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When she sits in her yard and looks across the street, Arminda Pinea doesn’t have much to look at. The yard where a house once sat is covered over with weeds, brush and ivy. Much of it was at least waist high.
The only thing that soared higher was the massive pile of tractor-trailer-sized tires, dozens of which were left behind over the last year.
“We don’t like to see the tires there,” she said, noting how no one knew who left them there. “It’s bad. Animals are coming, mosquitoes, everything.”
Shortly after a Thursday news conference ended, cleaning crews hauled in a dumpster and yard tools and got to work tidying things up.
Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy, who led the news conference, vowed that other properties in a similar state would be addressed. “On average, residents used to have to wait 489 days for these types of complaints to be resolved,” she said.
About 27,500 calls made to 311 haven’t been addressed for at least a month.
“It is a daily, unfortunate reminder that sometimes the government just doesn’t respond fast enough,” she said.
Braveboy announced the Strike Force 311 would tackle the beautification process of the county, focusing on abandoned cars, unkempt yards and homes and helping the community.
“By convening this strike force, we are saying to county residents, you matter,” she said. “Your block matters.”
Braveboy said the county is spending $1 million to hire local businesses that can clean it all up, whether that means removing stumps, cleaning up overgrown lots or even filling potholes.
“It’s time to look good, feel good, and do good again,” she said. “For our neighborhoods, for our families, for visitors who come to our county.”
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