By Sara Peck

SeeClickFix, a community advocacy online forum dedicated to reporting and resolving everyday city issues, launched a free iPhone application Thursday, according to one of the site’s creators.

“It’s been on the drawing board since Day One,” said Ben Berkowitz, one of the site’s three founders, citing a user who constantly asked for an iPhone application, especially after the much-awaited release of the $99 iPhone and a general increase in communication advancement.

The SeeClickFix Web site, which was born in October 2007 as a solution to ignored graffiti on Berkowitz’s neighbor’s building, is now accessible to communities worldwide that need “a better line of communication” with city officials, Berkowitz said. Residents now can log on, finger-glide across their iPhone screen or even call the old-fashioned way when something in their neighborhood needs to be addressed.

“I see it as a 21st-century, citywide block watch,” said Evan Trachten, who works for the Livable City Initiative and is also known for his sometimes silly posts on the site, including vacation photos posted alongside complaints, to “add humor to the situation.”

Trachten recalls meeting with Berkowitz in the since-closed New Haven cafe Mocha several years ago, when the SeeClickFix project was merely the idea of a few Web site developers.

“I’m very impressed with how it’s grown,” he said.

Born in Yale’s backyard (Berkowitz left New Haven only to attend George Washington University), the idea has since gone international — a Mongolian user recently requested that the site be translated into other languages, which Berkowitz said is the site’s next goal. The city of Boston recently announced that a city-specific iPhone application for the site is in the works, though it will not launch yet.

“It has gone way beyond what we expected,” Berkowitz said.

Residents can log on and type in their location to find a “watch area” where they can report a new issue or vote on existing ones, such as “bike rack needed at 567 Chapel St.,” which resulted in (with a picture on the site as proof) the installation of the rack.

Lee Cruz, who has lived in New Haven for 20 years, has been using the site since its inception. Cruz blames public apathy and “a general cynicism that government doesn’t work” for the decline of community advocacy, which the site brings back to a degree. Continued...

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“What I love about the site is that it gives residents the opportunity to publicly declare that they’re seeing something not right in a constructive way,” he said.

Trachten, who deals with quality-of-life issues, such as garbage and graffiti, said he responds to about 12 complaints a day, many of which come with photos snapped from cell phones. With the implementation of the new iPhone application, “It’s very helpful. Before we leave the office, we can have some idea (of) what we’re dealing with and who to call,” he said.

In addition to crossing borders, Berkowitz’s creation has transcended its original goal of getting everyday annoyances fixed. The site has served as a forum for more long-term city goals, such as improvements to public transportation and reducing crime. It’s a virtual suggestion box for the city.

Cruz carries SeeClickFix business cards in his wallet and regularly invites friends and neighbors to his home to learn about the site, since he feels the forum “really gives the citizens a chance to do something,” such as getting a broken light on his street fixed two days after he posted.

Berkowitz attributed the site’s success to deliberate bypassing of typical bureaucratic channels.

Officer Joe Avery, spokesman for the New Haven Police Department, said the project is “beneficial,” and the department routinely responds to reports e-mailed to them daily by the site’s moderators.

“We do appreciate them bringing their concerns to us,” he said. “It seems to work pretty good.”

Sara Peck is a Register intern.

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