Buffalo Rising Online

Jul 25th, 11:32am By queenseyes

With the Garden Walk coming up this weekend, it might be time to talk about the 'thorns' that begin to hurt as we're trying to cultivate our urban surroundings. By thorns I mean the houses that continue to present problems in a neighborhood. Take this scenario: If you're walking down a city block and every house looks great except one, which one are you going to remember? The one with the broken windows and the pealing paint most likely. It's completely frustrating when thousands of visitors are about to descend upon your neighborhood.

In my neighborhood, homeowners spend a huge amount of time preparing for the Garden Walk. And every year one of the troubled houses sells making the street more and more desirable. Yet there are still a couple of absentee landlords who don't care what the condition of his or her house looks like because they don't live in the city. These houses remain vacant, the lawns are rarely mowed, the windows need repair work, the porches are in bad shape... the list goes on. These have been problem properties for years. I am dumbfounded as to why anyone would want to own a property like this to begin with if there is no rental income. Especially when they have made it clear that they are not interested in selling.

I spoke to Harvey Garrett of the West Side Collaborative, who spelled out a plan of action that a neighborhood should take when it comes to these problem properties. "First you want to see if you can work with the property owner," he told me. "That can be hard if he or she is out of town. The next step would be to talk with your councilmember. It is through him or her that you can find out who the Housing Court liaison is for the property. That liaison can be very effective when it comes to working with the owner. If that gets you nowhere then you should call the Mayor's Resolution Line and be sure to get a confirmation number for your call. Call back in thirty days - if nothing has happened file another complaint. The hope would be to have papers served to the owner that would lead to fines and eventually a prosecution. Not every city has a Housing Court... we are lucky in that regard. If there is a drug issue surrounding the house or any other illegal activity, then you want to be sure to call 911 as often as possible. The Bawdy House Law makes it possible for fines to be issued up to $5000 and if the problem persists, the house can be taken away from the owner."

Harvey told me to be sure to relay that the most important thing to remember is that it is up to the neighbors to stay on these issues. Don't give up - in the end it is worth the initial headache.

Now, go identify the most problematic house in your neighborhood and call your councilman to get the wheels in motion. Here's an easy way to find out who your councilperson is - click here.