City declares South Boston home unfit for human habitation
(George Rizer/Globe Staff)
Firefighters responded to the home (at left, with awnings) because of reports of carbon monoxide contamination. They found shocking conditions.
By David Abel, Globe Staff
The city of Boston has condemned the Tudor Street home where three adults and a child were found last week to be living in horrendous squalor.
During a condemnation hearing this morning at the Boston Inspectional Services Department, a housing inspector showed photos of the South Boston property that depicted mounds of soda bottles, opened cans of food, cigarette butts, and rat droppings, on everything from the kitchen table to beds.
Massive cobwebs in which roaches were trapped hung from mold-pocked ceilings.
The water had been shut off from the home, so the toilets and faucets didn’t work. Inspectors also found Mountain Dew bottles filled with urine.
“The condition of the unit is unfit for human habitation,” said Julia Scott, the housing inspector who reviewed the property. “The unit is in deplorable condition.”
She said various rooms of the house couldn’t be entered because the mounds of trash were so high that they blocked doors. She added that exposed wires, light fixtures, and extension cords created dangerous conditions.
The owner of the home, Mary Ryan, failed to attend the hearing. She was given 30 days to hire exterminators and a professional cleaning company to get the home up to code.
If Ryan does not respond to the condemnation finding, the matter could be sent to Boston Housing Court where a judge could place the home in receivership.
Officials say Ryan was living in the home with two of her adult children and a 5-year-old granddaughter. On Friday, firefighters were called to the home to investigate high levels of carbon monoxide and discovered the conditions inside.
The little girl is in foster care, pending an investigation into her family situation, a Department of Children and Families spokeswoman said Monday.
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