CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – Some neighbors on Charleston’s West Side have filed a lawsuit against the city’s effort to close a controversial stairway.

Just a few weeks ago, the steps were considered public property, but now, they belong to the man who lives at the top of the hill. And he says they’ve been his responsibility for years.

“They’ve wore out their use. They’re not used up here by the citizens anymore,” says Jerry Gacy, the homeowner who bought the stairs.

Gacy has lived in his home for 33 years and in West Virginia his whole life. He said that when he first bought his home the stairs were used by residents, but says they are now often used for illegal activity.

“I’ve maintained and cut them for several years and I just give up. I’m tired of the riff-raff coming up.”

For some, however, the steps serve as a fond memory.

“And we would walk up the stairs. And we’d say oh it’s so nice up here the birds are chirping,” says Dan Carlisle, longtime West Side resident and owner of Taylor Books. “And then one day on one of our walks there was a for sale sign.”

However, after a Charleston City Council meeting where the majority of residents voted in favor of demolishing the stairs, the City of Charleston sold the stairs to Gacy for $100. He plans to tear them down.

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“Where are they at? They’re laying in my yard. The crimes they’re committing are happening on my property so I’m liable,” says Gacy.

The City of Charleston is currently facing legal action from four neighbors who are in favor of keeping the stairs. The lawsuit claims the city broke its own rules and did not follow the procedure that was required to sell them.

“You know I was a regular stair user, probably once a week, and it didn’t seem to me that they were in a state of disrepair,” says Carlisle.

The plaintiffs say that they use the stairs for access to the West Side, to visit the pharmacy or for grocery shopping.

“In terms of public health – promoting walking promoting bike riding – fixing the sidewalks not tearing them out,” says Carlisle.

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