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SCHENECTADY
A tough call
Empty houses remain a big problem in city, but boarding them up also poses risks
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    After earning the dubious honor of being one of the state’s emptiest cities, with one of the highest number of vacant houses, Schenectady officials are fi nally gaining traction in their fight against blight.
    But their first step may make the city look worse.
    To keep thieves from stripping everything of value inside, and to stop the homeless from starting fi res for warmth that sometimes destroy the entire house, owners are being required to board up their vacant houses. City officials believe there are more than 600 such houses throughout Schenectady, defi ned as houses that have been vacant for more than 30 days. Most have sat empty for years, relics of Schenectady’s glory days when industries including General Electric and Alco were booming.
    Owners of the 100 houses in the worst condition were brought to court this month for not complying with the board-up law. While some of them are also in danger of losing their houses due to nonpayment of taxes or mortgage, many are telling the judge they simply can’t keep up with the cost of maintenance. More will be brought to court every month until the city finds the owners of every vacant and unsecured house.
    So far, a few owners are choosing to renovate or rent out their properties, but others are taking the simplest path: boarding up the property. Putting plywood over every door and window might preserve the interior, but boarded-up houses seem to encourage graffiti as well as vandalism. The plywood serves as a clear notification that no one lives inside — and until recently, many thieves were able to pry away boards in the dark.
TOUGHER RULES
    Now city regulations require recessed boards that fit exactly into the frame of each window and door, secured with bolts from the inside. Those are diffi cult to break through from the outside without cutting the plywood apart with a saw.
    “They’re done in a much more secure manner,” said Building Inspector Eric Shilling, arguing that board-ups are better than leaving the houses unsecured.
    “People will come and strip a house clean … there’s public safety hazards … there’s 100 reasons why the board-up is a far superior choice,” he said.
    But they still don’t look great — and to some residents, plywood is an invitation to vandals.
    “When they are boarded up, it gives them the idea to go into it, because they think no one lives there,” said Lizvette Brenes. She lives just three doors down from a house that a bank foreclosed on for failure to pay the mortgage. It’s not boarded up, just locked, with a small for-sale sign out front.
    “I didn’t even know there was a foreclosed house,” she said. “I thought it was just for sale. It looks better that way.”
    Another resident, who lives near a boarded-up, abandoned house that has been repeatedly hit by graffiti, said plywood just makes a bad situation worse.
    “When you put it up, it decreases the property value. When they’re not boarded up, they’re more ready to sell,” said the Rev. Lorenzo Johnson.
    But other residents see empty buildings as a hazard. They want plywood covering every door and window as soon as possible.
    “Forget about what it looks like,” said resident Jason Taylor, who argued that children could get into locked houses and get hurt, or start trouble.
    Resident Billy Fowler added, “It’ll keep people out of there, keep people from selling drugs, squatters — we don’t need that around here.”
    Others are worried about vandals breaking in and setting fi res, either for cooking or warmth. That’s destroyed several houses in the city in recent years.
    “I think they should board it up so people don’t set fi res,” said Jazlyn Taylor, 11. She lives near three boarded-up houses, all of which have been badly covered with graffiti. “They could just repaint it,” she said.
BANKERS’ VIEWS
    Their view isn’t popular among those who usually make the decision: banks that take houses during foreclosure. Spokespeople for several banks said plywood is a measure of last resort.
    Wells Fargo will go so far as to replace broken windows rather that boarding them up. “We prefer to replace glass with glass,” said Sherilee Massier, property preservation manager.
    To her, securing a property means locking it up, winterizing it, and mowing the grass. Plywood only comes out if locks don’t work.
    “If it’s a high-vandal area, or it gets broken in many times, we’ll board the property,” she said. “I think every property is unique and every neighborhood is unique.”
    Several residents offered a third choice: donate the house to those who can use it. They suggested that the city and the banks should offer buildings to the homeless, nonprofits and small living-room churches.
    “I have a church. That could be a perfect church,” Johnson said, looking at a boarded-up, graffiti-covered house. “Imagine if that was a church.” ....................>>>>.................>>>>....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00100&AppName=1

There will be no easy solution to fixing this pathetic, could have been prevented, problem! The city officials have dug such a deep hole for themselves that there is apparently no way to dig themselves out of it.

