Neighbors Are Fed Up With Blighted House

Bristol Township Council has repaved roads, replaced streetlights and kept taxes at bay, their next project: removing blight throughout the municipality.

That is exactly Mark Crinnage’s concern. Crinnage, a homeowner in Bristol Township’s Newportville section, has been trying to sell his home and set up permanent residency in Perkasie with his new wife. His problem: no one wants to live near his neighbor.

The home, according to Crinnage, is riddled with trash, junk and a slew of safety concerns. “People will come and say they love [my] house,” Crinnage told council members Thursday. But according to him, the neighbor’s property is keeping anyone from making an offer.

Another neighbor to the property, Barbara Hawk, said her granddaughter couldn’t play outside two years ago, when a hot tub on the property contracted 187 mosquitoes, 111 tested positive for West Nile Virus.

Councilman Troy Brennan said the township has done their part, serving the home’s resident with thousands of dollars in fines and fees. The resident – Ed Beck – was picked up by constables last week due to the large amount of fines he owes. According to court records obtained by LevittownNow.com, the most recent four ordinance violations carry fines of $1,000 each.

“There’s only so much government can do,” Brennan said. “There’s not much more legally you can do besides levy fines.”

While arresting the resident may be a step, his neighbors said they know he’s not the true owner of the property. The owner, his elderly mother, has left the home to her senior living facility, as a way of paying for her healthcare. Residents have said not only is the home a safety concern for them and their families but for the child believed to live inside.

“Maybe we will finally get this taken care of, but I don’t know what will happen when he comes home, maybe it will get worse,” Council President Craig Bowen said. Bowen knows the personal impact the home as had on its neighbors, because he lives right down the road.

For realtor and Council Vice President Amber Longhitano, handling resident issues like these are what’s on the bulletin for the township of over 55,000. “Blight is the next thing we’re on,” she said.

According to late council president Bob Lewis in his state of the township address, the municipality planned to further address the abandoned homes in the coming years, another added component of the area’s blight.