WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A West Palm Beach street has been blocked off for more than a year after a water main project was abandoned — and despite a city-ordered deadline to fix it, nothing has changed yet.
20th Street remains barricaded, littered with piles of garbage, and water continues leaking into the roadway. Residents who were hopeful for change say they are very disappointed.
WATCH: Residents still waiting as deadline passes on blocked street
Kathleen Garvey first reached out to us asking for help.
"It's just, it's a mess," Garvey said.
She says she has repeatedly tried to get the situation resolved on her own.
"I've called the police probably a dozen times," she said.
WPTV's Kayla McDermott met with her husband, Christopher Young, in February, where he showed McDermott the ongoing issues they have dealt with for roughly 14 months — including finding drugs on their property from people sleeping at night between the blockades.
"We just want to be safe. We just want to have a normal place to live," Young said.
WATCH: Couple can't use street due to abandoned construction for 14 months
The situation has become even more urgent since then. Garvey has found out she is pregnant — a high-risk pregnancy — making the stress of living next to the blocked street even harder to manage.
"I'm supposed to, you know, try to stay and calm and eliminate stress as possible," Garvey said.
The conditions outside her door have also affected her sense of safety.
"After sundown, I don't go out to my car," Garvey said.
Working to get answers, I reached out to the city of West Palm Beach and learned a violation notice was issued to the owners of 2032 North Dixie Highway. The notice gave the owners until March 4 to clean and reopen the site — a deadline that has not been met yet.
McDermott called the owners, who had previously declined to speak with her. Wednesday was no different — they again declined to comment.
We pushed the city for answers on what happens next, since in the violation notice the city said it could heavily fine the owners or fix the road itself and bill them.
A spokesperson provided this statement:
The owner has the remainder of today to complete the required corrective actions, and the property will be reinspected tomorrow to assess compliance. The owner recently contacted Code Enforcement and has expressed a willingness to address the violations and bring the property into compliance. The City understands that the property owner is working to improve the building, and our goal is to work collaboratively to address safety concerns, keep the right-of-way clear and accessible, and ensure the site is properly maintained as the project moves forward.
But if the city and/or the owners do not follow through, Garvey says her growing family will leave.
"I don't see how we could stay," Garvey said.
We will continue to push for change and stay on top of this issue until the road is cleared and reopened.
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