I feel so guilty!

[Not Afraid]

Our neighborhood is very multi-cultural (but mostly gay and hags like me). We are a few blocks away from a school and end up with various bits of trash on our lawn. One of the main sources of this trash are street vendors who sell things like corn on the cob, frozen treats, fried pigs feet, tamales, etc. Today, two vendors took up residence on our sidewalk, which means kids and trash all over our our lawn.

So, I called the cops. One guy was still there and was questioned. I don't know what the outcome will be, but, this is how this poor guy makes his living!

I've told the Ice Cream truck to move on before. I give them 10 minutes then I'm a bitch, but this is different.

I try to keep our neighborhood clean and crime free, but at what expense. I'm just having mixed feelings.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

That does suck. What an annoying quandrary. You don't want trash on your lawn, but you don't want to put a low-income person out of a job. :(

I don't know what I'd do in your position.

[€uroMeinke]

Perhaps the sadest part is the police can easily intervene in this situation, whereas they seem entirely impotent when it comes to the drug deals that go down in the next block, the petty vandalism, and theft.

BUt if this entrepenuer and his clientel had a little more respect for their place of business and cleaned up after themselves, there wouldn't be an issue at all.

[Not Afraid]

BUt if this entrepenuer and his clientel had a little more respect for their place of business and cleaned up after themselves, there wouldn't be an issue at all.

That is my biggest issue - that and noise while I'm trying to study. But, finding stripped corn cobs on our front lawn later is quite discusting.

We reall DO need that hedge. PLEASE!

[€uroMeinke]

How about decorative razor-wire?

[Not Afraid]

That will increase the value of our house!

[Sheila]

You are not alone in your guilt. In my neighborhood, I live on the corner of a residential street that is all single-family homes and a major cross street that is all low-income apartment houses.

So, there's not enough parking at the apartment houses a half block away so they come and park in front of my house. I have NO driveway so there's been a few times where I wind up parking down the block instead of in front of my own house.

So far, no real problem, right? Well, said apartment dwellers all have cars they either do NOT drive or the owners are unemployed so the cars wind up being parked forever. They're basically abandoned and the owners move them from time to time to avoid being ticketed. Well, a few of them decided to park their abandoned cars at my house for several weeks. I was hopping mad. :mad:

This means I could not put out my trash cans on trash day. And sometimes they park their cars so that it blocks the gateway to my house and I have to climb over their cars to get in!

So, after the first occurrence of this, I started calling the city and reported them all as abandoned if the car was parked more than 3 days. hehehe :evil:

Funnily enough after I made a few examples of the worst offenders, hardly anybody leaves their wrecks in front of my house and I can park *and* bring out my trash cans on trash day. But I know that someday, one of them will come over and shoot the windows out of my car or house because I reported them. Uh-oh!

[Not Afraid]

You know, there is a fine line between doing what's right and doing what's prudent for your property. Our street look cared for - with the exception of one or two places, but otherwise it is a desirable place to live. But, there are these few things that just bug the CRAP out of me. Maybe because I'm home most of the time and I see it, but people steeling shopping carts and leaving them, unlicensed businesses, occasional grafitti on the stupid mail box(!), speeders, and parked ice cream trucks are all things that piss me off.

I see more community involvement in my future - good mofv if I'm going into RE.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

That is my biggest issue - that and noise while I'm trying to study. But, finding stripped corn cobs on our front lawn later is quite discusting.

We reall DO need that hedge. PLEASE!

And this is why I don't think you should feel guilty. It's strange having businesses operating in your residential area. We have veggie vendors, etc., but the street is relatively trash free.

[dsnylndmom]

I feel your quandry Lisa. There are always those times when you have to do something that you need to do even though you know that it may have a negative impact on the other person. It sucks and it's a bad position to be in but if it needs to be done and you know it will help to rectify the situation you have to do it. Having the reservation about doing it, followed by the compounded "after the action" guilt just proves you are a person with a conscience!!

And hell who wants corn cobs on their lawn!! EWwwwwwww

[blueerica]

Yeah! Who the hell wants corn cobs on their lawn!

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Yeah! Who the hell wants corn cobs on their lawn!

Exactly. I think this says all that needs to be said.

