Senator Klein and Country Club Civic get cleanup done on foreclosed property

Senator Klein and Country Club Civic get cleanup done on foreclosed property
Photo courtesy of Senator Klein’s office

A once proud home was the subject of a major community clean up recently.

After intervention from the Country Club Civic Association, which reached out Senator Jeff Klein’s office, overgrown shrubbery and a Dumpster were removed from the location at Stadium Avenue and Country Club Road.

According to neighbors, a real estate firm, the latest owner of this sadly neglected home, is planning to resell the property.

In the process of cleaning up the site at 1349 Stadium Avenue, the 15-foot high hedges lining the property were yanked out and debris from the house, which had been a growing concern of CCCA members, has been removed.

“Abandoned, blighted properties often serve as not only an eyesore, but a breeding ground for criminal activity and illicit behavior,” said Klein. “Cleaning up our neighborhoods and ensuring these ‘zombie’ homes don’t drive down property values is critical to protecting the quality of life in our communities.”

The house on Stadium Avenue has sat vacant for years with no foreseeable sale in sight, and the CCCA has received numerous complaints as to the appearance of the property, said Michael McNerney, CCCA president.

McNerney said that his group reached out to a management company they believed to be responsible for the location, but that turned into a dead end. The group then reached out to Senator Kein’s office.

“Senator Klein’s office was able to contact the current bank or management company,” said McNerney. “They removed all the shrubbery that was encroaching upon the sidewalk and creating an unaesthetic look in our community.”

In addition, McNerney said, a company called Citizens International Realty, has put the property up for sale, a major plus since many CCCA members believe that no advertising has been done regarding the property in the years that it sat vacant.

A call to the realty company did not yield a comment as of press time.

Neighbor Victor DiPierro, said that he has caught teenagers having sex behind the bushes, as well as drug activity.

He was also glad to see the property cleared, and was particular disturbed to see how long a refuse Dumpster sat on the property. It was recently removed, but it sat there for over a month, attracting people searching for scrap metal.

“It has been a problem for the neighbors on Stadium Avenue for about six years,” said DiPierro. “It was like a cancer getting worse and worse. We just hope someone purchases the property who has an interest in the neighborhood and beautifies it.”

Local activist John Provetto, who himself had trimmed some of the bushes in front of the house before it was cleaned by its owner, said that the eyesore property is unusual because there are very few vacant or abandoned buildings in Country Club.

Properties like the one at 1349 Stadium Avenue can be troublesome because they oftentimes can attract squatters, he said, if they remain vacant for too long of a time.

Provetto said that he believes if the property were renovated, it would make an impression because it is at a key location in the community.

Reach Reporter Patrick Rocchio at (718) 260–4597. E-mail him at procchio@cnglocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @patrickfrocchio.