BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY October 6, 2019 12
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Neighbors in Throggs
Neck have endured a ‘little
shop of horrors’ growing in
the front and back yards of
274 Balcom Avenue for some
years now.
Buckets of raw fish, rotten
tomatoes, oranges and plastic
bottles containing a yellow
liquid that emit a urine-like
aroma are scattered among
piles of wood and scrap metal,
reek outside an overgrown
property with vines so thick
that they would rival Wrigley
Field’s ivy.
The 3-story brick 1950s
home, which has is attached
on both sides, is solely inhabited
by 74-year-old Richard
Kehrle; a disheveled man
who is hard of hearing and
suffers from a severe speech
impediment. He’s lived on
Balcom Avenue for half a century
and inherited the modest
house from his parents
following their passing.
“He’s a hoarder,” said Kehrle’s
next door neighbor, Lauren
Torres. She and her family
has put up with the smell
of urine and feces coming
from Kehrle’s yard for many
years. She claims the odorous
fluids run into her property
whenever it rains.
“We literally can’t even
sit outside in our own yard,”
Torres said, adding that Kehrle’s
backyard is about two
feet higher than ground level
because of all the junk he
stores there.
She explained that he
scours the neighborhood
daily with his shopping cart,
collecting cartloads of junk
to bring into his home.
“Recently he found poles
that (hold) a chain link fence
that are now in the backyard,”
Torres said.
Kehrle downplayed the situation,
saying that he “only
grows tomatoes to eat,” on
Tuesday, October 1.
He also said that the fish
and bottles he keeps outside
are to deter mosquitoes and
that they consist of mostly
rainwater.
Many city agencies
have inspected
Kehrle’s home,
such as Adult Protective
Services
and even the Environmental
Protection
Agency, he
said.
“The FDNY told
me that his home is
a fire hazard and
one spark could
make the entire
thing catch fire,”
Torres said, mentioning
that Con
Edison can’t even
get in to the house
to read his gas meter.
Kerhle expressed
frustration
with his Throggs
Neck neighbors
who are meddling
in his affairs. He’s
asking for help to
set up a GoFundMe
page so that he can
“raise $500,000
for his house and
move out of the
neighborhood for
good.”
Balcom Avenue
garbage hoarder stinks
up the neighborhood
Raw fi sh left otuside of 274 Balcom Av- Piled up wood and scrap metal in Kehrle’s backyard. Courtesy of Lauren Torres
enue. Courtesy of Lauren Torres
Bottles left out in Kehrle’s backyard. Courtesy of Lauren Torres
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