These blight issues should have been taken care of years ago when they first became apparent.

Like everyone has said..........WHILE NERO WAS FIDDLING.............

The house on the corner of Tenth and Eighth in Mont Pleasant is a classic example...

Boards have been ripped out....and it looks like it might be a haven for undesirables

and to boot with Ferrari's right down the street ........may present a not too good feeling for those wanting to patronize the

great Italian restaurant......

MCC might want to rethink the plan to save the city....no one wants to buy a house in that neighborhood....

How is that Open House working out Mayor?

Wow, interesting that the Gazetto claims that our City is riddled with empty homes and has hundreds of vacancies. Never saw that in their prior puff pieces.

Guess when they want to prove a point they'll pull out a fact or two.

I happen to know for FACT that there are 'families/squatters' in some of these vacant homes. What is the city going to do with them?
By law they should be arrested for trespassing.....yes?

It is the renaissance. Maybe it is Bush's fault.

Quoted from bumblethru

There will be no easy solution to fixing this

So VERY true.

Now, if the dems in the city and county stopped stealing from the taxpayers, stopped stealing from the financially struggling homeowners by forcing them to pay the taxes of the millionairess and politically connected downtown, maybe homeowoners would have stayed in the city and the houses would not have been abandoned.   Maybe if the dems paid attention to their constituents, to the people that LIVE in the city, live IN THE NEIGHBORHOODDS and if the dems paid attention to the neighborhoods instead of giving millions of dollars to millionaires, things would be different

This and all of our facebook wall photos may be found at http://www.facebook.com/media/.....e=3&l=1d73567ba3

Is DV's favorite mayor putting these houses on the grand bus tour of open houses?

Why now?   After all, he gets the banks to give out more money than a house is worth so people can update a 1990's kitchen and make a 2010 kitchen, etc.

Don't use the taxpayers's money to fix up these houses, don't use the taxpayers' money fo fix up the neighborhods, just keep letting property values in the city fall.

As long as the dems steal from the taxpayers and give money to the millionaires downtown and the politically connected, that's going to improve the city---so says DV aka ham.

Adn we all notice how Smoking Bananas has disappeared in total embarrassment after stating the property values were going up when ALL the proof said otherwise, and he could not provide any evidence to support what he said, but then, only only did a copy and paste thing from a lowlyl newspaper worker


.

Quoted from mikechristine1

So VERY true.

Now, if the dems in the city and county stopped stealing from the taxpayers, stopped stealing from the financially struggling homeowners by forcing them to pay the taxes of the millionairess and politically connected downtown, maybe homeowoners would have stayed in the city and the houses would not have been abandoned.   Maybe if the dems paid attention to their constituents, to the people that LIVE in the city, live IN THE NEIGHBORHOODDS and if the dems paid attention to the neighborhoods instead of giving millions of dollars to millionaires, things would be different

This will get worse and worse until the tax issue is fixed.  There is no reason to buy or stay in schenectady unless it's a) for proximity to something b) sentimental.  YOu can go live in a much better town/ crime area for lower cost.  Their are tons of houses with low cost and huge taxes that make them unsellable almost.  Their is NO insentive withour taxes for anyone to move here, unless they have a income issue which makes so many of our programs desireable.  Fix the taxes, fix the taxes, fix the taxes, and the city will follow.  Make a reason for people to want to come here.  I see houses all the time that are like 180k with 6k in taxes.  it would be cheaper and nicer to go live in latham.

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SCHENECTADY
Abandoned building effort gets poor response
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.

