Re: [Highland Park] Abandoned Houses postings
The rape on Stanton Avenue occurred w/in 2 blocks of my home and areas where I travel by foot and car quite frequently. It is a terrible crime and my thoughts go out to the young woman who survived it, her family and her friends who are no doubt attempting to be supportive of her while dealing with their own shock and traumatic grief. However, what I have seen in response on this email list amounts to a witch hunt. No one knew there was a potential rapist in the neighborhood until after the fact, but now we are equating abandoned buildings w/ rape. We need to be vigilant in our neighborhoods every day, and try not to succumb to being unproductively reactionary after a crime has occurred. It's a natural response to our fear and surprise, but it does more harm than good. Assuming the correct assailant has been arrested, the young man who is accused of this terrible crime happened to also be homeless and squatting. This does not mean that sqatters are rapists. It does not mean that squatters are dangerous. It means that we have among us in our neighborhoods a population of people who are homeless. If structures are unstable, then they need to be removed. This is for the safety of the neighborhood, but it is also for the safety of squatters. If structures are stable, then they need to be addressed: reclaimed, repossessed, rennovated, repurposed, etc. If people in our neighborhood are homeless, they need our compassion, empathy, and help. People don't become homeless because they want to, and it is very difficult to reverse homelessness once it has occurred. Did you know that it is nearly impossible to secure valid employment w/out a permanent address? It is very difficult to maintain a wardrobe, do laundry, or maintain personal cleanliness while homeless. Therefore, people who are homeless also have great difficulty maintaining employment they may have had before becoming homeless. Please be cautious in the language used in your responses. People, structures, and crimes are three different topics of conversation that may be interrelated, but do not by default have cause-and-effect relationships. Please don't forget that we are not only a neighborhood of beautiful historic homes and tree lined streets, but also a community of compassionate caring people.
I’m sorry, I’m not seeing the ‘witch hunt’ described in a previous posting. I agree that language should be used with thought, especially when referring to people and the connotations certain language carries. However, I’m not reading here that anyone is denigrating homeless people or equating abandoned buildings with rape. The fact IS that abandoned buildings notoriously present opportunity for activities such as drug use/trafficking, theft, arson and assault to occur. Not that this is new. But it seems that abandoned buildings have increasingly become problematic. I’m sure you’ve read of the 11-year old girl was abducted and raped in an abandoned house in Greenfield. This just happened in May. The man who committed the assault was not homeless; he was a resident. But, according to the Post-Gazette, he was hanging out and drinking on the abandoned property. Also recently, in sections of Sheridan and New Castle, residents have, basically, been terrorized by a string of fires set in abandoned houses in those neighborhoods. Firefighters and police having to enter neglected buildings are also in danger; one firefighter responding to a suspected-arson in New Castle noted [in the Post-Gazette] “…with the intensity of the fires and the structural damage, it wouldn't take much for a floor to collapse or a wall to come down." Residents of any neighborhood should certainly be vigilant, but an ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure – if these properties are secured (or removed), then there is no access to them. That would be a more proactive approach. Personally, I would prefer to see a home renovated rather than destroyed. Still, either option needs to be done in a reasonable amount of time. People’s safety and well-being is more important! Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2009 11:56:50 -0700 From: msranders@yahoo.com Subject: Re: [Highland Park] Abandoned Houses postings To: neighborhood@highlandparkpa.com The rape on Stanton Avenue occurred w/in 2 blocks of my home and areas where I travel by foot and car quite frequently. It is a terrible crime and my thoughts go out to the young woman who survived it, her family and her friends who are no doubt attempting to be supportive of her while dealing with their own shock and traumatic grief. However, what I have seen in response on this email list amounts to a witch hunt. No one knew there was a potential rapist in the neighborhood until after the fact, but now we are equating abandoned buildings w/ rape. We need to be vigilant in our neighborhoods every day, and try not to succumb to being unproductively reactionary after a crime has occurred. It's a natural response to our fear and surprise, but it does more harm than good. Assuming the correct assailant has been arrested, the young man who is accused of this terrible crime happened to also be homeless and squatting. This does not mean that sqatters are rapists. It does not mean that squatters are dangerous. It means that we have among us in our neighborhoods a population of people who are homeless. If structures are unstable, then they need to be removed. This is for the safety of the neighborhood, but it is also for the safety of squatters. If structures are stable, then they need to be addressed: reclaimed, repossessed, rennovated, repurposed, etc. If people in our neighborhood are homeless, they need our compassion, empathy, and help. People don't become homeless because they want to, and it is very difficult to reverse homelessness once it has occurred. Did you know that it is nearly impossible to secure valid employment w/out a permanent address? It is very difficult to maintain a wardrobe, do laundry, or maintain personal cleanliness while homeless. Therefore, people who are homeless also have great difficulty maintaining employment they may have had before becoming homeless. Please be cautious in the language used in your responses. People, structures, and crimes are three different topics of conversation that may be interrelated, but do not by default have cause-and-effect relationships. Please don't forget that we are not only a neighborhood of beautiful historic homes and tree lined streets, but also a community of compassionate caring people.
