sketchy neighbours

My turn to jump on the 'neighbour rant' train.

I have written about these people before.

We are in a lower middle class neighbourhood. It is nice and generally quiet. It is obvious not that long ago it was part of the hood which admittedly isn't so far away. It however is going through a gentrification process rather quickly. Homes are being spruced up, others renovated, and yet others are being replaced with infills (a dump being torn down and replaced with an entirely new building). We live in such a home. I like my home and for the most part I enjoy living here.

But there is always 'that' house in a neighborhood no matter how affluent the community is....

So I have mentioned the place across the street. I won't detail the story yet again. The short version is that it is a drug house. People come and go. The intoxicated and strung out stumble out to the street. An on occasion there is violence spilling out into the block - including a while back a guy waving about an assault rifle. The police have the place on their radar yet never seem to arrest anyone despite constant visits. The closest thing to something being done is that it has now come under the scrutinization of a community watch association - one manned by volunteers ex-police officers. They ultimately have the ability to evict someone - even a home owner. I just wish they would get on with it.

Activity came to a near stop over the cold months yet it has ramped up again in recent weeks as the weather warms. I have seen in the last several days several cars on the street damaged as what imagine to be intoxicated individuals side swiped and rear end and drive into parked cars. The cycle of people making quick stops at the house for drug exchanges and fights on the lawn has begun again.

Normally I would report such things - especially the hit and runs as I can identify the vehicles involved. But I am scared to get involved. Again, frustrating.

So I don't know what more I can do other than to ultimately move - which would be a shame. I am also maddened - how dare these people put me in such a position!

So, I don't know if there is much you all can help with. I just needed a place to vent. I do always appreciate your suggestions.

If it were me, I'd film the drug busts you can see from inside your house with your cellphone camera, THEN send those video clips to your local news media. Sometimes, public attention like that is the only way to get the attention of politicians (your local state governor, city mayor, police chief) and force their hand; if they don't do something, the public scrutiny will follow which they don't want to deal with.

Bad neighbors are like the Herpes virus; you can treat it but it will always come back when you're stressed out.

I would be careful to separate my emotional feelings of irritation from taking action. The first lesson that I learned from living in many such neighbourhoods is not to make myself a target, unless direct aggression makes it impossible to do otherwise. If you want to take action, then do it with the community police or some such group at your back.

If no one is bothering you directly, then let them be, and have patience. What goes around does eventually come around: that's a second rule of the hood.
It's good that your neighbourhood is going up in the world. At least that means that this one house isn't going to take it down.

OMG I LOVE this quote!

Quote:

Bad neighbors are like the Herpes virus; you can treat it but it will always come back when you're stressed out.

What you described is really scary to have to cope with right where you live.

I wonder if you can somehow deal with the owner of the house. Not you, by yourself, of course. I’d look up on the tax records for your county who the owner is. I’d bet it is owned by some absent owner. Or maybe it’s in foreclosure. Are the drug dealers inside squatters? Possibly the HUD Housing Urban Development could help you, at least answer your questions about what to do.

I'm so sorry you're going through all of this, WishfulThinker66! I completely understand what you mean! I completely agree with what all the wonderful people on this thread have already wisely said better than I ever could! You've been given lots of great, wonderful advice on this thread! I'd suggest to follow it if you can! I understand it must be a pretty scary situation! Whether you want to get involved or not is your decision! The final decision is up to you! I'll respect your decision whathever it is! Perhaps you could try to make an anonymous call to the police or your mayor or whoever may be able to help you if you can! I believe you DON'T have to reveal your identity when you're making anonymous calls like this! That's just my opinion though! I may be completely wrong! I'd suggest to try to get as much information as you can about this if you DO decide to do all of this! I'm so sorry you're going through all of this! I understand it must be pretty difficult for all of you to live like this! I'd be VERY scared as well! Perhaps you could ALL come together and try to find some way to deal with all of this! I'm sure you're not the only one who's bothered by all of this and who's compliaining! I'd suggest to talk to your other neighbors about this and see how it goes from there if you haven't already! Hopefully they will be able to help you! I hope things will get better soon for ALL of you! I'm so sorry you have to deal with all of this, WishfulThinker66!

Lolz I couldn't help myself. I've always viewed bad neighbors like a nasty virus. That you can deal with them and even think you've rid yourself and your neighborhood of them, but more bad neighbors are there waiting to move in around the corner.

Thx everyone!

This SCAN organisation (Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods) has made contact with me. The police have gotten them involved. The police say their hands are tied. They need to catch what is going on in the act and claim not to have the man power to conduct round the clock surveillance. This I guess is where the SCAN people come in. They are former police and peace officers. The guy I talked with said I shouldn't even realise they are there watching. He also said not to get involved even though it seems the right thing to do. Ultimately they can evict or remove a tenant or building owner from the premises. In this case it is the home owner conducting this activity. So I guess I sit tight apparently.

Yep. Sit tight. You've done what you are required to do - reporting it to SCAN. Let them take control of the situation now and just do your best to ignore your bad neighbor. I lived in a neighborhood by a public park and the city police used my apt bldg's steps to sit their perps on, handcuffed. It was very shocking to see when I'd come home from grad school night classes, criminals handcuffed on my bldg's front steps, and police officers radioing for backup or whatever. That's the vibe of that neighborhood - high crime - despite being located next to a beautiful public park. I put up with that and more for 3 years; gangs shooting at each other, peeing on my bldg, keying our cars, beating each other up. It was stressful but b/c the rent was cheap and I was a grad student I put up with it. Glad i moved out of that neighborhood years ago. If you love your neighborhood and don't want to move, sit tight and be patient. But if can afford to move out of that area, then go for it.

well I see you have 2 options: complain to pd or just ignore everything & move. basically now pd is involved or the homeowner group. so my suggestion is if you see something illegal complain, because homeowner group can not be everywhere all the time. yes they say they have eyes on the place, but a well placed call is always welcome. if it's something bad and it's illegal and damaging property well "see something do something"..the next property damaged might be yours. if you value the community taker some pride un less you have already decided that this "house is full of those people" who are full of issues.

WisherfulThinker, does your area have a Tip line? It's an 800 number you can call to make anonymous reports of illegal activity.

Yes we have one of those. My direct line to SCAN though gets a more immediate response.

There was some sort of frackus about last night. Cars are still parked askew on the street and there are beer cans and liquor bottles - and worse - strewn about. I called 911 about that which is what we've been instructed to do so they can send someone out to pick up needles and drug stuff.