    It’s been two weeks since the city started taking property owners to court on accusations of abandoning their buildings.
    And so far, the results aren’t encouraging.
    Only about half of the owners showed up for their court dates, Assistant Corporation Counsel Carl Falotico said. “This is a long-term project,” he added.
    But he expected this result. He started with the owners of the worst houses in the city, the ones that code enforcers picked out because of their dilapidated condition.
    Most have been vacant for more than 300 days, Falotico said. And that’s just counting the days city officials can prove.
    The houses are so bad that Falotico said the owners would be unlikely to sell even if they gave the buildings away. The few that are in good shape are still unsalable because they come with large tax liens that would likely exceed the value of the buildings, he said.
    “There’s a lot of people who say they’re trying to sell it,” he said, “but these aren’t the properties people are looking for.”
    But there have been a few victories.
    A couple of owners have promised in court to renovate and move into their houses.
    A few more have promised to make repairs and then rent to tenants.
    The only other legal option is boarding up every window and door with tightly-fi tting boards that are bolted onto the frames from the inside of the house.
    Many city residents aren’t happy with the appearance of boarded-up houses, but others support it because it might stop vandals getting inside to commit crimes or start fi res.
    Falotico is using the legal process to also force owners to fix up their properties: repairing roofs and foundations, picking up litter, mowing the lawn.
    After each owner shows up in court, a code enforcer thoroughly inspects the exterior of the property and prepares a list of tickets.
    In their first court appearance, most owners have asked for an adjournment to give them time to evaluate the situation. Generally, they’ve been given four to six weeks, Falotico said.
    Falotico doesn’t take that time off. Every Wednesday, he adds more owners to the court calendar. City Court judges agreed to give him more of the court’s time so they could get through the large backlog of cases.
    And city officials aren’t giving up on the 50 percent who ignore the summonses. .................>>>>................>>>>........................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01202&AppName=1

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The council took a closer look at the city laws for boarding up a vacant house. City officials are enforcing board-ups in court proceedings against owners who abandon their houses, but some residents object because they feel the boards advertise that the house is vacant.
    New building Inspector Eric Shilling suggested amendments to the law to specify that owners must cut plywood to the exact size of each recessed window and doorway, and bolt the wood on from the inside. This makes it more diffi cult for anyone to break in. City workers have already been using those specifications when boarding up houses this year.
    Also, the boards must be painted a slate gray, to help them blend in.
    Broken windows must be boarded up or replaced.
    The law also specifies that owners of vacant buildings don’t have to immediately board up their houses.
    They must do so within 30 days of leaving the property if it is unsecured, but if they can lock each door and window, that counts as secured, and no further steps are needed.
    Assistant Corporation Counsel Carl Falotico explained that if an owner maintains the property, boards never need to go up.
    “If you’re maintaining your property, it can sit there forever,” he said.