[Claire]

I used to get really pissy in our old neighborhood. There was one piece of property that never got mowed.....the weeds got so high that they met with the lowest branches of the tree on their corner and you literally could not see around the mess to pull out into traffic! The guy who owned it would come by and weed-whack it every once in a while. The same bozo started a fire on the sidewalk to get rid of extra wood and cardboard from his property! I about had a heart attack! :mad: I thought my house was on fire!

I called the city I don't know how many times! The guy had inherited a few properties around town and all were foreclosed for non-payment of taxes and because he owed so many fees and fines for not taking care of them. The guy was clearly mentally ill--I felt bad for him, but not that bad.

And when the city was building a sub-pump station near our house, the construction company used to park a running 18-wheeling in front of our house from 6-7 a.m. It literally SHOOK the house. It was awful. Cassidy was a newborn, we were all sleep-deprived and I was in constant communication with the city about the problems--of course, the city offices didn't open until 8 every morning. Ugh.

I wish there was an easy answer, Lisa!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Just sick Scoundrel on him next time.

[Not Afraid]

Scoundrel, the attack cat! He's a watch dog, why not?

[MickeyLumbo]

Yeah! Who the hell wants corn cobs on their lawn!

ewww, God knows were they've been.

NA, my love, while i understand why you would feel guilty, please know that you have the right to protect your selves and your property.

while i think having an Astro Blaster laser gun zap each litter bug in the azz would be fun, that could lead to trouble.

a solution that may leave you trouble AND guilt free is water. turn on the sprinklers and you may find the mobile 7-11 and it's customers vanish faster than an amorous spider following love making with a Black Widow.

[Not Afraid]

turn on the sprinklers and you may find the mobile 7-11 and it's customers vanish faster than an amorous spider following love making with a Black Widow.

I used to have my sprinklers timed to go on when the kids were walking home from school (see I am EVIL as if you didn't know) but they just kicked the sprinkler heads and now they're all broken and my handymand isn't not handy in that particular area.

[MickeyLumbo]

which begs the question, in what areas is your man handy:confused:

[SacTown Chronic]

which begs the question, in what areas is your man handy:confused:
Probably plumbing. It's all about taking care of the plumbing. :snap:

[Betty]

You know - for our sprinklers - fixing them is a matter of unscrewing the broken on and screwing a new one in. Maybe yours is easy too?

[mousepod]

Hey NA, the neighborhood where I work is rife with burrito trucks. What sets the good ones apart from the bad (I'm talking in neighborly quality, not food quality) is that the good ones have great big garbage cans that they use. And they clean up after themselves.
If they do come back, rather than hitting them with water, why don't you suggest they get a can and clean up after themselves? If you're feeling generous, you could grab one at the local Home Depot and sell it to them at cost. They already know that you're capable of calling the cops, so perhaps they'll take you seriously.

[MouseWife]

Ya know, I am so surprised that we don't have the lines of ice cream trucks around here. It is great because this street is awfully busy...

But, Lisa. I hear you. And, it is very important that you take action. The house where I grew up, where my mother still lives, has a side yard {a long one} that runs along the street the school is on. So, since we've lived there, kids have walked home from the elementary and middle schools. Ice cream trucks have lined up along side the house, sometimes 3 of them. Sometimes they park in front of the house. Figure, this has been since '69?

My father, when home, would have words with them 'Clean up after the messes' yada yada.

Fast forward to today. They still park alongside there. It is not only dangerous as far as visually but it slows down the kids and they are little sarcastic buggers as it is. Can't believe how long it takes these young healthy Americans to cross the friggen street {I love your sprinkler story, sorry to hear they are broken}.

Anywho. The fence is destroyed. It is a chain link that has been sat on for years. Along the fence is litter from the kids 'schnackies' as well as mixed in with the plants in my moms' yard. A yard that the people in the house do not dirty needs constant cleaning.

My mom used to go out and yell at the kids to keep off the fence, clean up their messes, and, to stop fights. She is now almost 80 years old and, well, this isn't something she needs to deal with.

So, I applaud your efforts and I hope they get lost. Make their money else where. I wonder how legal it is and if they pay their taxes? Or report all of their earnings or if the food is properly prepared and stored???

Yeah. I am in that sort of mood. :mad: