This house has been the subject of interest from the neighborhood for almost 4 years. The owners are also responsible for the mess on the first block of Apple St.. They are, repeat offenders.

2 days ago the house collapsed. The owners had tried to obtain a FEMA funded demolition, sometimes called Free Demo, free because the owner does not pay but the taxpayer does. And not only does the taxpayer pay, the City pays as well in the loss of a viable home and the illusion of recovery money. Those costs will be treated as dollars spent towards the recovery, even if it is a bulldozer and a guy with a hose.

So the neighborhood requested that the owners repair the house, or at the very least clean out the flooded contents. Almost 4 years later..the moldering contents still sit..because they never lifted one finger to clean out the house. Nor repair the roof which FEMA was unable to tarp because of the slate tiles.

It would seem that the damage to the roof allowed water to enter the house and eventually the damage created a weakness which led to the house collapse. Since the front door was never secured there also may have been some “help” in creating a situation where the house was encouraged to collapse.

There is more to come on this story…….