Blight, lot cleared hours after 2 On Your Side story airs
BATON ROUGE - Less than 24 hours after a 2 On Your Side story aired about a blighted property, the City-Parish cleans it up. The property is on River Road near West Roosevelt Street and has been a nuisance to neighbor Jackie Williams for the last seven years.
"It's really a blessing that it's finally getting done," said Williams.
The lot is owned by Alexander Twine, who moved out of the house years ago. Since, it's become overgrown with trees, weeds, and grass, and become a dumping ground for all sorts of items.
Tired of looking at it and smelling it, Williams contacted 2 On Your Side. The City-Parish was out at the property working bright and early Wednesday. They brought a large dump truck and heavy machinery to do the work.
"I was praising the Lord and thanking him for finally answering my prayers after seven years," she said.
The City-Parish has been out to the property before to clean up the blight, but not to this extent. The property owner, Twine, has been taken to blight court a few times. This last time he was given a deadline to clean up and time ran out. The clean-up bill will be put on Twine's property taxes at the end of the year.
The house on the lot will be inspected to determine if any further action needs to be taken.