A group of New Orleans East residents, who said they were tired of seeing blight in their neighborhood, took matters into their own hands Saturday in their first effort to clean up abandoned properties.

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This fast food restaurant in N.O. East has become an eyesore in the neighborhood.

On his day off, Clarence Verdin mows the grass in his neighborhood; only it's not his grass at all. He’s landscaping around an abandoned Taco Bell on Bullard Avenue.

“It shouldn't be that. But if it takes citizens to do the job – it's like a village,” Verdin said. “If we have to clean our own village, we have to do what we have to do.”

In March, Eyewitness News profiled this particular Taco Bell location back then – it remained untouched since Hurricane Katrina. After that story aired, Yum Brands, the corporate owner of Taco Bell, apologized for the mess and boarded up the property.

But since then the weeds and grass have grown wild around the building like so many other properties; which is why a group of 20 residents who live nearby said it’s time to do something about it.

“You have some communities that, you know, the community, people who live there, they're not waiting on the government to give them a handout to get the job done,” Verdin said. “And that's what we're doing out here today."

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Residents decided to take action in order to make their neighborhood look more inviting.

The volunteers said they plan to be out at other properties this and the following weekend.

“I understand that some people may be waiting on insurance, or Road Home, or things of that nature, but there's no reason why we can't make at least the visual appearance look good,” said Ryan Rochon, New Orleans East resident.

But the work's meaning goes beyond just the appearance. Volunteers said their homes were their biggest investment and the value of that investment has taken a hit since the storm.

Rochon said residents need to take things into their own hands in order to attract new homeowners and businesses to the area.

“People are coming back and they're trying to keep their property up,” Verdin said, “but when you have something like this, it's an eye-catcher.”

An eye-catcher they hope to tame in the short term and hope it won't be around in the long term.