Alderman Donovan urges seizure of dilapidated property

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – A Milwaukee alderman says a charred building that has been sitting empty for months is an eyesore and an attraction for crime.

It was back in April when a fire gutted the Furniture Depot on the 2500 block of W. Lincoln Avenue.

Neighbors say they’re tired of seeing the mess and simply want it gone.

Robert Bailey lives a few doors down from the rubble.

“Garbage over there,” says Bailey. “Get rid of it! It rains and you can smell it.”

Through a letter to the city attorney, Alderman Bob Donovan says he had urged seizure of the property requesting formal steps in declaring the site a public nuisance and tearing it down.

“My constituents are not second-class citizens nor should be considered second-class,” says Donovan. “They deserve better than this.”

Abdul Merashi was at today’s press conference and claims to be a close relative of the property owner and says the issue is the insurance company.

“The insurance companies, they like to drag their feet,” says Merashi.

Regardless of who’s in charge of the decisions neighbors say they simply want it gone.

“Rubbish junk here,” describes Bailey. “Clean it up. Get rid of it. Do something. Make a parking lot for this block right here.”

Alderman Donovan says it’s the Department of Neighborhood Services who looks over sites like these. The department currently does not have a commissioner.