Siding strippers strike Cleveland neighborhood, new legislation being considered

CLEVELAND - Residents, police and Cleveland city leaders are trying to stop a series of metal siding thefts in a neighborhood along East 55 street.

Criminals have targeted an area filled with dozens of vacant and abandoned homes, stripping the siding, and taking the metal to area scrap yards.

Residents contacted 5 On Your Side Troubleshooter Joe Pagonakis, after reporting siding thefts had reached epidemic proportions.

"My neighborhood is getting destroyed by people who don't care," said resident Daniel Christian. "I've seen a truck pull up here, look at the homes, then come back hours later and start ripping off siding."

Christian told NewsChannel5 he called police numerous times.

"Police came, but then I found out the crooks were down the street ripping off another house," said Christian.

Cleveland Councilman Tony Brancatelli told 5 On Your Side criminals have attacked a series of 16 vacant homes along a half mile stretch of East 55, in just the past several weeks.

"These strippers come in and totally ravage the properties," said Brancatelli. "And it's not just tearing off the siding, it's the plumbing, the electrical, the furnaces."

Brancatelli told NewsChannel5 he will respond to the problems in the neighborhood and find the needed demolition money to take down the houses that can't be saved.

Brancatelli is also supporting new legislation that will require all local scrap yards to report and video tape all that they take in on daily basis. Brancatelli said he believes the system will allow law enforcement to track criminals as they bring in the stolen metal, a system that is working well in the city of Columbus.

"The Safety Director, Martin Flask, is going to be proposing that we put in a new technology to make scrap yards report every single day what they are buying. The ongoing reporting will catch patterns, and we'll be able to go back and chase after these folks and make them responsible," said Brancatelli.

Meanwhile, residents like Daniel Christian said it's also important that neighbor look after neighbor when it comes to stopping siding theft and other crimes.

"It's important to get involved," said Christian. "It's important not only for you to care about your home, but care about your neighbor's home, because if you don't, then this is what happens."

NewsChannel5 invites residents to take action by volunteering, and reporting vacant/condemned homes through its NewsChannel5 Building Better Neighborhoods initiative .

Residents are encouraged to send in pictures and information on distressed properties to our Troubleshooter Facebook or Twitter accounts @joeonyourside . Report a home using your smartphone and our free NewsChannel5 app.

If you're dealing with a vacant home in your neighborhood, use the Cleveland Housing Court Vacant Home Toolkit to guide you through the process of moving a vacant home to progress step by step.

NewsChannel5 will bring you a series of reports and updates on the progress made through the Building Better Neighborhoods initiative throughout 2012.