Charlie Smith wrote a thought-provoking article. Absentee landlords have long been a problem in the Brown Street area. Tenants create disturbances, the police are called often, and they leave trash and discarded furniture in front of the property. And the landlord is elsewhere, oblivious to what the neighbors have to live with.
Now it seems that Westbrook wants to get a handle on this problem and put some teeth into what the police can do and what the code enforcement officer can do. It’s a wake-up call for all landlords. The Frenchtown Community Association has an e-mail distribution list. Frenchtown residents, Mayor Chuluda, Chief McCarthy, and several City Councilors get e-mails on a variety of issues affecting our neighborhood.
A few months back it was “Mattresses on the Front Lawn.” E-mails flew back and forth with folks weighing in on the problem of discarded furniture being left in front of a house. It looked unsightly. We were the eyes and ears for the city. The mayor resolved the problem, the police were paying attention to a house that needed more than a drive-by. It was a community effort to deal with this problem. The landlord of that particular property is now on our e-mail list. If a problem crops up, she will know about it and can deal with it before she needs to be dealing with the police or the City.
I would support a series of warnings and fines to landlords who, in not paying attention to their property in our city, allow mounds of trash and furniture to accumulate, allow their tenants to disturb neighbors with loud parties, open drunkenness and drug use. Sometimes, even long-time residents and people who should be paying better attention need a wake-up call. It is easy to let situations slide…after all, it is Brown Street. As the newer
residents show us, we need to be watching all the time and taking the
appropriate action.
And when Charlie Smith wrote about lawns needing to be mowed and shrubs needing to be trimmed, I knew he was talking about my
house. Well, three hot hours later, I look marvelous.
It’s great to have a paper focused on the neighborhood issues. Thanks for the article.
Cindy Murphy
Brown Street
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