PennDot suddenly canceled driver’s licenses for 200 people in Northeast Philly by mistake

In February, about 200 people at a Northeast Philly apartment complex received a mysterious letter on Pennsylvania Department of Transportation letterhead, stating that their driver’s licenses and other official identification had been abruptly canceled. There was no detailed explanation of why, but the letter said if the receivers did not immediately return their licenses and otherwise comply with this “sanction,” the Pennsylvania State Police could come after them.

Now, PennDot has said it was all a mistake, an error on zoning documents showing the same address for two businesses.

The letters arrived in the mailboxes of a Rhawnhurst apartment complex, a community predominantly made up of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Ukraine, and Georgia.

Many speak English as their second language, making the letter heavy with legal jargon even more difficult to understand. It sparked fear and confusion, and kept some from working their jobs as rideshare drivers and truck drivers.

“Upon receipt of evidence that you are not entitled to the issuance of a driver’s license … this department is hereby canceling any driver’s license, learner’s permit or identification card in your possession as authorized by section 1572 of the vehicle code,” the opening paragraph of the letter reads.

“It was very upsetting,” said Marina Sklyarsky, the property manager of the apartment complex who worked with residents to sort out the situation. A few people told her that they were late paying their March rent because they hadn’t worked.

Everyone was “confused, scared, didn’t know what to do,” she said.

The reason for the mass cancellations? The apartment complex appears to share an address with a U-Haul facility. The two properties have been listed at the same address, 7750 Roosevelt Blvd., on some zoning documents for decades. Both places currently share the same business license, despite operating for distinctly different purposes.

And even though the proper address for the apartment complex is 2450 Hartel Ave., the letters that residents received from PennDot contained the 7750 Roosevelt address.

“PennDot identified discrepancies in proof-of-residency documents submitted by applicants, where listed addresses corresponded to a commercial property instead of a residential address. This resulted in cancellation notices and requests for valid residency verification to affected individual,” said PennDot spokesperson Aimee Inama over email.

PennDot did not respond to questions regarding how the address discrepancies were first identified, or whether all affected residents have been compensated.

But Sklyarsky said the address sharing has never caused an issue like this before in her 20 years working at the apartment complex.

A week after the letters arrived, Sklyarsky and two residents went to state Rep. Sean Dougherty’s district office, looking for help. Initially, staff believed that the letter was some kind of scam. But after contacting PennDot, they learned it was legitimate.

Dougherty’s staff advocated on behalf of the residents to PennDot, first discovering and then explaining the adjacent address issue to the agency.

“Once this was confirmed, PennDot promptly removed the cancellations and notified customers of the resolution,” Inama said. The residents could keep their old licenses and IDs and continue to use them, said Viktor Kagan, Dougherty’s chief of staff.

“We stand with our neighbors and are always here to help. I appreciate PennDot for remedying this efficiently and supporting my community,” Dougherty said in a statement.

But that did not mean that the problems caused by the cancellations were immediately remedied. By the time PennDot reversed its action, it had been weeks since the letters arrived. Some people had already thrown out or returned their licenses, driver’s permits, and IDs, and some had paid for new ones at PennDot centers.

“This process took almost a month, meaning some people took a day off to get a new license or just drove with a license that they believed was suspended because they must make ends meet,” Kagan said in an email.

Kagan said that staff members went door by door to all apartments in the complex, and informed the residents in both English and Russian of what has been going on. They have also ensured that PennDot waives any fees that residents may have already paid to acquire new licenses, or would be required to replace discarded ones.

It is unclear whether PennDot will proactively compensate residents or if the residents will have to seek out compensation.

“Our community deserves better than to be frightened and harmed financially,” Kagan said.