Project ‘Nextdoor’ gets a neighborly welcome to Philly

Much like the Yellowpages serve as a phone directory for businesses, Project Nextdoor is an online database to improve city-to-resident and neighbor-to-neighbor communications throughout Philadelphia.

Whether you or your neighbor's need is finding a local handyman, a babysitter, a lost pet, or even any immediate need like a cup of sugar, Nextdoor is now live on the web. The Nutter administration announced the official launch today of this free, private social network designed to connect neighborhoods. Its purpose is to partner with city departments and Philadelphia Town Watch to gather and push out information.

"This is the first administration to come to life in the digital age," said city Managing Director Richard Negrin.

Whether the problem is short dumping, litter, unwanted street signage or illegally parked cars, Nextdoor helps block captains and civic associations communicate a fix.

Sarah Leary, co-founder of Nextdoor, said that Philadelphia is currently the largest city in the country using the service, where 17,000 people are already on board. No taxpayer dollars were used in its implementation. Nextdoor, a for-profit company, is totally self-funded.

Leary says Nextdoor is looking to partner with local businesses in the future to help generate revenues. While yesterday marked the official launch of the program, Leary said implementation began in 2011, and she only anticipates a growth spurt from here on in.