Bearing in mind that I have read only a few of the emails pertaining to this issue, I think that if somebody wants to sexually assault someone, they're going to do it whether or not there's an abandoned house available. This sexual assault didn't happen in an abandoned home. Tearing down every abandoned home in or around Highland Park won't solve the problems of homelessness OR sexual assault. To my knowledge, nobody was talking about tearing down abandoned homes until this incident. Now it seems to be the cure-all because people are scared. All it will do is push any "squatters" into a new neighborhood... which doesn't solve the squatters' problems. I'm not an expert on anything, but what I have seen come through my inbox (for years) is a lot of talk about "rule following" and in essence "getting rid of the bad people and bad things". However, I don't know anybody who grew up saying they wanted to commit crimes. I wonder who is willing to reach out, be friendly, and even help those who may be desperate enough to consider such measures? In my experience, it is an ounce of KINDNESS that goes further than anything, and in turn builds safer, more vibrant communities. I don't write this to be critical, but to say what I see (and get on my idealistic soap box). If I am mistaken (which happens once in a while!), then I will have to eat my words.
There is a need to compile a list of all vacant and/or abandoned houses in Highland Park. The status of these houses is useful in moving forward with whatever action needs to be taken. The action could be as simple as speaking to the real estate company handling the property, reporting it to Building Inspection (at Zone 5 two days a week), etc. This list should include those houses for sale, those in the process of renovation, foreclosure, etc. I'll begin with a vacant house in the 6200 block of Wellesley Avenue that is presently on the market listed with Howard Hanna. The house is secure and posing no threat. It is being shown on a regular basis. Another vacant house is in the 1000 block of North Sheridan. It's in foreclosure. It appears secure and the present owners are being responsible in keeping the grounds in fair condition. What else is out there and what is the status of the building? This is gathering information for the maintenance and development of the community. This is a responsibility we can all commit to. Maureen D. Cato ----- Original Message ----- From: "alycia knauer" <avcknauer@hotmail.com> To: msranders@yahoo.com, neighborhood@highlandparkpa.com Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 11:44:54 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [Highland Park] Abandoned houses I’m sorry, I’m not seeing the ‘witch hunt’ described in a previous posting. I agree that language should be used with thought, especially when referring to people and the connotations certain language carries. However, I’m not reading here that anyone is denigrating homeless people or equating abandoned buildings with rape. The fact IS that abandoned buildings notoriously present opportunity for activities such as drug use/trafficking, theft, arson and assault to occur. Not that this is new. But it seems that abandoned buildings have increasingly become problematic. I’m sure you’ve read of the 11-year old girl was abducted and raped in an abandoned house in Greenfield. This just happened in May. The man who committed the assault was not homeless; he was a resident. But, according to the Post-Gazette, he was hanging out and drinking on the abandoned property. Also recently, in sections of Sheridan and New Castle, residents have, basically, been terrorized by a string of fires set in abandoned houses in those neighborhoods. Firefighters and police having to enter neglected buildings are also in danger; one firefighter responding to a suspected-arson in New Castle noted [in the Post-Gazette] “…with the intensity of the fires and the structural damage, it wouldn't take much for a floor to collapse or a wall to come down." Residents of any neighborhood should certainly be vigilant, but an ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure – if these properties are secured (or removed), then there is no access to them . That would be a more proactive approach. Personally, I would prefer to see a home renovated rather than destroyed. Still, either option needs to be done in a reasonable amount of time. People’s safety and well-being is more important! Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2009 11:56:50 -0700 From: msranders@yahoo.com Subject: Re: [Highland Park] Abandoned Houses postings To: neighborhood@highlandparkpa.com The rape on Stanton Avenue occurred w/in 2 blocks of my home and areas where I travel by foot and car quite frequently. It is a terrible crime and my thoughts go out to the young woman who survived it, her family and her friends who are no doubt attempting to be supportive of her while dealing with their own shock and traumatic grief. However, what I have seen in response on this email list amounts to a witch hunt. No one knew there was a potential rapist in the neighborhood until after the fact, but now we are equating abandoned buildings w/ rape. We need to be vigilant in our neighborhoods every day, and try not to succumb to being unproductively reactionary after a crime has occurred. It's a natural response to our fear and surprise, but it does more harm than good. Assuming the correct assailant has been arrested, the young man who is accused of this terrible crime happened to also be homeless and squatting. This does not mean that sqatters are rapists. It does not mean that squatters are dangerous. It means that we have among us in our neighborhoods a population of people who are homeless. If structures are unstable, then they need to be removed. This is for the safety of