West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association

To: Pro-Tem Mayor & Council, Police, Code & Mr.Yett,
CC: West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association
CC: Eastside Sector Alliance

I am e-mailing you with more specifics on addresses that are in our neighborhood where there are major, ongoing violations that are contributing to the criminal behaviors in this area. These properties along with the properties that I mentioned yesterday need attention ASAP! We were making rounds in the area Monday morning from 10-11 5/28/2007 and needless to say no more.

It is obvious that people are not following through or not doing their job from the start. In one incident it is definitely not following through because there is already a code sub-standard paper posted on the front door dated a year ago. If neither are true then we have a problem somewhere else in our system. If the property owner was told about this property over a year ago about having a sub-standard structure then why is the city allowing someone take this long to rectify the problem before going ahead and abating the property. This property is located at 2407 East Lancaster, it is an open structure with people living inside. This structure needs nothing short of being demolished. I can not see this property every being refurbished. A vacant property is much more safe then what is there now. I think it is time the city either makes the property owner tear it down or abate the property. One or the other! Lets get this property off the face of Lancaster.

2451 East Lancaster, US Tires this is a vacant business, with a sofa out in front. When we were riding the neighborhood there was someone sleeping on it. When we drove past he was looking at us like why are we driving through his bedroom, while several police cars were through the area no one bothered to stop to move him along. We sure know how to make the streets a comfortable place to live here in Fort Worth.

2403 East Lancaster, A blind person could see the violations on this property. This property appears to have two sections to it side by side. There are weeds that are as tall as the building. There are signs on both buildings with the name Balley on them although they look like different businesses. These building are also open structures. There are also people living in them. I think this is the building that they get in through the air duct system.

Thank you
Mike Phipps


By Mike Phipps

Problems on Hudson & Bomar Cont.

Cont. from Problems on Hudson & Bomar

There is also a property at 2220 Bomar that is an open structure and I would believe a sub-standard structure as well. This property is at the corner of 2200 Hudson and 2400 Bomar.
This structure also looks as though it should be torn down

We went for a walk today as well into the one property that I believe is 2313 Bomar. This is one property that is owned by the city. This property must be torn down. This is a totally open structure and by no means will ever be refurbished. It is nothing but a drug hole. On the front it carries the notice. ''Get off of the block if your not on the rock'' I am sure you could think of some other way to take it but, I am sure my thoughts are correct that it is referring to drugs. There are chunks of chore-boy on the ground, (used for crack pipes) there are so many empty disposable lighters on the ground (used for cooking drugs and lighting crack pipes) along with syringes. This is the same building that I mentioned in my e-mail yesterday with the ''drive in motel'' Tear the building down.

I don't understand why it takes someone like us to point these problems out. We drive this neighborhood for one hour and find all these problems. There are paid (by tax dollars) public servants in these areas everyday, all day, all night.... why are these problems going unreported? No matter if its code, policing, streets, street lights whatever the situation. Why can our city employees not report problems over to other city departments to get problems fixed? I understand there may be other things to do that carry a higher priority, but it doesn't take but a second to write down the addresses and report the violations. Everyone that I talk to knows the area, why has it become this type of area? I'll tell you why, Because people are not doing ALL that they can do!

There is NO reason why police officers should not be reporting these properties and act as a major key to informing other departments within this city to get this side of town cleaned out. These problems may not start out being a police problems, but when the problems go unreported the properties only bring about criminal activity. Fix the broken windows.


NOTE;
Please get back with me as soon as possible of all action that will be done and when regarding the issues in this e-mail and the issues within the e-mail that I sent yesterday. I am going to present our neighborhood association (WMNA) West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association and the Eastside Sector Alliance of what is being done to clear this area up. We keep hearing that you are going to help us and we keep sending information so until we start seeing a change we are going to want to hear from you on what is being accomplished.



By Mike Phipps

Eastside Needs Help

I was also out this morning and ran into Mike and Eddie. I really appreciate their tenacity in looking into problems that face our part of the city. I also witnessed all of the problems related by Mike and also witnessed the police officer just taking the beggars to the back streets of the shelter area and letting them go. They immediately started walking back toward the freeway, presumably to beg again. Why not, there is not price to be paid for breaking the law. I also witnessed people sleeping on the sidewalks and in the closed storefronts.

As for the open structures, we have complained, complained and then more. I agree with the Eastside Sector Alliance. We seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out how to force rental registration, while we have huge problems now.....AND we already have the tools to correct the problems.

We just don't have the commitment from the people who can correct the problems.

Perhaps instead of buying apartments in a country club neighborhood (Woodhaven), we should be spending that money correcting problems much worse in other parts of the city! Instead of spending $500 thousand per year on lobbyists would could spend some of that tearing down substandard structures.

Even more strange is that we have MILLIONS for new development incentives, but not much for our most blighted areas.

Louis McBee


By Louis Mcbee

Ruining the quality of life

To All,

These are the problems we went to council to point out. Over and over we tried to say that these are criminal offenses which are ruining the quality of life in our neighborhoods. Is nobody listening? We, as citizens, can't make policy, nor can we enact ordinances. We don't have the power to make these bad actors behave. What do we do then? We don't have the answers, and it seems that our city government doesn't care as long as it's not happening in their neck of the woods. We have identified the problems. Where now?
Wanda


By Wanda