CRIME ALERT: vacant, neglected Salemtown house burglarized

According to the Salemtown elist earlier today the absentee owner of 1900 4th Ave N (Google maps streetview likely from 2008-2009) reported to a neighbor that that someone broke into the the long-vacant property and stole appliances, electric meter, ceiling fans, HVAC wiring and other miscellaneous metals. The property is notorious to neighbors as overgrown and unmaintained with broken windows, gang graffiti and a front door obscured from plain sight. The blighted conditions have been reported to Metro Codes several times without positive results, and the owner has been cited before. No one heard any suspicious noises during the break-in and neighbors believe it might have happened overnight. Salemtown had been enjoying a drop in crime over the past year, but unkempt blight will always lead to other problems like vandalism and theft. This owner's irresponsibility forces us to once again deal with crime spreading to the rest of the neighborhood.