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BlockWatcher

Understanding Your Activity Feed

Your BlockWatcher feed is one continuous timeline built from four separate city data sources — the point is that you never have to check them one at a time again.

What feeds into it

Every new construction and business permit, business license, L&I code violation, and 311 service request filed near your block flows into a single feed, in the order it happens.

Reading an entry

Each feed entry shows what happened, roughly where relative to your address ("3 doors down," "corner property"), and when it was filed or resolved — written in plain language rather than raw permit codes or department jargon.

Alerts, not lookups

Rather than requiring you to check back, BlockWatcher notifies you the moment something new is filed — one alert per new item, instead of a firehose. The feed itself also keeps a running history, so you can look back at everything that's happened on your block, not just what's new since you signed up.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from 311 alerts?

311 only covers service requests. BlockWatcher combines permits, licensing, and violations alongside 311 into one connected feed.

Does the feed show activity from before I set up my block?

Yes — the feed includes historical activity on your block, not only new items filed after you signed up.

Can I filter the feed to just one type of activity, like permits only?

Today, the feed is a single combined timeline across all four signal types. A per-category filter view is a reasonable next addition as the product develops further.

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