STOWE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Linda Smigel lives on busy Island Avenue in Stowe Township and has been waiting a long time for something to be done with the abandoned homes tucked behind overgrown trees and shrubs.
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Aside from being an eyesore, she believes they're havens for crime.
"Homeless people, not knowing what they're doing in there. Drugs, setting fires, you never know what they're going to do in there," Smigel said.
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At one point, a homeless man was caught living on the second floor of one of the vacant homes. We're told the man had several generators, a propane tank, furniture and a TV in the house.
Stowe Township Councilwoman Cheryl McDermott said homes like these will come down thanks to a McKees Rocks business owner.
Al Boyd owns Boyd Roll Off and Transfer Station, and he offered to tear the houses down at no cost to the township.
"It lets the people in the community know we're really working to make this a better place for everybody in the township, a safer place," said McDermott.