I live a few blocks away from the six vacant properties that burned early yesterday morning in the Klondike neighborhood. I can’t say what motivated the arsonists, but I do know that vacant and abandoned housing is a major problem throughout District 7 and that it not only poses a threat to neighbors surrounding them, but also a huge liability to the City. Vacant houses attract illegal activities–drugs, prostitution, and scrap thieves–and they drive down the values of the houses around them and diminish the quality of life in the neighborhood at large. More often than not, abandoned houses wind up being demolished, often after burning in accidental fires caused by squatters. The City of Memphis must move aggressively to secure these properties and protect them until they are re-inhabited.

Following are a few reports on the string of arsons on August 16 as well as a video produced by Brad Watkins of the Midsouth Peace and Justice Center highlighting some of the problems associated with abandoned and foreclosed properties.

Commercial Appeal August 18, 2011 . . .
Seven fires strike North Memphis neighborhood within 10 hours

Brad’s video . . .

See more of Brad’s work on blight at http://westtennessee.blogspot.com/2010/10/blightwatch-20-frayser-wells-fargo.html click “Older Post” to surf back though his series of videos on the issue.

Map showing abandoned property burnouts across Memphis from 2004-2009 . . .