Dirty lot on 13th & South - PhillyBlog

ms_evelyng · #1 (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 02:12 PM

Does anyone know who owns the fenced lot on 13th and South St (across from new rehab/construction). It has turned into a garbage dump for push carts and garbage! Am about to call the sanitation dept. I can't stand it.

fuzzycraig · #2 (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 02:48 PM

I live next door to this piece of crap. It's owned by folks in Florida. According to the City's website (http://brtweb.phila.gov/brt.apps/Search/), the lot is owned by

G + W SOUTH ST PARTNERS
285 W 74TH
HIALEAH, FL
33014-5058

This is separate from the abandoned buildings next to the lot, which apparently were purchased in February of 07 and seem to be now owned by the same people. Listed as

G & W REAL ESTATE ENTERPR
400 ARTHUR GODFREY RD
MIAMI BEACH
FL
33140

They've owned the lot since 1987 and bought the buildings 20 years later. My guess is that means they've made at least one trip up here in the last 20 years and know what a hellhole their property is.

Any idea what can be done to get them to clean it up? At the very least get them to fix the fencing?

Eddy333 · #3 (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzycraig

I live next door to this piece of crap. It's owned by folks in Florida.

They've owned the lot since 1987 and bought the buildings 20 years later. My guess is that means they've made at least one trip up here in the last 20 years and know what a hellhole their property is.

Any idea what can be done to get them to clean it up? At the very least get them to fix the fencing?

Yeah, convince City Council to pass a law that allows the City of Philadelphia to more easily seize property that is allowed to: languish as an abandoned pile of crap, be used as a drug den, be so far in tax arrears that it is almost joke-like (almost), be in such disrepair that pieces fall off onto passersby below, or becomes a dumping site for residents and suburban contractors who are too lazy and cheap to properly dispose of their construction debris.

There is no good reason that residents of this city should be forced to stare at blight that is facilitated by people who don't even live here.

That being said, the more practical suggestion is to call L&I day and night and request a clean and seal of the structures and a cleaning out of the lot(s). When and if it happens, the cost of the work will be assessed against the property (also submit service requests for the same thing online) Do this as much as you can, and with luck maybe the increased cost of sitting on the properties will motivate the owners to try and get rid of it.

I know, just call me a dreamer

lbphilly · #4 (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddy333

Yeah, convince City Council to pass a law that allows the City of Philadelphia to more easily seize property that is allowed to: languish as an abandoned pile of crap, be used as a drug den, be so far in tax arrears that it is almost joke-like (almost), be in such disrepair that pieces fall off onto passersby below, or becomes a dumping site for residents and suburban contractors who are too lazy and cheap to properly dispose of their construction debris.

There is no good reason that residents of this city should be forced to stare at blight that is facilitated by people who don't even live here.

That being said, the more practical suggestion is to call L&I day and night and request a clean and seal of the structures and a cleaning out of the lot(s). When and if it happens, the cost of the work will be assessed against the property (also submit service requests for the same thing online) Do this as much as you can, and with luck maybe the increased cost of sitting on the properties will motivate the owners to try and get rid of it.

I know, just call me a dreamer

For lot cleaning, the Managing Director's office is a better bet.

Eddy333 · #5 (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbphilly

For lot cleaning, the Managing Director's office is a better bet.

Good point. I've seen them doing more and more work in my neck of the woods.

IVAN RUIZ · #6 (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 04:31 PM

I seen lately an older man on a wheelchair almost everyday at that corner, but he doesn’t ask for money, not sure what he is doing. More, I also seen people go into the lot and into the building, it used to be boarded but the fence was cut and the wood boards removed, not sure what they do in there, but cant imagine anything good.

fuzzycraig · #7 (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 04:50 PM

The dude in the wheel chair is mysterious, but I don't think he's living in the buildings. There is however another man, whom I've seen pushing around the red shopping cart that's been "parked" in the lot. I've spotted him arranging blankets and stuff around the buildings. I recently ran into him near the "entrance" to the fence and he said something to me about God.

ms_evelyng · #8 (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 05:14 PM

Ok so let’s strategize, what would be the steps to 1) make the owner pay summons for neglecting to keep this clean 2) Make then clean the lot, 3) Re-fence it
I placed a complaint with L&I via online. I will give them a call tomorrow to make sure they got it. Any other suggestions/options...

fuzzycraig · #9 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 02:52 PM

Ms Evelyng--
I feel like I dropped the ball on this. You were looking to strategize and I never replied. Now I've come home from spending Christmas with my in-laws to find that there is a huge mound of trash and a copious amount of what appears to be human poo forming a makeshift barricade by the entrance of the lot. My fiancee has taken pictures and showed them to the folks at the mini-station, who said they would send a sanitation crew by.

It definitely looks like there are squatter(s) in the abandoned buildings. Why the built the garbage/poo barricade is beyond me (and perhaps beyond the reason of any sane person), but this definitely negates whatever negligible rights they may have had to use those buildings for shelter. It's time for them to go, and it's time for the folks in Florida to take responsibility for their property. I'm up for any ideas.

PS if anybody is missing a bike, I saw a new blue (maybe purple) bike parked in the lot this morning. It's hidden behind a corner of the building. You'd pretty much have to be in my backyard to see it. Hey, maybe the poo/garbage wall is an effort to conceal a highly organized bike-stealing operation. Genius! If only I had thought of it first.

IVAN RUIZ · #10 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 03:06 PM

How can we get the city here...Some time back...about a year or so....someone Complained to city officials ...I remember Blackwell was one of them ....some cleaning was done...but this is just superficial....in a month or two we would have the same problem....the city along with the RDA redevelopment authority need to contact the owners and ask them for a schedule of development...we need a time line for development of the lot...if not sale and let others build.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzycraig

Ms Evelyng--
I feel like I dropped the ball on this. You were looking to strategize and I never replied. Now I've come home from spending Christmas with my in-laws to find that there is a huge mound of trash and a copious amount of what appears to be human poo forming a makeshift barricade by the entrance of the lot. My fiancee has taken pictures and showed them to the folks at the mini-station, who said they would send a sanitation crew by.

It definitely looks like there are squatter(s) in the abandoned buildings. Why the built the garbage/poo barricade is beyond me (and perhaps beyond the reason of any sane person), but this definitely negates whatever negligible rights they may have had to use those buildings for shelter. It's time for them to go, and it's time for the folks in Florida to take responsibility for their property. I'm up for any ideas.

PS if anybody is missing a bike, I saw a new blue (maybe purple) bike parked in the lot this morning. It's hidden behind a corner of the building. You'd pretty much have to be in my backyard to see it. Hey, maybe the poo/garbage wall is an effort to conceal a highly organized bike-stealing operation. Genius! If only I had thought of it first.