By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL real estate broker has expressed concerns that the property values of homes in the Yamacraw constituency are “steadily decreasing” due to “mountains of garbage” throughout certain portions of the area’s main road.

The realtor, a resident of Port New Providence who wished to remain anonymous, said homes located in her community, as well as those in the nearby Palm Cay, Treasure Cove and Twynam Heights areas are in danger of being devalued due to “mounds of garbage” located “all along Yamacraw Road.”

She also claimed that realtors such as herself have become reluctant to take their clients to view their potential investments out of fear that the clients may be turned off by the unsightly debris, adding that “it’s gotten to the point where realtors are just not going east.”

The realtor said while the Yamacraw Beach area “has always been a dumping ground,” the issue really came to a head following the passage of Hurricane Matthew.

She said following the category four storm, the downed trees, branches and bushes located along the side of the road were pushed back by heavy equipment, revealing the “endless litter and waste” previously hidden by the dense shrubbery to the point that each plot is now looking like a “landfill.”

Now, the realtor claimed that “mountains” of garbage, consisting of mattresses, appliances, derelict vehicles, as well as dead animals can be “clearly seen” while driving along Yamacraw Road.

Director of Environmental Health Melanie McKenzie, when contacted yesterday, said she is aware of the situation, as well as “100 other complaints of a similar nature,” and is trying to address them all.

However, Ms McKenzie said the issue isn’t as simple as just removing the debris, as she said that cleaning up without finding a permanent solution “just creates more of a problem because people are going to continue to do it.”

Meanwhile, Yamacraw MP Melanie Griffin, also contacted by The Tribune yesterday, maintained that following the passage of Hurricane Matthew, officials conducted a “massive cleanup” in the Yamacraw constituency and the surrounding areas.

“This is exactly what they’ve done since the hurricane, is exactly that,” the realtor said in response. “What was the fallen trees that were now dead, they have come with heavy equipment, taken down all the dead trees, they’ve pushed all the dead trees anywhere from 30 to 100 feet back from the road and piled all the debris up, so it’s now built a mountain.

“So they have done that since the hurricane, but all it’s done is expose all the litter that was in the bush that you couldn’t see before, so they’ve in essence made it worse.”

She added: “Obviously the dumping has been occurring for years, because pushing back the bush is showing it.

“There are mountains of garbage. I mean 20 feet high of dead trees, appliances, mattresses, and just little bits and pieces of litter in every three or four lots is what you see.”

The realtor, who said she has 25 years in the business, explained that the issue was having adverse effects on the property value of residences, as well as efforts to sell homes, condos, and properties in the area, and also expressed concerns that residents “may not be aware that their investments are tanking.”

“For me, a realtor, I can’t get people to these communities without passing what you saw in the pictures,” she said, referring to images forwarded to The Tribune.

“So how can I sell a $2m house in Port New Providence or an $800,000 condo in Palm Cay when just a mile before I turn into the community, this is the neighbourhood, this is the neighbourhood that I’m selling?

“And it’s gotten to the point where realtors are just not going east. The values, for example in Port New Providence where a beach front condo would rent for $5,000 or $6,000 a month they’re now renting for $3,000 - $3,200 because they’re just not desirable.

“We would expect that our communities that we paid half a million to $2m for would remain at a certain value. But now because of the state that has become Yamacraw Road and the further eastern part of the eastern road, it’s just considered a dump.”

The realtor also said she is “ashamed” to carry clients or personal acquaintances in the area, which she said has become dubbed “the new eastern ghetto.”

“People are actually making fun of us in the other communities,” she added.

“In my job as a real estate agent I go to a lot of events, events for high end developments for out west and on Paradise Island, and people who don’t know that I live out east would make comments like ‘who would ever go out east, it’s a big dump.’ And I’m ashamed and it’s sad because Yamacraw Road used to be a very pretty place with all the Casuarina trees, and I get it. It is a big dump.

“I won’t even invite people to my house during the day because I’m ashamed. Because there is no way to get to my community, there is no way to get to Winton Heights, no way to get to Palm Cay without seeing that.”

Ms McKenzie, when contacted, told The Tribune that the Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) is looking into the matter, however, she said officials are working to address the root of the matter as opposed to just providing temporary relief.

“My difficulty with cleaning it without doing the proper investigations, is that the problem does not desist,” she said.

“It continues and in fact it gets worse. Because when you clean it there’s more space for people to dump, there’s nothing put in place to prevent people from dumping, so all of that has to be dealt with.

“They dump it there with the expectation that you’re going to move it.”