Katie Heer loves her Sharswood neighborhood and is proud of the improvements she's made to her house, but when she looks out her back window, her heart sinks.
"Honestly, it's embarrassing because in the back, you see these disgusting piles of garbage," Heer said.
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Heer has called 311 several times and the case has been referred to the CLIP program, which city officials say has a good track record of cleaning up illegal dump sites. In this case, though, they say Philadelphia Housing Authority owns the lots getting dumped on, so PHA is responsible.
Spokesperson Nicole Tillman says PHA has a $130,000 contract with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to keep its Sharswood properties clean. The work started Monday, so neighbors should see improvement soon.
"We're doing everything we can, spending real money, to combat dumping," Tillman said.
That hasn't discouraged the dumpers.