HOUSTON — An illegal dumping eyesore in the Near Northside neighborhood is finally being cleaned up. A Houston Super Neighborhood representative said it's the type of action you can get when community voices come together.
Community advocates said calling it a mess would be an understatement. They said junk has been piling up at the old Yellow Cab company building for nearly a year. And before that, they said vandals gutted the place. They said it’s been a journey, but they’re happy to see it finally getting cleaned up.
There were mounds of trash filling the property. It was a mess that was slowly removed but it wouldn’t have gotten that far without neighbors and Houston Super Neighborhood #51 board member Victoria Villanueva.
"It was sad. It’s sad. It’s disheartening to see this in a neighborhood that has so much life and character in it," she said.
For months, she, community agencies, and residents worked to bring attention to it. They eventually reached a point where they had enough.
"Us, as the community, as the neighbors, as the residents, it is our civic duty to do the right thing, and when you see something you say something," she said.
They started reaching out to the City of Houston and their district representative Mario Castillo to help point them in the right direction.
"The more folks that are calling 311 to report these issues the more attention is going to get from the city the more of a priority it’s going to be," Castillo said.
Now, their work is paying off. The city removed junk outside the gates and property owners have crews inside.
"It is a huge concern for the community," Castillo said.
Yellow Cab shuttered the building two and a half years ago. The property owner is waiting for an environmental quality test to be done before going through with a sale.
"It's sad and unfortunate to see the property in this condition,” said Mike Spear, a property representative.
He said he knew there were problems with theft and vandalism but didn't know the dumping had gotten as bad as it did.
"When we did [shuttered the building] everything was secure. The gates locked, boarded up doors, windows. Just as time went on people started breaking in cutting locks removing fence panels," Spear said.
He said people were arrested for trespassing, but patrols eventually stopped, so thieves took everything. He said people likely assumed it was abandoned and started dumping trash. Villanueva said she's happy to see progress and this shows what can be done together.
"It’s always going to take more than one person to get something done," Villanueva said.
Castillo said a lot of development is happening in the area and the lot will soon be low-income housing for seniors.