HOUSTON -- One year since police shut down a northwest Houston condo complex, the property remains a magnet for crime and residents want something done about it, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.

More than 100 neighbors of the Candlelight Trails complex, located at 5626 De Soto, boarded buses and went to the Houston City Council demanding action.

They told city council members that the abandoned units have pushed down property values and driven up the crime rate.

"You don't want to take a chance -- somebody pulling you in a empty apartment or robbing you, whatever, so I walk on the other side of the street and I try not to go at the dark, period. I only go in the daytime cause it's just not safe," resident Christine Williams said.

Candlelight Trails was closed on Aug. 22, 2007, after police targeted the area for drug and gang activity.

The property's owner is Hilton Head Properties, a Dallas real estate company. It will not allow Houston police to patrol the complex.

After hearing the residents' complaints, Mayor Bill White said he is directing the city's legal department to seek a demolition order.

Hilton Head Properties did not return calls from KPRC Local 2 for comment.