When Aaron Zaritzky took over as president of the Beall's Hill neighborhood association, he asked residents to list what they thought were the most important issues facing that part of town.
The neighborhood's spate of blighted houses topped the list by far.
"That was the most important," Zaritzky said. "It was clearly the top priority among neighbors. ... We've had serious trash dumping issues. ... People keep breaking into (empty houses) and taking the copper. Some of the houses have been torn down to the boards."
Seeing a street with boarded-up homes puts a stain on the entire neighborhood, he said.
“People saw (blighted houses) when they are driving down Telfair Street,” he said. “The word got out that the neighbors don’t care about their neighborhood. If someone wanted to do a crime, they could do it in that neighborhood.”
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