Oakland residents worried about 25-foot hole on abandoned property

PITTSBURGH — South Oakland residents are concerned about an abandoned piece of property that they say is a hazard.

Channel 11’s Alan Jennings visited the Ward Street location Tuesday and reported that a hole about 25-feet deep is filled with water.

Residents who live near the site told Jennings that the property was purchased and the existing house was demolished, but no one has been to the area in a long time.

Neighbors also said they’re concerned because there’s no fencing surrounding the hole and it’s easily accessible from the sidewalk.

“It’s not the place of Oz where monkeys and fictional things run around. There are children in this neighborhood who play at the site,” neighbor Carla Hall said. “The city has to have some kind of ownership for this property, some kind of accountability for this.”

Agents from the office of building inspections responded to the scene Tuesday, but declined to comment.

WPXI