LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — As Little Rock prepares to kick off its annual city-wide clean up this weekend, homeowners in the Central High historic neighborhood say they're having trouble keeping their neighborhood beautiful.
"I love the neighborhood. All the historical houses its really what drew us here," Bobby Matthews said.
Matthews takes pride in his neighborhood, located just two blocks from Central High School.
So, when he noticed this couch sitting at the corner of 15th and Schiller streets for several months, he said he grew concerned.
“After they visit the school I’m sure they drive around the neighborhood, and that's just not the impression we want to give them," Matthews said.
He said that he and other neighbors have gotten rid of smaller items before, but it's the bulky furniture that's become a nuisance. This couch, along with many other items, have been dropped off on the corner behind the Senior Hill Apartments, which Matthews claims is only occupied by the property owner.
"It's my neighbor’s backyard and, I mean, obviously he doesn't want it back there too,” he said. “I know he's not wanting people to drop it there."
And it's not the only problematic corner.
“We had another one – a couch placed on the corner of Centennial Park that one is a vacant property, so I think that's why that one got taken care of so quickly,” he said.
Matthews said he used the city's 311 line to report this couch, but to no avail.
"They put a note on there saying it's not a violation, but it's obviously a nuisance to the neighborhood," he said.
We reached out to the city for a response and were told the property owner has a commercial pickup service, so he isn't a solid waste customer, which means the city isn't responsible for picking up the trash.
However, they did make an exception this time. We returned the next day and the couch was gone.
"I'm really appreciative of it at this point. I just want to know what can we do better so that it doesn't pass a couple of months just sitting there,” Matthews said.
