Owner is alive, & living in the suburbs. Can well afford to maintain property but does not & refuses to sell. Interior is packed with trash which he continues to bring in. There have been 3 code violation cases (one ongoing) that the city has pursued, & L&I crews clean up the outside so this is a situation that costs taxpayers.

Problem has only gotten worse. Now more windows are broken or missing, and more debris, bagged & unbagged, blight the yard. This is the 11th year help has been sought from city agencies.

More trash has been added. Windows being removed, and back porch a fire trap. Sex & possibly drug sales occurring outside. Police respond, but cannot enter because of condition of building.

There is now MORE trash along the fence, a minimum of 12 cubic yards, plus a pile of sticks that could well be tinder for setting the back afire, PLUS 2 more windows are out: now totalling 6. HELP!

It looks as if nothing will be done. Owner will be allowed to do whatever he wants. City will not apply existing laws to this case. Is it an attempt to take over this neighborhood? This sounds paranoid, but why else would nothing be done?

You don't have to put up with this per a new State bill allowing near neighbors to take over buildings that have become derelict, use whatever value is in them as collateral, have contractors make the improvements. The house is then put up for sale and after EVERYONE elses costs are satisfied the owner can receive the balance if there is any. This is a real way out and a way to save a good old building if you want to try it.

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2007&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billnbr=2188&pn=3126

Thanks, Pat. Conservancy is expensive, and not a sure thing. Court costs to file are over $400, lawyer's fees & architects/engineer's plans add to this cost. It has not often been granted (law is not new) in Phila., and just to start takes a long time. I'd just like the city to simply enforce its own laws in this case, & not so blatantly favor this absentee, non-resident owner.

Now its 11 years, and a year for the current L&I court case. Not a penny in fines, despite Mayor Nutter's rhetoric. This owner is allowed to do whatever he pleases, which is nothing, no matter what the law is, & no matter that the same law is enforced on everyone else in this area.

I guess there is a change: weeds are now dead until the spring. Another danger is presenting, in that the owner has large amounts of tinder & construction debris in addition to the trash stored right up to the front door and the back wooden porch. The interior is already a fire hazard because of the debris stored inside, & because an unmaintained fireplace being used. The fire department refuses to get involved: the local firehouse because they can't get in, & Fire Commissioner Ayres for unknown reasons, refuses to reply.

Court seems to find a mountain of trash and boarded/cemented up windows OK for Germantown.

I'm wondering whether anyone has attempted a meeting with the new councilperson.

David, Cindy Bass has been in court at many of the hearings. Latest case was closed (take a look: this seems to be what the Phila. Historical Commission considers OK) on 2/26/2013. Courts refuse to enforce city laws...for some people. The scofflaw owner won over the wishes of the neighborhood.