BATON ROUGE - Residents in a south Baton Rouge neighborhood want the city to take a stronger stance against abandoned properties.

The Old South Baton Rouge neighborhood lies south of the I-10 but north of LSU.

Buckled pavement, an abandoned school, overgrown homes and traffic signs covered with grass and wild weeds reaching onto I-10 have left residents frustrated.

"Everybody wants to act like this is normal, like it's okay, but it’s not okay," resident Charles Jones said. "Somebody needs to say something." 

For both Jones and Judy Bethly, the neighborhood they grew up in is no longer the same.

"You had children outside playing, and the streets weren’t torn up like this," Bethly said. "The high grass and overgrowth of trees, you know, it’s chaotic back here now."

Jones said his mother lives in the neighborhood surrounded by abandoned lots.

"At 84 years old, she doesn’t plan on moving anywhere else," he said. "It’s a safety issue. You don’t know who’s hiding behind these bushes." 

From the interstate, many would struggle to notice there’s a neighborhood nearby. Jones has tried to maintain the area himself but said it’s too much for one person.

"I cut it, but I can't do this alone," he said. "We need help down here." 

Another resident said she mows her grass every two weeks but feels it's pointless because the neighboring lots aren't maintained.

City officials report a backlog of 135 structures awaiting condemnation, with an average teardown cost of $14,200 each. Clearing this backlog would total around $2.1 million, which the city currently lacks.

There are about four dozen cleanup requests on the list for junk removal, each costing approximately $1200.

"Nobody comes down here," Jones said. "The mayor doesn't come down here. I'm telling you, the councilwoman—I’m not trying to blacken her name or anything—but they don't come down here. As you can see, this area has been abandoned. Why?"

Councilwoman Carolyn Coleman's assistant contacted her. She said she just received information from Bethly's family and is looking into the issue.