PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — For 85 years folks in Greenfield have used steps to get from Coyne Terrace to Winterburn Street, but now a couple has fenced them off and their neighbors are irate.

“It’s going to cause a civil war down here,” says Steve “Lefty” Sturm, a neighbor.

In many ways it already has; the police have called out several times as the war of words has threatened to boil over.

Sturm says he speaks for most everyone on Coyne Terrace who believes they have a right to use the steps.

“No one deserves this,” says Sturm. “We deserve to have our lives living nice and peaceful, and I’ll tell you what, everyone on this street is going to be affected by this one way or another.”

Most people had assumed that the steps and the nearby plot of land were public parcels to be used as a public right of way.

But that’s not so, at least according to Allegheny County real estate records, which shows that Raymond and Beth Cronin legally purchased the land and steps for $742 in unpaid taxes in October 2013.

Now, the Cronins apparently want to use the plot for a swimming pool and tempers are running high.

“The tempers that are running high are from these people who won’t take… won’t accept the fact that it’s his property. It’s simple. He has the documentation,” said Ward Miller, a friend of the Cronins.

The couple declined to speak with KDKA on camera, but Miller said the Cronins had tried to work out an accommodation with the neighbors to use the steps, but no one would help them with the maintenance.

Miller says the Cronins have been the victims of constant harassment.

“He tried to make concessions at first, and I can understand, he got mad, and said, ‘That’s off the table. This is my property I’m taking it back,’” said Miller. “He has every right to do that.”

The fight escalated last week when Ray Cronin informed their neighbor Henrietta Pisztora that surveyors showed in addition to the steps he owns half of her yard, and he tore down her fence to claim it.

A yelling match ensued as other neighbors came to her aid. The police were called once more, bringing tensions to a new high.

“I feel violated, and he is laughing at me, he’s threatening me,” said Pisztora, “and I don’t feel any more at peace. I lost my peace, my happiness, and my freedom.”

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