Mount Washington woman with disability struggling with weeds in alleyway, now facing charges
A Mount Washington woman feels like the City of Pittsburgh is treating her like a criminal because of weeds on her property.
You can see the weeds spill into the alleyway. She says the city is spending more money on inspectors coming out to cite her than they could spend on a clean-up crew coming out to help her, considering she has a disability.
Angela Staeryla has been living in this Mount Washington home since 2008. This side of her home is an alley that Staeryla says has overgrown weeds all the way down.
“The city has helped me through a program called City Cuts. It’s great. They come by one to two times a year and cut everything away, remove everything and it has been a blessing,” Staeryla said.
Staeryla is unable to pull the weeds herself or remove them.
This year, the city never showed up.
In August, she received a violation notification for overgrown weeds.
According to the city’s website, weeds can’t be over 10 inches, and if you have a question about your violation, you should contact the inspector who’s listed on the letter.
That’s just what Staeryla says she did.
“If it’s over 10 inches, they need to be cut and removed. That day, I emailed the inspector per the instructions in the letter. That inspector never got back to me until October,” Staeryla said.
Staeryla showed 11 News more violations and a notice that she’s been charged and has to go to court. She’s reached out to multiple city departments asking for Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations but hasn’t heard back.
With court costs and city code fines, she could be charged up to $1,000 a day until the issue is cleared up.
While she waits for her day in court, she has many questions that are going unanswered.
“It’s unsightly, there are issues, but criminal charges is insane, especially when I am trying to work with the city,” Staeryla said.
Staeryla has also reached out to multiple nonprofits asking for help and is hoping to hear back before that Nov. 2 court date.
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