By Lauren Lipton
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – There is a big contest going on in Philadelphia and everyone is invited to enter.
READ MORE: Arson Suspect Arrested In Connection To Fire, Building Collapse That Killed Philadelphia Fire Lt. Sean Williamson“Take Back Vacant Land is running a contest called ‘The Best and Worst Lots in Philadelphia.’ What we want from you is we want to know, do you have a vacant or blighted lot that’s a real pain for the community?” says the organizer for Take Back Vacant Land Nijmie Dzurinko.
Nijmie Dzurinko, organizer for Take Back Vacant Land (Credit: Skip Fischer)
Hear Lauren Lipton’s full interview with Nijmie Dzurinko in this CBS Philly podcast (runs 5:36)…
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“On the flip side, if you have a lot that folks have reclaimed and people are actually doing something productive with, using it to grow food, using it as greenspace or a community playground or anything like that, we want that too. So we want the best lot and we want the worst lot.”
And what do the winners get?
READ MORE: Police: Homeless Man Allegedly Stabs 15-Year-Old Boy In Self-Defense In Center City“There are going to be home and yard improvement gift cards for the top three best and worst, as well as a lot cleanup for the worst,” Dzurinko said.
How do you enter?
“Take a picture of it, write a description, send it in to us via e-mail (takebackvacantland@gmail.com), Facebook, Twitter.”
Vacant lot on the 3400 block of Livingston Street in Philadelphia. (Credit: Mike DeNardo)
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Dzurinko says the issue of vacant land in Philadelphia has become a large problem.
“There are 40,000 parcels of vacant and blighted land in Philadelphia, 40,000. And the properties reduce the city’s total wealth by $3.6 billion. What we really want is to get this land back into use.”
And that’s “Positively Philadelphia!”
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