CLEVELAND — Neighbors in Cleveland’s Slavic Village are upset about a home in their community.
“I want my neighborhood back,” said one concerned Slavic Village resident. “I want to be able to feel secure.”
Frustrations are growing for families living in Cleveland’s Slavic Village.
“Something has to be done. Somebody needs to step up the plate and take responsibility,” said one concerned Slavic Village resident.
This house at 3585 Beyerle Road has neighbors, who didn’t want to reveal their faces and names, on edge and scared.
They say the house should be empty – but there are piles of trash outside and a big RV out front.
The previous owner died, and now her estate owes nearly $65,000 in back taxes.
Following delinquency, the sheriff’s department failed to sell the property, twice, and since 2019, it’s been in state forfeiture.
Frank Ford, who’s the Senior Policy Advisor at the Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research, says this isn’t uncommon when a property is this run down.
“If there were no bidders to sheriff's sales, that makes it even more likely that the property was in bad shape,” said Frank Ford.
The residents, along with Slavic Village’s Executive Director Christopher Alvarado, say they’ve voiced their safety and health concerns to Cleveland’s Building and Housing Department because they believe the home is being illegally occupied.
“We’re pushing folks at the city level to say this is a problem,” said Christopher Alvarado.
But at the time of our interview, they say they hadn’t seen much progress.
“I’ve spoke to the mayor directly at a town hall meeting with building and housing there and the mayor asking, pleading for someone to please go in there,” said a concerned Slavic Village resident.
News Five’s Remi Murrey reached out to Building and Housing Director Sally Martin earlier this week to see where the process stood.
In an email, she says the city submitted a warrant request to their law department last Friday for review— which happens to be the same day we met with Alvarado and those concerned residents.
Once this process is complete – Martin says it will then move onto the court.
“If it's an occupied property, there needs to be a search warrant,” said Ford.
Ford says often times people believe because a property is in state forfeiture, the city’s hands are tied because the title is held by the state.
He says you can still take action by calling your local community development corporation, your councilperson or your building and housing department and registering a compliant about the property.
As for the home on Beyerle, Ford is hopeful Martin will get the job done.
“If she has initiated that process, I'm sure she's going to stay on top of it,” said Ford.
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