{"id":342000,"date":"2025-10-30T01:10:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T01:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/342000\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T01:10:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T01:10:17","slug":"nothing-ever-gets-resolved-residents-say-calls-to-311-arent-working-as-trash-piles-up-in-houstons-south-union-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/342000\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Nothing ever gets resolved’ | Residents say calls to 311 aren\u2019t working as trash piles up in Houston’s South Union community"},"content":{"rendered":"

Houston’s South Union residents say their calls about illegal dumping go unanswered, prompting them to organize community cleanups.<\/p>\n

HOUSTON \u2014 Frustrated neighbors in Houston\u2019s South Union community say they\u2019re fed up with illegal dumping, overgrown lots and abandoned properties \u2014 and that their repeated calls to 311 have gone unanswered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve called and waited long enough,\u201d said Tamara Alexander, a lifelong South Union resident and president of the neighborhood\u2019s civic association. \u201cEach street has dumping or overgrown lots, abandoned homes. It\u2019s the entire neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

KHOU 11\u2019s Michelle Choi joined Alexander for a drive through South Union, where they passed piles of trash, boarded-up homes, and even a homeless encampment along Good Hope Street. Alexander says she\u2019s spent years trying to get the city\u2019s attention, only to be bounced between departments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like playing a ping pong game \u2014 this department, that department \u2014 and nothing ever gets resolved,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Alexander says she and her neighbors have taken it upon themselves to clean up parts of the community, organizing monthly volunteer efforts. But it\u2019s not enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s only so much we can do,\u201d she said. \u201c311, in my opinion, is a graveyard for complaints.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexander reached out to KHOU 11 after seeing the station\u2019s recent report on illegal dumping in the Fifth Ward,\u00a0<\/a>where city crews cleared a neglected lot just days after residents spoke out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw what you all did in 5th Ward and thought, let me shoot my shot,\u201d Alexander said.<\/p>\n

Since KHOU 11 began investigating, residents from multiple neighborhoods, including South Union, 5th Ward, and Harrisburg, have reached out to share similar concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Attorney Randall Kallinen, who lives in the East End, says dumped furniture and even trailer homes are becoming a common sight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s atrocious,\u201d Kallinen said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a proliferation of dumping, and I hope the city does something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexander took her concerns to City Hall this week, joining other South Union residents at a council meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t take this any longer,\u201d she told council members. \u201cIf we can\u2019t get the basics of trash pickup and illegal dumping handled, how can y\u2019all manage anything else?\u201d<\/p>\n

District D Council Member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz acknowledged residents\u2019 frustrations, urging them to continue calling 311 and also contact her office directly with service request numbers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise you we do respond very quickly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

After KHOU 11 started pushing for answers, city crews returned to South Union this week, clearing some of the trash piles. But neighbors say it\u2019s still not enough. They want all of it gone and for the city\u2019s citation notices to have real consequences.<\/p>\n

KHOU 11\u2019s Michelle Choi will meet with Council Member Evans-Shabazz on Thursday in South Union to discuss long-term solutions and the city\u2019s next steps.<\/p>\n

Got a news tip or story idea? Email us at\u00a0<\/strong>newstips@khou.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or call 713-521-4310 and include your name and the best way to reach you.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Houston’s South Union residents say their calls about illegal dumping go unanswered, prompting them to organize community cleanups.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":342001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[4345,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-342000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-houston","9":"tag-texas","10":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115460455059536254","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}