This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

A Neighborhood Eyesore

     The other morning, on my way from Piedmont Avenue to Howe Street, I cut through the Citibank parking lot.  A man stood over a blanket covered person who was sleeping in the doorway of the old library.  Two people stood on the sidewalk, holding a conversation.  I stopped to chat with them.
      "The real estate agent was going to show us the building, we're thinking about renting it," one of them said to me, "but that guy was sleeping there, so the agent is asking him to leave."
      I glanced back.  The agent was helping the man to his feet and gathering his belongings.  I continued on my way without seeing the outcome of the scenario.  However, it made me long for the days when our neighborhood library occupied that building.  There were no people sleeping in the doorway then.  There was no wire fence around the grassy area, no boarded up access to the bench where people used to sit and read, where young mothers brought their little ones as they waited for the preschoolers to finish with Story Time or Avenue employees brought their sandwich at lunch time.  The flower beds were kept neat, with no unsightly weeds like now and the miniscule lawn was inviting, not overgrown.
      All the life is gone out of the building now and it is an empty derelict that attracts people with nowhere to sleep.  Newspaper pages litter the walkway, a discarded sofa pillw leans against the door and weeds abound in what used to be a lovely flower garden. It is, in short, a mess and a blight on an otherwise neat and well kept neighborhood.  The library, meanwhile, sits in portable buildings in a residential area, on land borrowed from Piedmont Avenue School.  Parkimg, which used to readily available across the street, is now difficult to find.
      This could all have been different with a different buyer.  If the new owner had had any sense of civic involvement, any desre to contribute to the well-being and convenience of the neighborhood, there could have been a better outcome to the situation.  Every business person wants to make money - that's why they're in business.  But at the expense of the community?  And this owner is not making money.  The building has been empty for more than a year.  He is paying taxes on property that is bringing in no money and drawing resentment and ill will toward himself from the community.
     With some negotiation and discussion, it might have been possible for the library to stay there at a low cost, for the owner to write it off on his taxes.  With some consideration about the effect of a blighted property on the community, the owner could have made a contribution to Piedmont Avenue.  But these possibilities either did not occur or appeal to him.
     So now the Avenue is stuck with the results of his poor judgment, the library is stuck with cramped quarters, library usage is reduced for one reason because the building is no longer a few steps from a bus stop and uphill at that.  And it's off the beaten path where it used to be a place you could stop while doing shopping or getting something to eat.  It is definitely no win all the way around.
     It will be interesting to see how this situation gets resolved.  Will the building owner ever rent his property?  Will the library ever find a permanent home?  Stay tuned as this drama unfolds. 
     Meanwhile, if you're passing nearby, stop by and pick up some of the trash and throw it in the sidewalk trash container.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?