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October 24, 2007

Course of Action for Abandoned Building?

I'm wondering if anyone can provide some suggestions as to the course of action that can be taken against a building next door to me. I recently purchased a renovated 2 BR unit within a brownstone in E. Harlem. The neighborhood is definitely getting cleaned up as is evident with developers purchasing any real estate they can get their hands on in anticipation of the mayor's upcoming revitalization efforts. The brownstone next door to me is abandoned (and has been for quite some time) and as a result, many squatters have taken refuge in the building. Sadly many of these squatters are using the building as a haven for drug use and subsequently there have been some arrests made by the NYPD to the trespassers. Upon searching the records at the Dept. of Buildings website, it appears as though this building has had several violations over the last few years (8 to be exact). The building has been boarded up however there is a window entryway on the second level that people have been accessing via our front stairway (by scaling the windowsills). Along with this there is a large amount of trash littered in the front terrace comprised of crack vials, human waste and just general garbage. At nighttime the rats come out and scurry all over the property and our adjacent stairway. The problem with the property is that it was initially established for charitable purposes and served that purpose till it was vacated in the late 90's. The owner has declined sale of the property to any developers and until recently has enjoyed his tax exempt status. It's clearly evident that he has no intention of selling the property till the area is completely revitalized, however his building is contributing to crime and unsanitary conditions on our block. Aside from reporting violations to the Dept. of Buildings and the Dept. of Health, what efforts can be taken to get this building cleaned up, or at the very least properly boarded and fenced? Thank you in advance to any assistance that can be provided.

Posted by pharaoh at 2:28 PM | Comments (9)
Categories: Quality of Life

Comments

If you call 311 and tell them about the condition of the building, the Department of Buildings will come and seal it up so the squatters cannot get in. They will also probably fine the owner. There's no guarantee however, that the squatters won't break in again. Keep calling, and write a letter to the commissioner at the Department of Buildings.

Also, try calling your local City council person's office, and the Community Board. They can be helpful too.

Good luck.

Posted by: guest at October 24, 2007 6:33 PM

Even better, call the IRS. Tell them the house is NOT currently in use to house a charity and hasn't for a long time. And probably it was fraudulent filing in the first place. Let them go after the guy.

Posted by: guest at October 24, 2007 10:14 PM

Had the same problem, thankfully solved after several fires and much grief etc.

The solution was to brick up the entrances and windows, the city did this eventually.

Deluge 311 with complaints about garbage, unsanitary conditions, mosquitoes, flies, rats, fire hazard (drug users) I’m sure you have it all.

Call 911 with complaints whenever you see someone entering the building, hear noises etc.

Talk to your local precinct, community relations officer.

Write to all your elected officials and follow up.

Do not believe any city employee that tells you it will be fixed soon, it will not be fixed until you make a complete nuisance of yourself.

The best advice I got from a city employee, the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

The city is slow to perform but quick to put their hand out for taxes and minor violations.

Welcome to Harlem

Posted by: guest at October 25, 2007 11:42 AM

Also, try to stop it now while the building is frequented by drug users, it may soon be occupied by drug sellers.

Posted by: guest at October 25, 2007 11:53 AM

Boarding up does not keep them out, only bricking up seems to work

Posted by: guest at October 25, 2007 3:52 PM

so far so good. it seems as though after calling the dept of sanitation a few days back, some city cleaners came and cleared out the trash that's been sitting in the front terrace area. as for the blocks, i filed another complaint with the dept of buildings to request having the windows blocked off brick or cement to ensure that it's no longer accessible. thanks for the advice above. 311 also advised to call the police whenever i notice someone trespassing on the property.

Posted by: pharaoh at October 26, 2007 2:56 PM

The bad news is the trash will be back very soon after it has been cleaned by the city.

The good news is the owner has to pay for this city cleanup, which you can order on a regular basis as garbage accumulates. These sanitation fines will encourage the owner to take charge of the property, or sell.

The best sanitation cleanup is when the city goes into the building and cleans all the garbage left by the drug users; you would be amazed how these people collect trash. This will result in fines in the thousands to the owner.

Good luck

Posted by: guest at October 26, 2007 3:40 PM

well i've spotted some people going into the building and the following is the great help i've received from our boys in blue.

this past saturday i spotted a familiar intruder leaving the building and called 911 as was suggested by the people at 311. the 911 operator gave me alot of attitude and said there wasn't a whole lot that could be done if the person was leaving the building

on my way out the door later that afternoon i spotted the homeless person making his way back to the building and called in 911 again to report the trespassing. when the police showed up (nearly 25 min later) they inspected the front of the building and said that there wasn't anything that could be done since i wasn't the owner of the property and even if i was they most probably wouldn't go into the building and risk harm from the rat poison inside. i suggested that the building needed to be properly blocked off to avoid this sort of thing and their response was, "this neighborhood is a piece of sh!t, what do you expect". i stood there in complete shock as they got back into their cars and drove away. i seriously could not believe what i was hearing. since the time i've been there i've met the neighbors on the block who all seem to be decent, educated, hard working people that all want the same thing - a block that's clean and free from the drug use that's currently plaguing us as a result of one building. i'm going to begin writing letters to our councilwoman and community board to see if this issue can be resolved. any other suggestions?

Posted by: pharaoh at October 30, 2007 2:14 PM

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