FORT MYERS, Fla. — Since Hurricane Ian hit, people along West First Street in downtown Fort Myers are constantly reminded of the storm. A group of homeowners say they want Legacy Harbour cleaned up.
"It's hard to look at every day," said Sharon Dewey, part of the Concerned Citizens of West First Street.
They look at abandoned boats, torn up docks and debris.
"Our terminology is a junkyard," said Annalene Roehr, another member of the group.
They have a long list of concerns, some potentially dangerous.
"If you're walking, we have no lights here," Roehr said.
"There are a couple of old trucks that are very rusted," Dewey said. "We're also worried about projectiles for incoming hurricane season. You know, something like that could fly around."
The group started getting in touch with local and state leaders in August 2023. Most recently, they went to a Fort Myers City Council meeting to present to members what they've been dealing with and resources for the city.
"This is a serious concern," said councilman Fred Burson.
Crews have started tearing down the hotel and suites part of the marina, but who does the fault lie on the clean everything up?
Two parcels are owned by the city, and part of that area still has debris. At the city council meeting, city workers admitted to oversight and are working diligently to clean it up.
"I can’t put a timeline on it, but it will definitely be a priority," said City Manager Marty Lawing when Councilman Liston Bochette asked if they're going to get their end of the clean up done.
The rest of the parcels are owned by different people including SMI VUE LLC, Aloia Frank J Jr and 2044 West Capital Propco.
Contact information could not be found, but Fox 4 senior reporter tracked down the code violations.
The City of Fort Myers has seven separate code violations against the owners. Propco has five and the other two owners have one each.
On May 9, there will be a Code Enforcement meeting to talk about them.
"Our mission now is just to keep track of what is going on and just try to keep it moving forward as best as we can," Roehr said. "We just want our neighborhood back. "
