittsburgh enacted an inclusionary zoning ordinance to expand access to affordable, secure housing for low- and moderate-income Pittsburgh residents, who are disproportionately Black. The local ordinance requires developers to reserve 10% of units in residential projects of 20 units or more […]
July 3, 2025 – Norris Square Neighborhood Project (NSNP) is a Philadelphia treasure. Since the 1970s, NSNP has worked to restore and preserve urban landscapes and build youth leadership through community events and outreach, arts, cultural programs, and the creation of green space and urban gardens. The organization stewards six gardens in the Norris Square […]
The Public Interest Law Center has filed an employment discrimination complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) on behalf of Bariq Fluellen, a 12-year veteran Philadelphia firefighter who has been the target of racial harassment and threats due to his hairstyle.
July 24, 2025 – Today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District rejected the Trump Administration’s attempt to terminate early a consent order that holds ESSA Bank & Trust accountable for alleged discriminatory redlining of majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia. The decision comes as DOJ moves to dismiss fair lending and […]
A Black man who was denied employment by convenience store chain Sheetz has moved to intervene in a federal criminal history discrimination lawsuit after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notified plaintiffs that it plans to drop the case—not based on the evidence, but due to a directive from President Trump.
Fair housing organizations took action to oppose the U.S. Department of Justice’s motion to prematurely terminate a federal Consent Order that holds Lakeland Bank (now part of Provident Bank) accountable for years of alleged discriminatory lending practices in Black and Latino neighborhoods across the Newark metro region.
In attempt to end the epidemic of the lead poisoning of Philadelphia children, city law requires all landlords to certify to tenants and to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health that a rental is either lead-safe or lead-free. The same law requires the Health Department to publicly publish the certification status of each property in […]
Yesterday, three Philadelphia residents of Bentley Manor, a large apartment complex in West Oak Lane, filed a class action lawsuit against Odin Properties LLC, one of Philadelphia’s largest landlords that is believed to own or manage over 1,500 apartments in the city, and the related companies that own and operate the building. Four months ago, […]
In 2022, Education Voters of PA filed a Right to Know request to examine how Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA), Pennsylvania’s largest cyber charter school, spends public money to reimburse families for activities and classes outside of the school day. After CCA refused to provide the requested records, the Public Interest Law Center represented Education Voters […]
Update 6/23/2025: Reminder that the IDEA and Pennsylvania Department of Education policy require all school districts to provide special education services to eligible students until their 22nd birthdays. While there has been ongoing litigation about this issue, nothing has changed this obligation. Please contact the Law Center (cramsey@pubintlaw.org or 267-546-1314) if your student is being […]
