Letter writer Stan Bratzke is crying again about how bad Belleville is treating him and his renters. I've lived in and own my home in Belleville for 44 years. Out of the 20 homes in my block, three are rental units. Those three have been nothing but problems from day one. One has been a dope house twice because the landlord never did any background checks. He also never spent a dime on upkeep. He died finally and a wonderful woman bought it and has turned it into a very nice home again.

Another one had a stolen car ring operating in it; they were finally caught and three ex-convicts and two girls of the street were working out of it. They are finally gone also.

My point is Bratzke and people like Rick Brown think they are being picked on. We homeowners who are the very backbone of Belleville have had enough of the landlords coming into our neighborhoods and tearing them apart with their rental houses. Fights, car doors slamming all night long, bottles and cans and McDonald bags all over in our yards because of people who think they can rent to anyone as long as they get the rent.

hey took nine mattresses out of that dope house in my block. We homeowners are tired of living with such trash.

To Mayor Mark Eckert: Thank you for trying to clean up this trash. To landlords who are always crying, I say: Shut up and clean up your act like a decent person or sell out and leave.

Dennis Kaufmann

Belleville