A Normandy house listed as “imminently dangerous” since March still stands even though the city wants it demolished.
It’s not that there’s much left of 2815 Normandy Drive. There isn’t. What was once a showplace in the small neighborhood north of Comly Road is now a scorched husk with no windows or doors.
The corner property with the in-ground pool has been vacant for at least three years, and it had been a target for vandals and a neighborhood nuisance. On Jan. 24, it caught fire.
It was after it burned that the city declared the property dangerous and said it would tear it down after April 30 if the owner didn’t step forward to do the job. To secure the property in the meantime, the city surrounded the house and pool with a cyclone fence.
The bank that holds the mortgage had agreed to demolish the house, said Maura Kennedy, spokeswoman for the Department of Licenses & Inspections. But no demolition permits were pulled, she said May 1, so the case has been referred to the city’s Law Department.
Kennedy said the city will seek a court order to raze the building.
John Wisniewski, president of the Normandy Civic Association, on May 2 said he was surprised no action had been taken. He said he expected the building to be torn down. Over the past few years, civic association members repeatedly have complained to police and local officials about the property. Numerous violations for high weeds, stagnant water, abandoned cars, rubbish and unsecured windows are cited on L&I’s Web site. The Community Life Improvement Program took care of those problems, and there is an outstanding bill for more than $13,000 for CLIP’s work that’s been sent to a collection agency.
City records list Jorge Oyola Jr. as the property’s owner. Neighbors say he lived there for a few years after purchasing the house in late 2006, but left the property sometime during the last three to five years. In March, Kennedy said the city had tried to contact Oyola by mail, but had not heard from him. The only address the city has for Oyola is 2815 Normandy. ••
Reporter John Loftus can be reached at 215–354–3110 or [email protected]
