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These techies are so angry over Atlanta blight they flew a drone to film it. What they found is ugly.

May 12, 2016

A group of Atlanta residents are so angry over the city's blighted buildings they flew a drone to film them. What they found is ugly.

These aerial

from the

and

neighborhoods show the skeletal remains of long-abandoned properties. The crumbling roofs would look at home in a war zone.

The video is the work of Blyght, a group of young, tech-savvy residents who are calling attention to deadbeat owners and hazardous properties using technology. Charlie Agrinsoni filmed the homes. West side residents David Cater, Kahlil English Alan Holmes are coordinating the effort. Holmes

has served on the city's code enforcement committee, which studied ways to overhaul its system.

A budget proposal by neighborhood groups that's being presented to City Hall today asks for millions of dollars in additional funding and resources, including 20 more code enforcement researchers to hunt down owners and 15 more public works officers.

Eleven associations have signed on to the budget request. A Change.org petition is also in progress.

Watch their full video here:

Note: Edited at 1:38 p.m. to update links and add a new video.

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About the Author

Willoughby Mariano is an investigative reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where she focuses on housing and criminal justice issues. She previously worked for the AJC's PolitiFact Georgia, where she fact checked the claims of elected officials, and at the Orlando Sentinel, where she covered crime and breaking news.

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