Tuesday, August 20, 2013

2100 block of 4th Street NE in Eckington: how to address nuisance properties...?

See this 08-20-2013 message from an Eckington resident:
 

I live in Eckington on 4th St., just off RI Avenue NE There are several nuisance properties on my block (the 2100 block 4th St NE) that ebb and flow with activity. I have been here for 10 years and I've seen some improvements. However, I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the response from the police when I and a couple of other neighbors call to have issues addressed. They include late night loitering and noise disturbances that are consistently focused around a few properties. There are only a couple of us who call to report suspicious activity and noise disturbances so community involvement is pretty low here. Calling the police to have them tell me they can only move people along since no major crime is being committed is more and more disheartening.

I've spoken with Fifth District Commander Solberg by email a few times about specific properties. I've also emailed Officer Beach but only in a limited basis. After an incident on July 4th I've asked for follow up on their investigation of a shooting that damaged a neighbor's property.

How does one pursue a property to get classified as a nuisance property? I know that can be a slippery slope but when people are clearly and consistently creating a disturbance there has to be something one can do as a homeowner. Most of the time the individuals creating the issues are visiting others in the area.

1 comment:

mona said...

You have to get DCRA involved. Call for any housing violations. If it is a vacant house then report it as such. Taxes on owner go up significantly. Continue to call the police on any disturbances or illegal activity occurring in and around the property. Get your ANC rep involved too. They may be able to contact the owner