'Ugliest house' still stands tall

Courier Post by Deborah Hirsch

CAMDEN — Cramer Hill resident Zoraida Gonzalez-Torres can't remember the last time someone lived in the burned-out rowhouse at 923 N. 27th St., just a few blocks from her home.

She guessed the two-story building has been vacant for at least 12 years. Last October, the city designated it an imminent hazard that should be demolished within 48 hours.

However, what's left of the home still stands today -- one of thousands of abandoned shells marring the city.

To Cramer Hill residents, this particular house is the worst of the worst eyesores in their neighborhood.

Thursday, Gonzalez-Torres and about 50 other residents crowned it the winner of an "Ugly Home" contest at a tongue-in-cheek ceremony they hope will spur real action. They shook tambourines, banged hand drums and waved cardboard cut-outs of bulldozers as community leaders covered part of the red siding with a banner proclaiming "Cramer Hill's Ugliest House of 2009."

"This could collapse any minute and affect anybody walking down the sidewalk," Gonzalez-Torres said. "This is not normal in any other community. Why is it normal in Camden? We need to make sure that something gets done."

Leaders from St. Anthony of Padua Parish and Camden Churches Organized for People started the ugly home contest last month to call attention to the problem. They photographed 13 of the neighborhood's nearly 200 abandoned buildings and distributed ballots to local churches and the Cramer Hill Community Development Corporation.

More than 300 votes were cast, about 30 percent of which put 923 N. 27th St. at the top of the list, said Father Jud Weiksnar of St. Anthony.

(For the complete article, please see the Courier Post.)