How can I encourage neighbors to be cleaner? - Page 2 - PhillyBlog

meleliza · #11 (**permalink**) 11-05-2005, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by torts

What's the address of the house?

Why do you want to know?

niksiz · #12 (**permalink**) 11-06-2005, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meleliza

There's a house on our block that always STINKS. Depending on how the wind is blowing, you can smell it down the block. They leave trash outside, rarely bagged well, and they leave trash on the sidewalk, including things like chicken bones and pieces of hair weave. Very gross. She's also got a backyard that's slowly been filling up with old refrigerators and other junk. And the house inside is filthy too. I feel bad for her kids, but I feel annoyed for all of us who keep our houses clean. (They're also known on the block as the yellers becasue they're so loud, but at the moment, the smell is the real issue.)

I organize the block clean-ups in the summers, but that doesn't last long. And each time I organize one, I put out a flyer that includes ways we can all help to keep the block clean. Any ideas?

Should I mention that the rumor on the block is that she can't walk up the stairs. They don't have a bathroom on the ground floor, so combine that and the smell and I'm afraid the rest is up to our gossiping imaginations.

She's a nice enough person to talk too, but the stench is really gross, so if anyone has suggestions on how to improve the situtaion, I'd appreciate it.

Sanitation Police: 215-685-4275.

Licenses and Inspections: 215-686-2463

Health Department: 215-685-5670

Your local community organization may also be able to provide assistance and resources.

lbphilly · #13 (**permalink**) 11-06-2005, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niksiz

Sanitation Police: 215-685-4275.

Licenses and Inspections: 215-686-2463

Health Department: 215-685-5670

Your local community organization may also be able to provide assistance and resources.

I'm trying to recall where you live (Southwest Center City?) -- if those resources don't give you satisfaction, call your district council person's office. If you've given the city departments a chance to do their jobs and they haven't, your council person's office will usually be willing to jump in. Complaints involving rats and human waste usually get prompt attention from Anna Verna's office.

I hesitate to give out e-mail addresses without getting permission first, but it's my sense that digital photos are worth thousands of words and very easy for district staff to forward to the appropriate agencies with a request for follow up. I did that in the case of a situation nearby where a neighborhood resident was in the habit of dropping gallon jugs partially filled with urine onto a mounting pile of unbagged trash in front of an unoccupied house. I would suggest a call to your council person's district office to see if this is acceptable (as a former chair of SOSNA I had an ongoing relationship with these folks, so I felt comfortable using e-mail for this purpose).

Remember that many city employees have bandwidth and disk quotas, so if you're e-mailing photos to them it's helpful to keep the file size small rather than sending a dozen 2MB jpgs.

Queen Villager · #14 (**permalink**) 11-07-2005, 04:43 PM

Whomever you call, please mention those accumulated refrigerators. That would worry me, as discarded refrigerators pose a suffocation hazard for children. You have some good suggestions from others. If those don't work, you might check with your city councilman's office. Good luck.