NewsLocal News

Actions

Talkin' Trash: Neighborhood disappointed by DPW's cleanup of vacant lots

Cleanup.jpg
Posted at 5:31 PM, Jul 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-23 19:12:52-04

BALTIMORE — The job description isn't pretty, but DPW crews often do it without complaints and do their job flawlessly. However, neighbors in West Baltimore are taking into question a crew's recent response to a work order.

"I talked to one of the guys," said Tiffany Prince. "He explained to me that his orders were just to cut the grass, not to touch the pavement. Not to do anything else but to just cut the grass."

And cut the grass is all they appeared to do. No cleanup, just cut the grass.

The crew was on scene Thursday evening responding to complaints about city owned vacant lots in the 2200 block of North Ellamont Street. As WMAR 2 News has reported the lots have sat neglected, impacting neighbor's quality of live."

"They came around five," said Martina Squire. "I was surprised they got here so fast. They were here for about two hours."

When crews left, the result was less than perfect.

"It looks like I did it myself," said Squire. "I know you can't do a lot in that time frame, but it definitely looks like I did it myself."

While grateful the overgrowth was trimmed, clippings still litter the sidewalk on Ellamont Street.

"No one can access them," said one neighbor. "You can't even tell the sidewalk is there."

Tiffany Prince tells WMAR 2 News a worker told her the original crew was pulled from another location to do the job. She also said crews didn't have proper equipment."

"It's sad," she said. "You know what the job entails."

WMAR 2 News reached out to a DPW spokesperson alerting them of the issue.

"We just want them to do it right," said Squire. "Bottom line, I think the biggest thing is if we put forth the effort to maintain our communities and our own property, we just need them to do the same."