Sharpsburg Residents Endure 20-Year Nightmare of Neglected Property

For the past 26 years, residents of Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania have been dealing with a nightmare scenario next door. A home on 21st Street, owned by John Medina, has fallen into severe disrepair, with the backyard overgrown with weeds over 10 feet tall and the property infested with raccoons, rats, and mosquitoes.

Neighbors like Bill Fitzpatrick and Marty Kukul say the situation has only gotten worse over the years, with the abandoned house now a haven for vermin. "Raccoons, rats. We can't sit out here at night because of the mosquitoes, flies," Fitzpatrick laments. Kukul adds, "This is the worst year that we've seen it."

Despite the borough of Sharpsburg issuing hundreds of citations, fines, and court orders against Medina, the problems persist. Medina, who owns over a dozen properties in the area, has racked up over $20,000 in fines but continues to ignore the borough's demands to clean up his properties.

"We are trying to clean this community up and it seems like we just keep hitting all of these roadblocks," says Mayor Kayla Portis in frustration. The borough says its hands are tied, as they must follow the legal process, which Medina has repeatedly exploited through appeals and claims of poverty.

As of September 2025, the situation remains unresolved, with the blighted property continuing to be a blight on the neighborhood and a source of ongoing anguish for the residents of Sharpsburg.