ABANDONED HOUSES, VACANT LOTS, MOUNTAINS OF TRASH -- CITY OF MIAMI PLEASE ADDRESS THIS NEGLECT

THE HISTORIC SHENANDOAH NEIGHBORHOOD DESERVES BETTER THAN MESS CREATED BY ABSENTEE OWNERS AND SPECULATORS 

I love the city of Miami. It breaks my heart, but I must go public with 8 images the depict a total collapse of government services. My Shenandoah neighborhood is filled with vacant houses and trash. The house pictured above has been abandoned at SW 13 St and SW 23 Avenue for years.  

A wealthy architect bought the house next door to us, as a speculator, then proceeded to violate the ethics of his profession doing illegal dismantling. The city has posted citations, but nothing has happened. We deserve better than the mess pictured above.

This monstrosity (photo above) on SW 23rd Avenue at SW 14 St has festered for years. It always has a ton of trash. When the city allows buildings to linger abandoned, dangerous and decaying – it signals illegal dumpers & worse that it’s open season to destroy the neighborhood.

The person who lives (outdoors on the lot pictured above) allowed his family home to fall down around him -- until it was razed as an unsafe structure years ago. He camps out and does all bodily functions out in the open. He earns money illegally parking commercial vehicles at his shanty town.

This lot (image above) on SW 14th St, just south of our home would be nice for affordable housing– but it has been allowed to grow up like a jungle since the house was razed. The COVID pandemic is no excuse for allowing this filth and ruin in our working-class neighborhood.

A mountain of trash (sad image above) on an alley immediately south of historic William Jennings Bryan Park. We have done tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of roof, window and other improvements - -by permit – and paid off our 100-year-old home. Our reward – nothing but neglect.

Tires (see above) brazenly and illegally dumped in front of Bryan Park. When you have a half dozen vacant houses/lots and do nothing to punish speculators from illegal demolition – you get a neighborhood so decimated, that people start to dump garbage right on your little park where kids play. 

Mattress, filth--drawing rodents, worse–dumped at weed-strewn vacant lot near our home (repugnant photo of neglect above). Miami officials: Where is the sense of duty to community? My guess is instead of addressing this, city will send code enforcement to retaliate against us with trumped up charges.