North Central CAC

Hello,
This is a follow-up from a post that was made last year about 109 Seawell Ave. Since the City responded last year and closed the ticket, there has only been only 3-4 instances where someone comes to work on the house to improve its condition. I was fine with it until I noticed two different times that someone was checking out the house and investigating how to get into it. I know who owns the home and it was not the owner who was investigating the entry points. It was a man that frequently walks in the neighborhood with a black duffle bag who appears to be experiencing homelessness. I would much rather this man receive assistance to find a safe place to live and not have to find an abandoned house to shelter him. Please let me know if anything can be done to improve this structure. It has been abandoned and in disrepair since the tornado of 2011. Thank you for your time.

The Beauty Mall has caged in the sidewalks on their building. I think this could be a fire hazard as it impacts the egress from the building during an emergency. Additionally wood pallets are often left in the front of the building after shipments are received.

There are consistently two women that stand in front of these two new homes on Idlewild. One of them gets dropped off on the corner of Seawell and Edenton from different cars with male drivers multiple times this month. It has taken me a while to put it together, but when I saw her standing with another woman on Idlewild almost every day, it occured to me that she is a prostitute and/or drug dealer of some kind. We often get foot traffic from the business these women receive on Idlewild and there have been many instances of people who are drunk, peeing on the street, and indecent exposure from people headed to this location on Idlewild. On Seawell and Idlewild very close by this house, there are children who are often playing in the front yards. I would like to see this neighborhood become safe for children to play freely and without concern of prostitution or drugs. I plan to call the police and discuss the matter with RPD, but thought I would also post it here to see if anyone else is aware of the issue and can offer information. Thank you for your time. RPD is always incredibly responsive and quick to help solve issues in our neighborhood.

All down Blount Street from Peace to South Blount is infested with mosquitoes and cockroaches. Especially during humid and wet hot weeks like these.

I walked down Blount St. the other night and saw cockroaches scurry across the sidewalks. I probably counted over 10 in just a block (especially by the governors mansion and also a lot on Peace St. on the sidewalk to the left of krispy kreme). I realize there are probably infested houses/basements but there's got to be a way to keep them off the sidewalks. Not fun taking a date on a walk downtown and her seeing cockroaches everywhere she looks.

Also, I get out of my car to go inside (I live off of N Blount) and I can see SWARMS of mosquitoes. I thought they were gnats at first and I tried working on my car earlier today (ignoring the swarm 20 ft away) and after 10 minutes I realized I had 15+ mosquito bites already (literally looked down and had 10+ mosquitoes on my legs).

Why doesn't the city of Raleigh spray for bugs? Almost every other city I've ever lived in routinely has pest control. Now I pretty much am going to need to wear smelly bug spray as my cologne to keep the mosquitoes off me.

Oakwood Avenue has been closed with construction work on the sewers for about three months now. The people who live on Oakwood Avenue have not been informed of the changes to the road closures. We have been very patient with the changing construction site, the noise, the hours, and with the lack of communication. However, our patience is wearing thin. Parking availability changes regularly without notice. Large sections of the street are ripped up, dusty, and muddy. Can the city please let those of us who have patiently tolerated this intrusion know something about the timeline of this project?

There are numerous dogs chained and kept in a very small fenced area here. The smell of dog waste is so strong it caries to surrounding homes and to the street. They are covered in mud and waste and seem to be not well taken care of. Concern for the dogs' safety as well as the well being of neighbors. Thank you.

Pothole at the northwest corner of N Blount Street and E Peace Street. Especially treacherous when making a right turn from Blount onto Peace.

So who gives a [removed] about the pedestrians killed on downtown Raleigh streets? Certainly the City , but every time they get questioned,who passes the buck on lighting to "Progress Energy"? When the streets are shadow filled, not lit well,and everybodys favorite clothing color is black it's only a matter of when, not if the next person is hit. Criminals love the dark, the less light the better. Not so much for the rest of us. I'm really not wanting to run over anyone in my neighborhood, or be run over myself. Start the discussion on LED Lighting now, save some lives. Help the police, their jobs would be a little easier with better lighting! save $$, less damage and accidents! We could be a model of energy efficiency, and make the quality of life here even better! MAKE A NEW PLAN TO ADDRESS CITY DARKNESS< SAFETY AND CRIME ISSUES

I cross Raleigh Blvd several times a day on Oakwood, Milburnie, or King Charles. Probably at least once a day, a car blatantly runs the light. It's gotten so bad, that almost everyone I know who crosses Raleigh hesitates a few seconds after the light turns green to make sure the people coming down Raleigh are actually going to stop! This would be a great place for a few red light cameras!

months have passed since a few neighbors reported the house at 202 North State st. having lefft all of the trash and furniture in a moungtain on the yard near the street , it was there for a month and another neighbor picked it p largely and hauled it away because he didn't want the inspectors coming around. This house has been the open flop for many people and the police are there almost every morning before dawn and many more times at night. The Back windows and door are open and are broken to maintain access, the electricity had been hi jacked until last week when the power company took the meter off again.. The squatters are not just homeless poor souls but some of the felons that have claimed this neighborhood and are doing their selling consistently here . The police can do nothing to shut the house down and the inspectors case being removed is insane. There has not been one day that that house has been secured , it was just sold in a "short sale" and so that means the owner hasn't closed but the bank or WHOEVER owns it needs to BOARD IT UP! This is sickening that no one can keep the neighborhood from going to pot , There should be some mechanism for stopping the people who put the city in decline while not penalizing the people who are working hard to make this place better. Seriously frustrated and disappointed in Raleigh offices and personel who get paid and make it hard on residents to appreciate the services. Once again , my question is what is it going to take for this neighborhood so close to the downtown to be cared for and managed better? This area has a ridiculous amount of crime happening every day, I shouldn't have to remind anyone while a trial for a home invasion is going on. We don't need more guns, we need more responsible care. People need shelter yes,but squatting in a house illegally is not OK .

There are two women who stand outside a home mid way down this block. I see the same women being dropped off from numerous different vehicles almost every day. High traffic on the weekends on that block of Idlewild. There are also two men that stand on the porch and the most concerning aspect is that children live in the home that they stand in front of. Please help.

How is it that it is ok to cut all the trees down on the lot lines in this neighborhood that has already lost so many to the tornado? My back neighbor cut a 150 foot Magnolia yesterday, and today the cutter says he's going to clear all the others left. 2 tall deciduous trees. Now we are exposed to both his full house and the other neighbors parking lot and sheds, and the vale of our property has plummeted! NO SHADE NO PROTECTION from a view of their ugly space. There's no way in the world to plant anything to take the place of an OLD VALUABLE, ESTABLISHED TREE , they have a huge impact on the neighborhood aesthetic and worth as well as the environment. I talked to a COR person in zoning and he said there was only a ruling for percentage of allowable cutting for properties over 2 acres. It should be the other way around! Can't the COR get this right? Stop letting people run roughshod over each other! That includes developers.