It looks like a patch of wilderness dropped into the middle of a proud Houston neighborhood — years of unchecked growth have turned into what neighbors call a “jungle” just a few doors down from their homes.
Oscar Gomez clears out vapes that are no longer allowed to be sold in Texas after a new law took effect on September 1, 2025.Finally drying out across SE Texas for the first week of September274 drivers in Harris County area arrested for suspected DUI during Labor Day weekend– It looks like a patch of wilderness dropped into the middle of a proud Houston neighborhood — years of unchecked growth have turned into what neighbors call a “jungle” just a few doors down from their homes.
“It’s something I absolutely dread every time I step out my front door,” says Paul Holly, who lives a short walk from the overgrown lot on Salina Street, near Wippreght Street and Collingsworth Street in the city’s Fifth Ward. Young witness describes moment 11-year-old boy was fatally shot during ‘ding-dong-ditch’ prank in east Houston “You can see how weeds and grass become weeds, weeds become bushes, and bushes become trees. Yeah, I mean, this is a jungle. That’s 10 years’ worth of growth. And it’s right next to our house.” What began as tall grass has mushroomed into thick bushes and saplings that have swallowed the sidewalk and clogged the neighborhood drainage ditch, residents say. The obstructed drainage raises flooding concerns; but the thicket of brush has residents worried about more immediate dangers. Tasha Royal, a real estate developer and mother to three foster children who lives across the street from one such lot, says the lot has changed how her family lives day to day. “I am pissed off because nothing is happening. When is it gonna happen? I’ve called at least 10 times. Something has to happen. It’s frustrating, it’s annoying. My kids can’t even walk in this area because I asked them not to,” she said.“The predators could just easily grab a child, any child walking by or riding their bike by and just drag them in these bushes and do whatever to them,” she said. “Nobody would see it because of this, and it’s a danger to our children.” Neighbors say they have repeatedly reported the problem to the city — dialing 311 and contacting councilperson, Tarsha Jackson — but they’ve seen no action.The lack of action by the city has left residents feeling ignored and anxious. “We live in a neighborhood where people take pride in their homes,” Holly said. “But right in the middle of it all is this severely overgrown lot. It makes you wonder who’s watching out for us.” If you have a similar problem in your neighborhood, city officials say the first step is to report it to the City of Houston’s Community Code Enforcement section by calling 311. The Houston 311 Help and Information Center connects callers to a real person who will take the property address and a description of the problem so the city can investigate.Neighbors say they’ll keep calling until something changes — because for them, the stakes are more than weeds: they are the safety of the children and the peace and beauty of their block. If calling 311 doesn’t work, the next step is to call and write an email to the councilperson in your district. In your email, you need to include good pictures of the problem.looked at the data for 311 calls in the city of Houston and found that there were 1,438 complaints about overgrown lots in the city filed just this year alone.Emmy-winning investigative reporter, insanely competitive tennis player, skier, weightlifter, crazy rock & roll drummer . Husband to Veronica and loving cat father to Bella and Meemo.
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