So Sad

The first fire fatalities in Easton since 2001, no less tragic.

I blogged about the home on the right, if only in passing. this block of Spring Garden has some formerly stately twins, all now somewhat run down or in various states of repair and or decay.

The next twin to the right still has the tarp on the roof from Hurricane Sandy and a Board of Health placard on the door. that makes at least 4 homes uninhabitable on the block; there's another one across the street.

Could it be perhaps among the death and sadness that something good can come from this?

Perhaps everyone will take responsibility for making sure their home is safe?

Perhaps Landlords will take responsibility for making sure their properties are up to code? (this building is owned by

ELLEN M MOSKELLA  1564 FARMERSVILLE RD
BETHLEHEM, PA, 18020-9741
	Code REQUIRES a central fire alarm system in apartment buildings! I know this because when I bought my twin which was zoned as a two family, I was required to get such a system. but as I was deconverting to single family, this requirement no longer applied.

PLEASE, if the apartment you are living in seems unsafe, or if you don't have smoke detectors, do something about it!
Call Codes!
 610-250-6723
Call the Mayor!

610-250-6610

some other links:
http://eastoneccentric.blogspot.com/
http://easton.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/2-dead-in-fire-on-spring-garden-street

Landlord/Tenant dispute gets the police called

It's not unusual for some street noise to be present in the early evening, what with people getting picked up, dropped off, kids playing, etc. But we noticed a distinct arguement taking place yesterday. One of our neighbors recently vacated an apartment only to move into a house across the street. They were having trouble with the landlord (I'm not calling anyone out like Obama does, this isn't that kind of blog).
Well, the neighbor had a chance it seems to try to settle a disagreement with his former landlord. All I could here was it had to do with money owed (duh).
My point in bringing this up is, this landlord is pretty much a dirtbag. I've seen him around infrequently and seen his truck at some other disreputable places in Easton. He only comes around when he is changing tenants, which has been happening quite a bit. I'm not overetimating that there has probably been 20 differnt tenants in that buiding in the last 10 years. They ALL complain about him.
And that's how it goes. Landlords only keep the place (barely) up to code, and rent to the lowest common denominator. And it's getting worse, because whenever a house goes on the market in the West Ward, it gets bought by someone to rent out. There is no pride in ownership, or sense of community.
I've got another new neighbor also, but that's another subject. They leave the windows open when they fight. Lets see how long THEY last...