PHILADELPHIA -
A minor construction project has produced a major eyesore in Philadelphia's Crescentville section.
It was supposed to become a retaining wall. But the project is stalled, and neighbors called us for help.
The 140-foot-long trench is along the 5200 block of Howland Street, and folks have been forced to look at this mess for the past nine months, FOX 29's Bruce Gordon reported.
Back in December, the Adams and Tabor Shopping Center contracted for a concrete retaining wall to be built at the edge of their parking lot.
Now, the trench sits across the street from Edward Shaw's tidy brick rowhome on Howland.
"Once they dug this hole, it just sat," Shaw said.
The fencing around the trench became an easel for local graffiti artists.
Inside, a nasty stew of filthy water...discarded trash...and weeds as tall as Shaw himself!
"I'm hoping this whole stuff gets straightened out and my block gets put back together," Shaw said. "… I mean, this was a beautiful neighborhood when I bought this house in '94."
Gordon reported the site to the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections and then tracked down the shopping center's manager. T.C. Yung did not want to talk on camera.
Off-camera, he admitted permit problems with the Streets Department had stalled the project, but he promised work would begin again within the next week.
Shaw will be counting the hours.
"Would you buy a house with this in the middle of the block?" Shaw asked. "I mean, this stuff holds the neighborhood hostage. You talk about property values going down, they're killing my whole neighborhood!"
Gordon has been promised work on the retaining wall will get underway within a week.
But an L&I spokeswoman said that under a state law designed to help construction projects stalled by the tough economy, the permit extension granted to this project last month is good until 2016.
We'll keep you posted.