the neighborhood, but it is also for the safety of squatters. If structures are stable, then they need to be addressed: reclaimed, repossessed, rennovated, repurposed, etc. If people in our neighborhood are homeless, they need our compassion, empathy, and help. People don't become homeless because they want to, and it is very difficult to reverse homelessness once it has occurred. Did you know that it is nearly impossible to secure valid employment w/out a permanent address? It is very difficult to maintain a wardrobe, do laundry, or maintain personal cleanliness while homeless. Therefore, people who are homeless also have great difficulty maintaining employment they may have had before becoming homeless. Please be cautious in the language used in your responses. People, structures, and crimes are three different topics of conversation that may be interrelated, but do not by default have cause-and-effect relationships. Please don't forget that we are not only a neighborhood of beautiful historic homes and tree lined streets, but also a community of compassionate caring people. --
I'm not an expert either, but removing these dilapidated structures is important for many reasons. Eliminating places for homeless squatters to stay is only one reason; others include increasing surrounding property values and eliminating dangerous places where adventurous children can get injured, among many others. I am *NOT* saying that homeless people are dangerous, nor am I saying that compassion should not be shown. The arguments about this being some sort of witch-hunt can be applied to any solution presented in the wake of a tragedy such as we have witnessed in Highland Park. But let me ask this: If neighborly compassion is, in fact the answer, why wasn't anyone reaching out the homeless prior to the sexual assault? The answer: because it often (unfortunately) takes an extreme example of its consequences to mobilize people against a problem. "Being friendly" is not a cure for all of the problems facing our neighborhood. This seems to be a fairly common reaction among Highland Park residents, and while I admire the fact that one can look beyond one's own anger and outrage at the crimes committed, I think it is naive and dangerous to assume that the solution is so simple. Is anyone planning to go around to the abandoned buildings and invite any squatters to the next meeting of the Highland Park book club? Or maybe you will share summer recipe ideas with them? These are neighborly things to do, aren't they? While you are at it (since you seem willing to endanger yourself for the good of the community) would you mind offering some lemonade to the bands of teenagers who like to harass Highland Park residents after the pool closes? Maybe you can also organize a bake sale with whomever was stealing bicycles a few months back? Clearly, I joke, but I mean to illustrate the point that sometimes people are going to commit acts of violence in ways that can not be prevented by simple kindness. There are people out there who will commit crimes regardless of their standing in the community, regardless of the pool of victims available to them. The type of person who would commit the type of crime in question may not the best person to try to reach out to. I will admit that there is a small chance that you might help the situation. However, I would suggest that it is at least as likely that your compassion will be viewed as weakness or in so doing, you may paint a much larger bullseye on yourself. Whatever you choose to do in your attempt to enrich the community, please, please consider that not everyone you meet will take kindly to your well-meaning outreach. Be careful on the streets of Highland Park. I say this to you as I do to my own family. We may take pride in our community, but please don't forget that we live in a large city and we are not immune to the effects of crime- whether they come from within our neighborhood or not. On Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 10:23 PM, Jessica Sutara <jmsutara@verizon.net>wrote:
Bearing in mind that I have read only a few of the emails pertaining to this issue, I think that if somebody wants to sexually assault someone, they’re going to do it whether or not there’s an abandoned house available. This sexual assault didn’t happen in an abandoned home. Tearing down every abandoned home in or around Highland Park won’t solve the problems of homelessness OR sexual assault. To my knowledge, nobody was talking about tearing down abandoned homes until this incident. Now it seems to be the cure-all because people are scared. All it will do is push any “squatters” into a new neighborhood... which doesn’t solve the squatters’ problems.
I’m not an expert on anything, but what I have seen come through my inbox (for years) is a lot of talk about “rule following” and in essence “getting rid of the bad people and bad things”. However, I don’t know anybody who grew up saying they wanted to commit crimes. I wonder who is willing to reach out, be friendly, and even help those who may be desperate enough to consider such measures? In my experience, it is an ounce of KINDNESS that goes further than anything, and in turn builds safer, more vibrant communities.
I don’t write this to be critical, but to say what I see (and get on my idealistic soap box). If I am mistaken (which happens once in a while!), then I will have to eat my words.
-- <http://lists.highlandparkpa.com/mailman/listinfo/neighborhood>
participants (5)
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alycia knauer
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cato6210@comcast.net
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Jessica Sutara
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Jim Banko
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msranders