Peters Township neighborhood dispute over ladders climbs to new heights
The owner of this Sugar Camp Road home recently erected signs in response to his Peters Township neighbor leaving work tools, pool equipment and ladders in the yard. The dispute has prompted neighbors in the community to leave ladders in their own yards as a show of solidarity.
Greg Fortunato placed these signs in his yard in response to his Sugar Camp Road neighbor’s complaint.
VENETIA – A neighborhood dispute in Peters Township is climbing to new heights.
Complaints by a Sugar Camp Road resident about work tools, pool equipment and ladders left around the backyard of a neighbor’s house sparked a disagreement that prompted both to erect dueling protest signs, which has created a flurry of drama within the Venetia neighborhood and on social media.
The dispute has spawned a so-called neighborhood battle of “Ladder Man vs. Sign Man” that went viral on Facebook with people from as far away as New Zealand chiming in.
Gary, the Sugar Camp Road resident who asked that his last name not be published, said he has spent more than three years looking at what he called junk stored in the backyard of Greg Fortunato’s home on nearby Shawnee Trail.
“They’re calling him the ‘Ladder Man.’ It’s about more than ladders,” Gary said. “He keeps piling (things) there on purpose.”
The disagreement climaxed on Christmas Day when Gary erected two billboards in his yard with color photographs of the pool equipment and ladders in an attempt to shame his neighbor.
“Would You Want These People for Your Neighbors?” the signs asked passing motorists.
In response, Fortunato posted his own signs, one with a meme depicting actor Russell Crowe in the movie “Gladiator” with the quote “Are you not entertained” and another soliciting the public for “used ladders.” Fortunato said Wednesday his signs were meant as a joke, but they took on a life of their own as neighbors showed his family support by placing ladders in their own yards.
“It was a joke,” Fortunato said. “I didn’t think it would take off like it did. It was to illustrate the hilarity of the situation.”
But Gary isn’t laughing.
He said in recent years there have been several wheelbarrows, more than a dozen rakes and shovels, along with concrete blocks and wooden planks similar to railroad ties lying in the yard against Fortunato’s privacy fence. Gary said he spoke to township zoning officer Ed Zuk in April 2014, asking the township to compel Fortunato to clean up the building supplies and ladders, but it kept getting delayed.
He claimed Fortunato promised to remove the ladders and pool equipment in May 2014, but they remained. Gary said the township sent Fortunato a letter noting that he might be in violation of an ordinance about trash, rubbish and litter, and Gary attended several Peters Township council meetings to complain. But nothing was done, he said, and his graded lot is situated in a way he can’t plant trees or erect a privacy fence of his own.
Fortunato responded that they had a family gathering to use his backyard pool this past summer, but Gary spent the entire afternoon mowing his grass multiple times to create a distraction. In response, Fortunato admitted he and his guests tossed a few items over the fence, but the items stayed on Fortunato’s property. He thought that was the end of it.
However, Gary filed a civilian harassment complaint against Fortunato in July. It was thrown out later that month by District Judge James Ellis, according to online court records.
“I’ve had enough,” Gary said. “I tried to do it the right way and followed everything (the township) asked me what to do. Nothing was done.”
Zuk declined to comment on the dispute.
In August, Gary said Fortunato promised him that he would remove any items around the privacy fence by the end of fall. But when the winter solstice struck, Gary had enough and his billboard signs went up, one of which he claimed was vandalized Saturday night.
“There are people for me and people against me,” Gary said of the neighborhood’s opinions on the matter.
Fortunato felt the signs unfairly targeted his family, so he responded with the lighthearted “Gladiator” meme. Two ladders were propped up against his fence Wednesday, which he said hardly can be considered a neighborhood eyesore.
“It’s unfortunate. You can’t pick your neighbors,” Fortunato said. “The man has nothing to do but sit there and dwell on it.”
The township last week ordered both of them to remove their signs, which they did Monday. But the disagreement is still simmering as stray ladders continue to pop up in nearby yards.
Fortunato said he’ll continue to store the pool cover and stone blocks next to his privacy fence in the summer when they use the pool, but he’s ready to move on from the dispute that has cast a spotlight on his neighborhood.
“I think it’s a nonstory. I hope it goes away,” Fortunato said. “I never intended it to go the way it did. I’m just ready to move on. If he’s ready to drop it, that’s fine.”