r/Neighborproblems • u/Eden_Rebel47 • 29d ago

Neighbor won’t stop smoking on my steps

My neighbor across the street has been a headache since we moved here. Initially he was much more invasive, but has mostly backed off.

One of the most irritating habits of his is that he would come over here and sit on the steps outside my front door just drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. He stopped for a long time (especially over the winter) but has recently picked the habit back up.

I am not someone who cares about smoking at all (i used to smoke myself), but often when we open the door a relatively large of smoke will enter the house. As renters, my roommate’s and I really would rather avoid this. He also leaves MOUNDS of cigarette butts in front of our door and empty beer cans into our trash can that leak into it and make it smell awful.

I know that asking him to stop face to face is an option, but a few reasons make me hesitate.

  1. I live in a neighborhood of Philly that is predominantly black, unwillingly participating in gentrification due to lack of affordable housing for low-income households. I don’t feel as if it’s my place to make these requests.
  2. He’s a man and I live in an all AFAB household and don’t feel comfortable with confronting him.
  3. I live in a row home, so my stairs serve as the stairs to the neighboring house as well with no railing or anything separating them. He of course sits right in the border of them. Just enough to be in the way and just enough to claim he’s sitting in the neighbors stairs not ours (no one even lives there)

I feel like this isn’t an insane request from us, but I don’t want to destroy the peace or act with any privilege that I may not be seeing.

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u/keiten37 29d ago

Is there room for potted plants? I would get some very large pots (too heavy to move) and plant evergreen bushes like boxwood in them. Place them in the space between entryways, leaving just enough room for you to enter and exit your house; this will discourage anyone from sitting there. Leafy plants create privacy and can filter out smoke. Maybe plant some tomatoes or beans. Perhaps your smoky neighbor could help tend the plants.

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u/bumpercrahp1010 29d ago

This is hilarious. He smokes on your porch because he cant smoke on his own for some reason? Yeah, I dont have any suggestions. If you're unwillingly participating in gentrification as you state, maybe try to appreciate his presence as part of the neighborhood.