(WXYZ) — After years of neglect and illegal trash dumping at a vacant Detroit apartment complex, the city came back on Tuesday for another cleanup effort.
Watch Simon Shaykhet's video report:
We first showed you Detroiters sounding the alarm for help and accountability for the property owners on Monday. Those owners are now on the radar of city leaders, who are promising a permanent solution.
On Tuesday, I returned to the complex on the city's west side to see the cleanup up close and to get answers from the city about why this neighborhood nuisance has dragged on for so long.
Board by board, Detroit's general services department workers hauled off trash from outside the vacant apartment building at Greenfield and Grove.
Detroiters I talked to expressed appreciation for those who were there to properly secure the building that's changed hands multiple times.
Frank Mathis, who lives nearby, also brought his own tools to pitch in and make a difference.
“Don’t take but a few of us to change this," he said. “It makes me proud. My mayor addressed this. It’s something where the city, this is a call for action.”
After calling the city when I first came out on Monday and hearing that something would be done right away, I wanted to follow through and make sure the city kept its word.
Watch below: Past coverage on neglect, illegal dumping at vacant Detroit apartment leaving neighbors frustrated
I also worked to track down the property owner and visited their last known address, but got no response. I followed up next with Detroit General Services Director Crystal Perkins.
“We have been out here. Cleaned three additional times in August, September and February," Perkins said.
The Detroit Law Department said this property has been attracting illegal trash dumping and people squatting for months. I asked how many blight tickets they've issued, but I'm told the city did not have that information available.
However, Perkins said the tickets they have been issued total close to $100,000, and the fines don't disappear just because the property changed hands.
“This area been messed up for a while. I want to say months and years. They say different owners own the building," neighbor Reggie Hall said.
The head of the law department told me owners will be called to court to explain why the building has remained int his condition. The city plans to file a lawsuit this week and an official court hearing is expected within 14 days.
