"It's generally unpleasant to walk past here. It is never maintained. The plaque [on the front of the building] shows that [it is] state property, but that is the past. It's a very distant past," says Anna, a janitor. "It's chronically trash. People like to throw things away here. Last winter I was collecting glass bottles here."
According to Anna, this is the third year it has been like this. "They don't seem to mind at all."
The Land Register shows that the house at Andreja Pumpura Street 1 is currently owned by the Russian Embassy. 4. studija contacted the Russian Embassy in Latvia by phone, but they asked for an e-mail. The Embassy never replied.
There are also pieces of the facade of the building that are dangerous for pedestrians, and the courtyard of the house is quite unattractive.
Viktors Admidiņš, Head of the Maintenance Department of the Outdoor and Mobility Department of the Riga City Council, when asked about the maintenance of the neighborhood, pointed out that the municipality provides mechanized cleaning of the pavement during the winter, followed by sand collection. If the unkempt condition of a house is beginning to endanger passers-by, the municipal police should be contacted, who will identify the hazards and contact the owners of the house.
Although LTV did not receive any reply from the Russian Embassy, which is the current owner of the building, within a week Andreja Pumpura Street 1 has undergone an incredible transformation - the leaves have been raked, and there are no old flowers or small birch trees left.
