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Shrimp farm creates eyesore
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A picture of the East Side land at Shaw Avenue and Karl Street where Ronald Eiselstein has been growing shrimp for the last several years. Eiselstein said he plans to continue growing his shrimp, but one nearby resident has been complaining to the city about the large unfenced and uncovered holes in the ground. She says the area is a hazard to neighborhood children.
YOUNGSTOWN
What started as a small attempt at raising small tasty treats has turned into an area filled with big holes in the earth and a large pain in the neck for one nearby property owner.
In 2009, area entrepreneur Ron Eiselstein bought 25 acres of land on the city’s East Side in an area commonly known as the Sharon Line and dug up large ponds. Eiselstein put 3,000 juvenile shrimp, each about a little less than 1.2 inches long in the pond he created.
Today, those ponds and land surrounding the ponds on a parcel just off of Karl Street, appear to be a vacant mess. High grass and weeds have grown across the land with occasional mounds of dirt where the earth has been moved.
Some earth-moving equipment on the land and craters still hold water, where the shrimp would have been raised if any of the shrimp were left.
The ponds ranged from 4 to 6 feet deep when they first were created in 2009. There is still water in the main pond at the center of the property. There are “No Trespassing” signs posted, and the city has installed plastic, temporary fencing, but Patricia Cobbin, a neighboring landowner, said that is not enough to ensure the safety of children and others in the area.
Cobbin has been after Eiselstein and the city to either fill in the earth holes on the property or install a fence since Eiselstein came up with the idea to grow shrimp on the property.
Cobbin said she has been complaining to city officials about the open holes for more than two years.
“I keep telling them that if I had a swimming pool that size in my yard, I would be required to put up a fence with a gate. I don’t know what kind of clout that man has downtown, but I am just not getting anywhere,” she said.
The city did install plastic fencing around each of the ponds last week.
Cobbin said the holes create a safety hazard for anyone living near the shrimp operation. That claim hit home with Cobbin’s family a few weeks ago when her 10-year-old grandson fell into one of the ponds on the property.
“My grandson fell into one of the small ones. He said he fell in and went to the bottom and the other little boy he was playing with helped him climb out,” she said. “I think it scared him as far as going in that hole, but those holes still need to be covered up.”
Eiselstein said he plans to place a fence around the perimeter of the property after he has finished fighting the city over his plans to continue growing shrimp at the location. He, and his attorney, Alden Chevlen, attended a hearing in Youngstown Municipal Court last week concerning the property. At that hearing, Magistrate Anthony Sertick determined the matter should be moved to housing court with a new court date of March 12.
Eiselstein said he has plans to continue growing shrimp at the location when the weather is warmer this year.
Chevlen and Eiselstein said the city and residents have been resistant to his plans to grow the shrimp on the East Side property. They said if the constant complaining and court battles continue they may pack up and take the operation elsewhere.
“They have just been after him. It is winter, and there are no shrimp in there. It is only a depression in the ground, but they are still after him,” said Chevlen. “This [shrimp farming] is a good thing. Why are they fighting a good thing?”