Mark the Date: July 7 Meeting
June 29th, 2008 by Jennifer FarwellOn July 7th at the neighborhood meeting, we will be debuting our housing recovery program, which targets property owners that have not returned with the aim of getting the house back into commerce through a variety of means.
We will be offering information (and asking help) on how you can improve the quality of life in your blocks.
A representative from Stacy Head’s office will be on hand to discuss the new code enforcement fining system, whereby people who do not remediate their properties can be fined and potentially lose their properties. We will also have some building and renovation-oriented companies on hand to provide information if you need it.
Not only are abandoned houses a problem for many of you, but so are owners who are rebuilding illegally and landlords who are renting to unsavory tenants. We will also have information on what you can do about that – it was discussed at the last meeting, but we will also discuss it here.
On a separate note, we are surveying the entire of MCNO and identifying houses that have been abandoned as well as those that appear to have been renovated illegally or be in violation of zoning ordinances.
We need YOUR help to identify some of these properties early enough in the process that we can stop it. For example, were you aware that any property not renovated yet has now reverted to its original zoning? That means that if an historic double had been cut up into apartments without obtaining a zoning variance, the landlord cannot now legally come back and make it into a multi-plex again.
If you see this sort of activity going on, we need to know.
PLEASE ATTEND THE JULY 7TH NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING TO LEARN WHAT WE ARE DOING AND HOW YOU CAN HELP!
Spread the word to your neighbors, and bring written lists of the worst offenders in your block, whether it is blight, crime, or suspected illegal building or zoning activity, with brief explanations of the problem. Optionally, email them to housing@mcno.org.
Working together, we can rebuild ALL of Mid City to be the prime neighborhood it deserves to be.
Jennifer Farwell
Housing Chairman
Mid City Neighborhood Organization
Meeting Time and Place:
July 7, 6:30 pm, Grace Episcopal Church, 3700 Canal Street
July 13th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Jennifer: I have attended several MCNO meetings in which the problem of neglected houses in mid-city was discussed. In the event that the following houses have not been brought to your attention, please consider this an official request to have these residences come up to par so that our efforts to improve the quality of life in mid-city can improve. They are currently an eye sore for all residents in the area.
—4145 Cleveland: This was a problem prior to Katrina and it continues to look horrible. The house is seriously leaning, there are vines growing on the roof, there is an open door on the second floor, and it is suffering terribly from years of neglect.
–4147 Cleveland: This property was occupied prior to Katrina and was, indeed, used after the hurricane to house numerous people. It has been boarded up and vacant for about 6 months. What are the intentions of the owner? I have been told by a reliable source that both of these properties are owned by the same person who collected insurance money for damages, but who has not put this money back into the properties. Is there anything that can be done?
–200-202 So. Solomon. This property was in deplorable shape prior to Katrina and it remains so today. There was a trailer on the property until the first of July, but it has now been removed, which leads me to believe that the owner (?) or somebody is now living in the building. There has been no indication of any improvements at all that have been made in the almost three years since Katrina.
–132 So. Solomon. This home is directly next door to me. I have spoken with the son of the owner (Mary Lou Martinez) quite regularly since the storm. It took 15 months –and many phone calls by me–for the home to be gutted. Then it took months–and many more phone calls– for all the gutted contents to be removed from the front sidewalk area. It was also only after repeated phone calls that the uncut grass issue was resolved. In June of 2007 (almost 2 years after Katrina) I requested that the many items in the back yard and alleyway be removed prior to the hurricane season with the dangers of flying objects—large pieces of the broken tin shed, shutters, pots, screns, abandoned car, etc. I basically was told that this wasn’t my property and that it would be taken care of when they could get around to it. The son finally had most of the back yard cleared out a year later on June 6, 2008. All of the contents were put in the front by the street where it remained until last week.
I am grateful for the progress that has been made, but it has been extremely discouraging to have to be the person repeatedly requesting the basics for this piece of property. The owner, an elderly widow whom I always got along well with, was a long term resident of the house and neighborhood. Whenever I ask the son what their plans are for the property, the answer is “We’re working on it.” My concern is how long will this go on? THe quality of life has certainly been negatively affected by the slow response thus far. Is there anyway to find out what’s going to happen to this unoccupied property?