MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Those living in Frayser sounded off on Monday and demanded answers to code enforcement about blighted properties, illegal dumping and other eyesores in their neighborhoods.
Their sounding board: a monthly grassroots meeting where residents address problem spots and needed fixes directly to reps from the city of Memphis and Shelby County.
Neighbors asked code enforcement to do more and recruited other neighbors to join the cleanup cause.
"It's extremely deplorable; third world," Marvis Rodgers said.
Rodgers addressed what she said is repeated illegal dumping where Range Line Road dead-ends in Frayser.
"Blight leads to crime, we want it clean," Rodgers said. "Real disastrous dumping, it gets worse each time. They clean it up and the next time, whoever is doing the dumping, it's getting worse."
Others addressed these properties on this Frayser street, whose owner was scheduled in an environmental court hearing Monday afternoon.
For Rodgers — who's called Frayser home for 48 years — the blight fight is personal.
She spearheaded the 'Frayser Blight Control Committee and recruited other Frayser neighborhood watches to join the cause.
"The offenders feel like they can come out and continue to disrespect us, so we need to stay on it, so that they know we mean business," Rodgers added.
Code enforcement at the meeting promised to review footage and pinpoint who is responsible.
"If there is some fresh dumping out there , the camera team will be out there to pull that camera card and we'll do an assessment, try to conduct an investigation to figure out who is doing it," Harold Harris with City of Memphis Code Enforcement said.
Cleanup teams will hit the streets around Frayser Boulevard and Mountain Terrace Street from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday in what organizers are headlining 'Take Pride Where You Reside'.
The next monthly meeting is scheduled at noon at the Frayser Connect at 1635 Georgian Dr.