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Residents who organized a civic improvement group last summer say this year has been a whole new experience in the neighborhood that is sometimes known for abandoned buildings and overgrown empty lots.

"Everyone is noticing the change," said Bill Godfrey, president of Natrona Comes Together.

Tired of condemned homes and open-air drug dealing, the group pressed Harrison officials last year to beef up police patrols, crack down on the drug trade and enforce township ordinances that would force absentee landlords to fix up neglected buildings.

The township responded with help organizing a community crime watch group and increased police patrols, including a bike patrol. Also, Harrison hired a second, part-time code enforcement officer this summer, who residents have happily noticed ticketing the problem properties and abandoned cars around Natrona.

"This town is being tagged and towed, left and right," Godfrey said.

Township officials filed 15 code violations with district court in May and June alone. Most offenders were ordered to cut their grass, get rid of weeds or fix dilapidated buildings.

District Judge Carolyn Bengel also ordered teenagers who had been sentenced to community service to report to Natrona Comes Together officers. Godfrey put them to work painting curbs and cleaning up litter.

The cleanup spirit appears to be contagious.

"There are people cleaning up their properties and cutting grass just because they see other people doing it," Godfrey said. "There's one house where they hadn't cut the grass for about a decade and this year they've cut it."

Township Commissioner Mike Stanoski, who represents Natrona, credited teamwork between residents and elected officials with the change.

"We're all getting along and there's no fighting," Stanoski said.

In previous years, political tensions between some residents and elected officials was blamed for the failure of cleanup programs. But Natrona Comes Together is nearly a year old and gaining momentum.

Godfrey said the group tries to build on each successful project to attract new members. Even he is surprised at the change in attitude among his neighbors.

A year ago, Natrona Comes Together organizers lamented that many of their neighbors had become so disheartened by the decaying buildings and so afraid of crime that they'd retreated indoors for most of the summer.

Now, Natrona residents say most people happily spend evenings on their porches or in their yards.

Godfrey decided to tackle a neglected empty lot near his Walnut Street home earlier this summer. After cutting his grass, Godfrey took his lawn mower to the lot.

A few minutes later, another neighbor arrived with his lawn mower. Another woman showed up to pull weeds, and some children joined in to help, Godfrey said.

"It was like this spontaneous block party," he said. "There is more a sense of community down here."

There's plenty of work left to do, residents note. Most people still complain that condemned houses and other buildings need to be torn down, rather than boarded up.

Stanoski said the township is expecting $36,000 in state grants that should pay for more demolition this year. First on the list for demolition will be houses at 58 Walnut St. and 16 Greenwich St.

"The fact that we can all work together -- the residents, the township, the state elected officials, the district judge, ... -- shows that when everybody is trying we can really accomplish something," Stanoski said.

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