After the demolition, the now vacant lot still remains in possession of the owner of the building, Moore wrote.
This means it is still up to the owner to have a vacant lot permit and take care of the grass, trash and other detritus. If that owner doesn’t take care of the vacant property, the city might have the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society step in to help clean the lot to bring it up to code.
The society helps maintain some 12,000 of the 40,000 vacant lots, said Keith Green, vice president of the organization’s Healthy Neighborhoods program.
W. Monmouth Street in Philadelphia. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
“We actually bid this work out,” Green said. “That money is used for small local businesses and nonprofits in the neighborhood that will clean those lots,” doing so twice a month.
The city passes the cost to the owner during this process, and if the owner doesn’t pay, a lien is taken out against the property.
This has happened on the most demolished street in Philadelphia, specifically 1030 W. Monmouth St., which is marked with a plaque and a wooden fence. This fence doesn’t deter much, as the lot is still accessible due to the gap in the middle and ends.
Even after the twice-a-month cleaning — which only happens for the few lots on the street under the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s care — the trash soon returned.
For residents of the street, the solution to what to do with the lots that once had 15 houses on them is simple.
“Either rebuild them, or keep them clean,” West said.
Over time, the once-open parcels have become magnets for trash and long-forgotten vehicles, including a white van turned rainbow with spray-painted graffiti. Judging by the faded inspection tags — and by West’s recollection — it hasn’t moved in about five years.