Problem Properties
The goal of HART's Problem Property campaign is to improve our neighborhoods by working with property owners and city officials to upgrade abandoned or blighted properties in Hartford's South side. To date we have a number of success stories due to our problem property tours that were made in each South side neighborhood. (See Courant Editorial Below) Each tour consisted of HART staff, neighborhood volunteers, and city officials.
The work of HART’s Problem Property Committee has continued with the same goal in mind which is to eliminate as many blighted buildings from the city as possible. We believe that the quality of life in our neighborhoods will be greatly enhanced if the owners of empty and or rundown properties are forced to rehabilitate their properties or sell them to someone who will. To that end we have pushed for and achieved passage of a revised city Anti Blight Program. At the suggestion of city councilman Jim Boucher we submitted seven badly deteriorated properties to the department of Licenses and Inspections to test the applicability of the revised Anti Blight Program. Our test met with mixed success. One duplex house was completely rehabilitated and one vacant lot was cleaned up and plans are in place to build on the lot. 990 Wethersfield Avenue has submitted plans to turn that property into senior citizen housing although no plans have been revealed for 1000 Wethersfield Avenue which is the property next door that is owned by the same realtor that owns 990. That property, (the old Marc Anthony’s nightclub) is still empty and usually covered with graffiti. It is the first thing people see driving into the city on Wethersfield Avenue and presents a rather poor first view of our city. Both 990 and 1000 are owned by Rego Realty which owns a number of other parcels in Hartford. Some of the remaining properties have been cited under the city’s Housing Code and we were told by a city representative that action under the Anti Blight Program would be taken in the near future.
We were told by the Department of Development Services that there were several reasons the Anti Blight Program was difficult to use. One was that a sheriff had to serve a notice of violation of the Program and the other was the requirement that violation notices be posted in the local newspaper. We therefore revised the code to eliminate the newspaper notice requirement and worked with the city Corporation Counsel’s office to modify the way notices were sent out. Through Councilman Ken Kennedy the changes were added to and passed by the City Council along with added changes made by Councilman Kennedy. However, Mayor Perez vetoed the changes. HART joined forces with Hartford 2000 and the Hartford Preservation Alliance to meet with Council members on April 3, 2008 and voice our concerns over the Mayor’s veto and the non use of the Anti Blight Program. On April 21, a Public Hearing was held in the Council Chambers for Council members to hear comment for and against the Mayor’s veto as well as comment on other Ordinance changes. HART was represented by Jon Ney and Gene Mayfield. Gene and others at the meeting made very persuasive arguments that the Anti Blight Program be put to use regardless of which version was adopted. Both versions included HART’s major changes. Jon Ney set off a bit of a controversy by passing out copies of Public Act No. 06-185 from the Connecticut General Assembly that seemed to set guidelines for what could or could not be done by cities and towns in regard to Anti Blight laws. The Act also seemed to allow a special assessment on blighted properties that could be collected through city tax bills. Further study of this act will need to be undertaken to see if Hartford’s tax structure might be changed to charge blighted property owners at a higher rate to help discourage blight and reduce the tax burden on the rest of Hartford’s taxpayers. According to Ben Bare of the Hartford Corporation Counsel’s office the Anti Blight Program and HART’s revisions would pass muster under the state’s Act. For Mayor Perez's stand on Blight click HERE to read his op-ed in the Hartford Courant. We have been unable to locate the 55% of blighted buildings the Mayor says were eliminated since 2002. For one, before 2006, there was no clear definition of what blight was in the City. We would love to have a list of these buildings if it can be provided. A list of the campaign contributors for the Mayor's last re-election campaign would also be nice. Curious to see if anyone with ties to Rego Realty are on it.
In June of 2008 plans were made public for a June 30th news conference / demonstration to be held in front of one of the most blighted buildings in Hartford. Amazingly, the Department of Development Services issued an Anti-Blight Notice of Violation on June 26 for that very building. Six violations were listed for 445 Zion Street which could cost owner MarkGetter of Brooklyn New York $600 per day if the violations are not corrected in 30 days. It seems doubtful Mr. Getter will pay up as he hasn't bothered to pay his property taxes for the past few years as well as abandoning the property. If anyone would like to send him a thank you note his address is: 1120 52'nd Street, Brooklyn, NY 11219. We went ahead with the demonstration anyway and it was a great success in getting the word out about the city ignoring blighted properties. Click HERE to read the Hartford Courant story about the rally. Click HERE for a story in the Hartford Advocate on Hartford Blight.
February 21, 2006 Hartford Courant Editorial
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Confront Problem Landlords February 21 2006 Find a building in Hartford in disrepair or with drug dealers hanging out on the porch, and chances are good the building is owned by someone who lives out of town, often out of state. Landlords who fail to screen tenants or maintain their properties have been a millstone around Hartford's neck for decades. Even one poorly kept building can bring down property values and detract from the quality of life of an otherwise functional street. Neighborhood activists in every part of the city complain that absentee landlords are among their worst problems. This problem threatens to fester. In the past two years, the city has attracted a large influx of out-of-state investors, many of whom paid top dollar for Hartford apartment buildings. Some do a good job keeping their buildings up. Some do not, either because they don't have the money or because they are just trying to resell the building for a quick profit. This is a reason to support Mayor Eddie Perez's homeownership program. A city full of rental buildings is a target for speculators. That aside, the city must insist that every residential building be maintained at a safe and habitable level. There are some positive steps underway. For the past two years, the neighborhood group Hartford Areas Rally Together has had a "problem properties campaign," even taking city officials on bus tours to see blighted properties. At HART's initiative, the city is redoing its anti-blight ordinance, which can mean daily fines for owners who don't repair buildings. In the late 1990s, the city foreclosed on 450 empty buildings and then stopped the program. Officials are considering starting it again, and they should. The last time, they were able to demolish some ill-placed or unsalvageable structures and get buildings that could be saved back on the market. The city just hired a new building inspector, but that brought the total number of inspectors to only five. They respond as best they can to complaints, but the city could probably use more manpower. This is the kind of problem that needs relentless 24/7 enforcement. Mr. Perez has to get the people he needs to do it. Copyright 2006, Hartford Courant |
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