City may sue developer who spent $20,000 to remove 40 tons of trash from vacant lot

By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News | The Sideshow

A business developer in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Point Breeze is facing legal action after voluntarily cleaning up more than 40 tons of trash from a vacant lot neighboring his local business.

As the old adage goes, no good deed goes unpunished. Ori Feibush says he visited the local offices of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority four times, sent in seven written requests and made 24 phone calls to the agency asking them to take care of a major eyesore: an empty lot next to his coffee shop was home to more than 40 tons of debris.

Not only did the agency fail to act but it also denied Feibush's offer to clean up the mess himself.

But the Daily News reports that Feibush went ahead with his plans anyway, reportedly spending more than $20,000 of his own money not only to remove the trash but also to level the soil; add cherry trees, fencing and park benches; and repave the sidewalk.

"This was a lot of garbage," local resident Elaine McGrath told the paper. "Now it's gorgeous. I'm excited."

However, the city agency was less excited, demanding that Feibush return the vacant lot to its previous condition and saying it is considering legal action against him.

"Like any property owner, [the authority] does not permit unauthorized access to or alteration of its property," Paul D. Chrystie, director of communications at the Office of Housing and Community Development told the paper. "This is both on principle (no property owner knowingly allows trespassing) and to limit taxpayer liability."

And the situation is not without irony. Feibush says he received a citation in August 2011 from the city for litter on the same lot that the city now points out is not his property.

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Anonymous

Posted: Sep 21 2012, 2:26 PM

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97104

No brainer: They cited him for trash on the lot, saying it was his lot. Presumption now is that it is his: They should now have to prove that in the face of the evidence of the citation against him.

If they lose, he owns a nice lot; if they win, he has them for filing a false citation.

Anonymous

Posted: Sep 22 2012, 6:49 PM

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24148

+1 Anon 97104!

I like the way you're thinking.

Anonymous

Posted: Sep 23 2012, 6:40 AM

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64228

Like everything else, we (private citizens) can do it better, faster and cheaper. Kudos to this man's initiative.
"Whadda ya mean someone cleaned it up? I told my buddy his company could clean it up for $1.5 million bucks of tax-payer money!"

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