(WSVN) - Kids love trains. Sometimes adults like to watch them roll by, but what would you do if they stopped behind your house, stayed there and then the music videos and nudity started? How can you move a train? It’s why one neighborhood contacted Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
When you buy a home near railroad tracks, you know what to expect.
Yoly Navarro: “We knew that there would be a train behind the house and that it would come by twice a day, and that was OK with us.”
Yoly lives in a nice, friendly Southwest Miami-Dade neighborhood.
Yoly Navarro: “We get together, we do stuff, we look out for each other.”
And now all the neighbors are looking out — at this.
Yoly Navarro: “We went outside and the train stopped. That’s never happened before, and it’s never left.”
The railroad cars have been parked behind the houses for nine months. Not pretty to look at, and a pretty big problem.
Yoly Navarro: “There has been so much questionable activity back there, that it’s kind of scary.”
Clearly, railroad cars are a big attraction. Parents bring their kids to climb aboard. People record music videos.
Photographers bring their nude models.
Yoly Navarro: “We had a photo shoot of a woman in a rubber dress, unzipping her dress to the point where — I have boys, so started closing all of my blinds, making sure that they weren’t going to see something that they didn’t need to see at their age.”
At night, it’s a little more intimate.
Yoly Navarro: “Some of our neighbors believe that they heard sexual activity happening back there in the evening.”
Some people just come to sit out on the railroad cars.
Yoly Navarro: “People were back there smoking marijuana.”
Graffiti artists are having a field day, including a larger-than-life, 10-foot-tall drawing on a car behind one house.
Yoly Navarro: “It does have a gentleman’s body part, and that’s exactly what they see when they walk in their front door.”
When the neighbors look out their windows, they see people looking back at them.
Not surprisingly, crime has increased in the area.
Yoly Navarro: “Vandalism, you name it, it’s been back there.”
The neighbors have called railroad company CSX over and over to try to get them to move the railroad cars, but no luck.
Yoly Navarro: “It’s uncomfortable, and it’s something that we hope you guys can help us with.”
Well, Howard, the trains are parked behind his neighborhood, causing all sorts of problems. Can you force a railroad company to move their cars?
Howard Finkelstein: “No, you cannot force the railroad to move their cars. Federal law allows them to park the cars anywhere they want, and prevents state and local governments from interfering with railroad operations and trying to force them to move the cars. All you can do is complain to the railroad company and hope they listen.”
This one turned out to be pretty easy for us.
I contacted CSX in Atlanta. Kristen Seay wrote they would move the cars within three weeks.
Turned out it was just three days.
On a Saturday, Yoly and her neighbors heard the locomotive hook up to the cars, and they started to move.
Yoly Navarro: “Every single neighbor down here was outside. They were thrilled. They were screaming, “Congratulations. We did it.”
And then they were gone. Really gone.
We went up in Skyforce 7 to to see where. We followed the tracks north, then out west. Even down south. No sign of the cars.
Kristen Seay from CSX told me, “CSX strives to be a good neighbor to the communities we serve. We encourage the public to contact CSX at 1-877-TELLCSX with any future rail-related concerns.”
Yoly Navarro: “We want to thank CSX for doing that.”
Yoly and her neighbors then did a first for Help Me Howard. They all signed a thank you card.
Yoly Navarro: “We are so thankful for Help Me Howard. Howard, Patrick and the whole team have been amazing. Without you guys, we know that this would have never happened, so we just want to thank you, guys, from the bottom of our heart.”
Glad we could help. And I often get asked how we can solve some things that people can’t resolve. In part, because there is one person at every business that can straighten things out, and we find that person. Also, many companies know they will be on TV and want to look good — so that’s why you call Help Me Howard.
A problem left you feeling railroaded? Need someone to get you back on track? Park it with us. We don’t have the power of a locomotive, but we will push to get you rolling along again.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
To Contact CSX, call 1-877-TELLCSX
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
On Twitter: @helpmehoward7
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