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00902&AppName=1

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SCHENECTADY
A different kind of code sweep
Crews fix serious issues on the spot
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    On the first neighborhood sweep under the reorganized codes department, code enforcers did not simply leave violation notices taped to residents’ doors.
    With the help of firefighters, city attorneys and police, they took down collapsing chimneys, boarded up houses and resecured loose sheet metal on rooftops. They evicted squatters. And when they came upon a house with nothing worse than peeling paint, they left a gentle note asking the owner to consider fi xing it.
    Residents in the city’s Bellevue neighborhood were thrilled.
    “It’s how it should have been done in the past,” Jacquie Hurd said. “I hope it continues. It needs to continue.”
    Bellevue’s two-day sweep last week was a far cry from what the code enforcers used to do, residents say. In previous years, they taped up violation notices that left residents feeling so insulted that many complained to the City Council instead of fixing their homes.
    Many residents said then that they felt as though code enforcers treated a small patch of worn-away paint with the same severity as a collapsing house. And indeed, the building inspector at the time insisted that both problems be treated equally.
    That policy has been changed, replaced with courtesy notices that inform residents of a problem.
    “We encourage you to take the next 30 days to rectify the situation,” the letter reads. “You can call our office for any questions.”
    Those who have problems that need building permits are left an additional note, explaining how to get a permit.
    If they ignore the letter they might get a violation notice in 30 days, but they will be given another month to fi x it.
    The department said it’s fi elding calls from residents who want to fi x their houses.
    “They call in. They come in,” new Building Inspector Eric Shilling said.
    In the past, those who came in for a permit were told they could only apply between 8 and 10 a.m. Often, that meant they had to come back and wait in line. Now they can apply any time the office is open, and common permits are issued immediately.
    The office also has fi nally resolved a longstanding argument with residents over the defi nition of “ordinary repairs,” which don’t require a permit. Now there’s a form listing precisely the amount of roofing materials and the number of sheetrock pieces that turn a small job into one requiring a permit.
    Those whose work is deemed “ordinary repairs” are given a free permit that they can post on their house.
    In the past, some residents complained they couldn’t get a small job done without having to negotiate with a code enforcer.
    Now residents are focusing on the city’s board-up policy, which led to at least three abandoned houses being boarded up during the sweep. The policy calls for boards to be secured from the inside and cut to fit into windows and doors, making them harder to pull off. Boards must also be painted gray.
    Residents had mixed reactions to the plan when they first heard of it, but Hurd said she likes the boards now that they’re up.
    A house near here was re-boarded during the sweep after vandals ripped off the fi rst set.
    “It does look better,” she said.
    Neighborhood association President Julia Lewis added, “The color blends in. Things don’t really look too bad.”
    City Councilman Vince Riggi, who lives in Bellevue, was pleased that code enforcers evicted squatters who had taken over a house near him. That house also was boarded up.
    Hurd was particularly relieved that workers nailed down a piece of sheet metal on an abandoned garage near her house.
    “It was flapping in the breeze,” she said. “They boarded that down, thank God. I was really afraid it would kill someone. It would be like a knife just going through people.”
    Several residents said they were pleased that abandoned buildings they had complained about for years had finally been addressed.
    But now comes the hard part, Mayor Gary McCarthy said. The city needs to prosecute those owners and get them to pay for the cost of the city’s repair work.
    City attorneys are searching for those owners and taking them to court, but so far it’s been a slow process. About half of the owners cited have refused to show up. But the court effort only began six weeks ago, and city offi cials are confident that they will eventually make progress. .....................>>>>................>>>>......................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00102&AppName=1

Quoted from rachel72

How is that Open House working out Mayor?Wow, interesting that the Gazetto claims that our City is riddled with empty homes and has hundreds of vacancies. Never saw that in their prior puff pieces.

This is a common problem in every renaissance. Over 800 property owners that just flee the jurisdiction. No need to wait for buyers since no one wants property with these insane DEM tax and borrowers. How is the new retail going Downtown Death Ray? lol We don't need no brilliant college administrator used to balancing multi million dollar budgets. Keep the DEM implosion going!

From YNN today:

"Schenectady Celebrates Fair Housing Month

Schenectady - April is designated as fair housing month in Schenectady and on Friday, Mayor Gary McCarthy, along with other officials,  hosted a luncheon as part of the celebration.

It's something they do every year to mark the anniversary of the passage of the fair housing legislation back in 1968.

The legislation banned housing discrimination on the basis things like of gender, religion, national origin and handicap.

“It doesn't hurt us to stop and reflect on some of those things because it wasn't that long ago and it still does occur in some places where free and open housing opportunity is not afforded to everyone,” McCarthy said.

The mayor says Schenectady has done several things to help increase the number of people buying homes in the city, including incentives for first time homebuyers and special mortgage packages for people looking to buy a home."

So, here is a luncheon to celebrate the housing situation in the City of Schenectady. With the code enforcement now fixing properties (on the taxpayers dime), a City where low-to-middle class families could BARELY afford the inflated assessments and property/school taxes, where the foreclosure #'s have gone up.....etc.

Kinda' like have a high school graduation party for a drop out who failed the GED.

Save the luncheon money next year and start solving problems instead of pretending they don't exist.