Amid Gahan’s penchant for opulent municipal luxury, do we even have a word for this vista at 1730 E. Oak Street?

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A friend who’d been speaking with neighbors sent these two photos of the back yard at 1730 E. Oak. It’s in the 3rd council district (Precinct 10) in case you’re curious.

Neighbors say homeless and drug users have taken over this home. They wander the alley digging through everyone’s trash throwing out on the ground. One lady saw a buck naked man wondering in the yard! By anyone’s measure this is a serious problem. They say it’s been going on for 18 months. Needles, human waste, etc.

They say the city isn’t helping them, so who can they turn to?

I went to Elevate and looked up the owner; supposedly he’s owned the house since 2007. Next came the state of Indiana’s Odyssey courts search. Here are the first and last records of the same case, with names omitted.

Obviously this one is on the city’s radar. Older satellite photos show the back yard looking like a war zone, and this case goes back two years. It took eight months for the complaint about cleanliness to work its way through the labyrinth. Whether the owner performed the required tidying isn’t clear, but as of less than a year ago, he was supposed to have done it.

Judging from the other court records arranged before and after this one, it would seem that the house’s owner quite possibly is a familiar face among local law enforcement officials. Looking at it from afar, it’s easy to deduce that someone’s life went off the rails. The nasty condition of the house appears to be collateral damage in a much larger story.

All of this fits the neighbors’ sad narrative, and not one bit of it helps them. Sorry about that, but after doing the research I don’t have any better of an answer, at least yet.

Anyone have anything?

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