{"id":344340,"date":"2025-10-31T00:21:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T00:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/344340\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T00:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T00:21:09","slug":"crews-begin-cleanup-in-houstons-district-of-dirt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/344340\/","title":{"rendered":"Crews begin cleanup in Houston’s ‘district of dirt’"},"content":{"rendered":"

What started as a push for solutions in one Houston neighborhood has now grown into a city-wide call for accountability.<\/p>\n

HOUSTON \u2014 What began as a neighborhood call for help<\/a> has turned into a citywide push for accountability. After KHOU 11 highlighted neglected lots and illegal dumping across Houston, frustrated residents continue to speak out\u2014and city leaders are taking notice.<\/p>\n

In the South Union neighborhood, a once-overgrown lot on Goodhope Street is finally seeing signs of progress. While KHOU 11 was on site Wednesday, city-contracted cleanup crews rolled in to clear debris and mow down thick weeds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Council Member Dr. Carolyn Evans-Shabazz said as the sound of mowers filled the air.<\/p>\n

Shabazz\u2014who represents District D\u2014admits the cleanup was unexpected. \u201cNo, not here. I knew they were in the area working, but I didn\u2019t know they were particularly come here where we are, little ironic I would say,\u201d she told KHOU 11\u2019s Michelle Choi.<\/p>\n

RELATED: ‘Nothing ever gets resolved’ | Residents say calls to 311 aren\u2019t working as trash piles up in Houston’s South Union community<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

For years, residents in the area say they\u2019ve called 311 with little result, fed up with overgrown lots, abandoned homes, and illegal dumping. When asked how she feels hearing residents refer to District D as the \u201cDistrict of Dirt,\u201d Shabazz didn\u2019t hold back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me feel terrible \u2026 but I can\u2019t say they\u2019re wrong,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is supposed to be the District of Destination \u2014 I meant that positively \u2014 but they\u2019re not wrong when you see things like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shabazz says she\u2019s using Council District Service Funds to launch \u201chot teams\u201d and deploy Career & Recovery crews to speed up cleanups, while also holding repeat violators accountable. She\u2019s also assigned a dedicated code enforcement officer to help fast-track problem properties.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want within a week to say that we have either abated it or we have done a significant attempt to get it done,\u201d Shabazz said when asked for a cleanup timeline.<\/p>\n

That promise came directly to residents, including South Union Civic Association President Tamara Alexander.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is happening across multiple districts \u2026 all of City Council and the Mayor too need to see first-hand our infrastructure is falling apart!\u201d Alexander told Shabazz.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019ve painted a great picture,\u201d Shabazz replied. \u201cSo just give me a chance to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexander responded, \u201cWe\u2019re going to hold you to three weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHold me! We\u2019ll be right back out here!\u201d Shabazz said.<\/p>\n

Alexander, who first reached out to KHOU 11 after seeing the Fifth Ward cleanup coverage, says she appreciates the response but wants consistent follow-through.<\/p>\n

When asked about long-term accountability, Shabazz was direct. \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t take a camera crew for people to do their jobs,\u201d she said. \u201cThe city has to follow up on these violation notices and prosecute these lot owners to the fullest extent of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lasting change, she added, will take teamwork. \u201cTake pride in where you live and help us,\u201d Shabazz urged.<\/p>\n

For Alexander and her neighbors, trust will only come with visible progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do have hope for my community \u2026 because if I didn\u2019t, I wouldn\u2019t be fighting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Council Member Shabazz has agreed to return to South Union in three weeks to show what progress has been made.<\/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":"What started as a push for solutions in one Houston neighborhood has now grown into a city-wide call…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":344341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[4345,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-344340","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\/115465924708853222","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344340","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=344340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}