CLEVELAND — There is progress in Slavic Village as a nuisance home that neighbors have been living with for years might finally be coming down.
“Thank you again Channel 5 News, you have no idea. You have no idea,” said a concerned Slavic Village resident.
For the last several years, the home at 3585 Beyerle Road has left a Slavic Village resident, who didn’t want to reveal her face and name, scared and on edge.
Neighbors tried to voice safety and health concerns to Cleveland’s Building and Housing Department but felt like they weren’t being heard.
“We were at our wits ends. We went to every avenue that we could go to,” the resident said.
That’s when News 5’s Remi Murrey reached out to see what she could do to help this community, and within several days of us airing their story last Friday, there is progress to report.
On Wednesday, Cleveland Police evicted those who are suspected of illegally occupying the property since 2019.
“The neighborhood wants to give a special thanks to Channel 5 News and our reporter Remi for the terrific story they did, what took four years for us to do, they did probably in less than a week,” said the resident.
Lugging a wagon full of clothes and other personal belongings, the alleged squatters told News 5 off-camera they planned to buy the home from the original owner’s husband.
But when she died, she owed about $65,000 in back taxes so the state took custody of her house.
“This should not have happened, and it should have not gone on this long,” said the resident.
Now, the house has been vacated, boarded up and the utilities are now shut off — the next step is to the county land bank.
In an email, President and General Counsel Gus Frangos said they plan to send an assessor out to verify it’s empty, do a title exam and then eventually acquire it for demolition.
“We got it resolved and I hope we don’t have to do that again, and I hope we send a message out to any other person who thinks they can come back in this neighborhood and do the same thing, because we’re on top of it,” the resident said.
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