[Includes video and photos]

Excerpt:

People who live on a former Navy base in Alameda are calling on the city to finally do something about more than a dozen vacant buildings that are now crumbling after years of neglect. Neighbors say the abandoned town homes have become a magnet for crime and a hazard to anyone who goes near them.

More than an eyesore

Michele Alfaro told KTVU she has had a view of what looks like the aftermath of a natural disaster since she and her family moved into supportive housing at Alameda Point three years ago.

"It actually looks like a tornado hit it, circled back and hit it again," said Alfaro. "Looking out my front window, there's broken down buildings. Walking down the street, there's broken down buildings. Everywhere you look, it's trash."

Ever since the Navy moved out in 1997 and handed over the property to the City of Alameda, Alfaro and others say the crumbling buildings which surround them have attracted a variety of problems to their neighborhood.

"They're hazardous to the children. People prostitute in there and use drugs," said Regina Oliver, who has lived in the area for five years.

A recent tour of the area revealed numerous broken windows, collapsed roofing, rotting wood and exposed nails.