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ON YOUR SIDE: Residents complain of illegal dumping and blight in neighborhood

If trash really attracts more trash, residents living on Jacksonville's West 32nd Street feel they're getting more than their share.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — If trash really attracts more trash, residents living on Jacksonville's West 32nd Street feel they're getting more than their share.

It began with two boarded up and abandoned houses in the 1300 block of the street.

"It is just a menace to society," said Felicia Cox.

Cox does not live in the neighborhood, her mom does and she brought the issues to On Your Side.

"It has been a  problem," she said.

Bertha Rowe is her mom. She is frustrated because she has seen her neighborhood changed over the decades.

"I wish they would just tear down these two houses," Rowe said.

Her neighbor Bernadette Bryant echoes the same concerns.

"I am tired of looking at this eyesore," said Bryant.

The buildings are an eyesore and now they've attracted illegal dumping.

"We want to see our neighborhood cleaned up like it used to be," said Rowe.

They are concerned about what comes with the blight, rats and other vermin. Their anger reached a boiling point a few months ago when a stranger drove up in a truck and dumped a truckload of household items.

He left behind everything from flat screen television to an oversize leather sofa. They were able to grab the tag number and report it to police, but they say the investigation did not amount to anything.

"the tag was no good," said Bryant.

On Your Side checked the property appraiser records and found the two houses belonged to a Florida company that was dissolved in 2017.

On Your Side reported the illegal dumping to the city's solid waste division and a crew removed it.

But what about the future of the abandoned houses?

One building is condemned; the other has a number of violations from the city's Municipal Code Enforcement Division.

The city provided a case history of the properties in question.

1317 W 32nd Street

- Residential Case # 2018-86232 - cited on 3/6/2018 for various minimum housing standard issues (roof and eave deterioration/damage). The case was referred to the Special Magistrate who issued an administrative fine in the amount of $250.00 per day from 7/31/2018 until complied. As of our last inspection dated 2/28/2018, the property remained in violation. The fine balance to date is $66,750.00 and continues to accrue daily.

- Unsafe structure case # 2019-54341 - condemned on 1/9/2019 for various structural/safety issues. The case was referred to the contracting section for possible demolition. Title search was completed and notices mailed to all owners and interested parties. The case is currently out for advertisement and will be referred to the Office of General Counsel for review and approval for demolition once the advertisement expires (after 4 consecutive weeks). We do not have a demolition date scheduled at this time.

1311 W 32nd Street

- Nuisance case # 2019-50652 - cited on 2/12/2019 for overgrowth and trash/debris. The case was referred to the contracting section and is currently pending solicitation of bids for heavy debris removal, due to the large volume of debris found in the rear of the structure on subsequent inspection.

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