Like other towns, Lansford has its downtown problems such as empty storefronts.

Borough officials and civic leaders are hoping a Streetscape Grant, a state grant which will provide for improvements such as new parking meters and designer trees, will spur renewed acceptance of businesses and patrons.One thing the already approved Streetscape Grant won't do is get rid of an eyesore smack dab in the middle of the business district.That piece of blight is the Elks Building at 6 W. Ridge St. Of course the Elks Fraternal Organization no longer has anything to do with the structure. Ownership has changed hands many times over the years. There is no longer an Elks Lodge in the community.The cramped structure is three stories high and attached to the attractive, maintained Ameriprise Financial building on one side and an operating barber shop on the other.There is no front door on the Elks Building, baring a structure that is full of debris and decay.The Elks Building also extends to West Patterson Street, which is Route 209, the gateway of the community. It's across from the Turkey Hill Minit Mart.Lansford Borough council member Tommy Vadyak recently complained that glass is falling from the broken windows onto the sidewalks where people walk past.A walk past shows broken glass lying on the Ridge Street sidewalk and windows overhead with varying sizes of pieces of broken glass in them.Phil Dunkirk recently was passing the building, pushing a young child in a stroller. "Somebody's gonna get hurt," he said, pointing to the broken windows. Vadyak is concerned about that, too.But borough officials aren't sure what to do about the structure. They don't have the funds for demolition. They don't even own the building.Borough Secretary Mary Fittos said the borough has been unsuccessful in locating the owner.According to court records, the building was purchased in July 2012 by Jose Roldan of Rockport Road, Weatherly from Christopher Kirk for $4,500.In September of that year, Lansford police cited Roldan for roof, windows and other deterioration to the property. He pleaded guilty and was find $600, for which he was put on a payment plan of $50 a month.Roldan sold the property later in the year to Michael Inabnett of Brooklyn, New York, for $4,905.Borough officials haven't been able to contact Inabnett. The Times News couldn't find any information about Inabnett, either, but one site shows a Michael Inabnett from Brooklyn has moved various times to different states.On July 23 of last year, Lansford borough assigned an "Emergency Demolition Order" to the building, which states "the building is in imminent danger of collapse and a danger to the public." The declaration was made by the borough's code enforcement officer, Barry Isett & Associates of Trexlertown.The order says floors and ceilings are a health hazard, the northeast wall is bulging outward and there is a fear the building will fall.The condition of the building has led to other problems, such as a harboring place for pigeons.Back in 2005, a full decade ago, the structure already was a problem. At that time, as many as 300 pigeons were found on the ground in and around the building.At that time, then Mayor George Krajnak walked through the structure and found the floors covered with bird droppings. Nests with chicks and adult pigeons were everywhere.There were remediation efforts at evacuating the pigeons, but the open doors and windows allow reentry not only by the birds but possibly by rodents and other critters.In August, the borough sought assistance from Isett & Associates to seek a government grant to demolish the building. So far, there has been no reportable progress on such funding.Meanwhile, the glass keeps falling from the windows, birds keep entering, and the ugliness, danger and health concerns remain.