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SCHENECTADY
Absentee landlords facing court action
City’s move affects owners of 100 buildings
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    Owners of the city’s worst abandoned buildings are being dragged into court under a new, ambitious effort to resolve the city’s blight problem.
    Owners of nearly 100 buildings will be in court this month, an influx so large that it had to be coordinated with the city judges to make sure there was enough staff to handle it.
    “We’re hauling these absentee landlords into court,” Assistant Corporation Counsel Carl Falotico said. “We’re going after every one.”
    New Building Inspector Carl Schilling assigned one code enforcer to spend all of her time evaluating vacant buildings, researching their ownership and sending out tickets.
    The effort was made easier because the City Council passed a law last year requiring all owners of vacant buildings to pay a registration fee and then file a plan of action. Those who did not — owners of roughly 850 buildings — are being prosecuted.
    In the past, code enforcers had to laboriously detail every code violation at a vacant building and then defend against arguments that the violations could not be seen from the street. With the new law, it’s much simpler: Once the owner has agreed to show up for a court hearing, code enforcers will go back to the building, list every violation and ticket the owner in court, Falotico said.
    He told code enforcement officials to start with “the worst” properties and progress upward from there.
    Finding the owners hasn’t always been easy, either.
    “We’re kind of tricky. We go online to look for people,” he said. “We have tracked people down in Florida. One guy is in Minnesota.”
    Some of them have offered unusual explanations for why they shouldn’t have to deal with their building. The Minnesota man told city officials that he had been living in his house with his girlfriend. When he moved to Minnesota, she agreed to maintain the house, but then they broke up. He said she should be at fault for abandoning the property.
    “But legally, he’s responsible,” Falotico said.
    The first step in court is to order each owner to board up the property. Then code enforcers will issue violation tickets, and the owner will be ordered to make whatever repairs are needed.
    Boarding up a house doesn’t make the neighborhood look any better, but Falotico said it’s a start. ..................>>>>.........................>>>>.........................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01103&AppName=1

tax the people right out of their houses, then add insult to injury by taking them to court.

I agree, something needs to be done, but is this really the answer?

Will Frank P come under this court action they know where he is.

Gots to start somewhere.  There is no room for giving them breaks any more.  They know taxes are due.  They know they are supposed to be maintain their properties.  I say hang em.

The bad thing about all of this.....just cause they go to court are sited these lowlifes won't do anything and the courts won't either.  I can see them giving them a fine then supposedly they can be given jail time and the lame brain judges we have they will sentence reduce the sentences to nothing

ABSENTEE LANDLORDS mean just that......................ABSENT!!!

And I thought they tried this before with no success.......no?
Wasn't there something about how they didn't know who some of these LL's were and couldn't contact them????

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tax the people right out of their houses, then add insult to injury by taking them to court.

I agree, something needs to be done, but is this really the answer?

"Falotico said. This is the biggest problem affecting the city right now."

The biggest problem affecting the City right now is the high taxes.

I'm with MT that this might not be the best answer because the City essentially created this problem by taxing people to the point where they cannot afford repairs and they can't sell their properties either.

Open houses, absentee landlords...all ploys. The City knows the problem....they're taxing people into bankruptcy. Want to start some real changes....begin taxing the 300 - 400 block of State Street.

Other changes, get someone with a brain to risk manage the City. Maybe an urban planner with more than a GED. This is stupid is as stupid does over and over again!!!!!

Some of these 'absentee landlords' are business folks who live downstate and use their taxes as a write-off.  And as long as they continue to pay their taxes.....and the way the city operates, there's not too much left anyone can do.

The city created this mess..............and now there is very little they can do to correct it. Although as long as the city is collecting the taxes that they sooooo badly need due to over spending and poor planning...........they really don't care either!! It's all smoke and mirrors!!

  Tar and Feather!  Bad Tenants,Landlords, Political Favor people and O The Rich that chuckle at these things.

As long as these 'absentee landlords' continue to pay their taxes................they will do NOTHING!!!

They run the City like an Absentee Landord would.....