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November 27, 2007
more than an eyesore
We live on a generally nice block but there is one house on the street that looks like it is condemned but unfortunately isn't. Searches on property shark show that it has no heat, water or electricity but that it is owned outright with out any mortgage. There is a huge smelly trash heap out in front and it looks as if the facade is about to topple into the street. There are all kinds of stray cats that hang out on the stoop (although there are still rodents) and many a strange individual coming and going from the place and rummaging through the trash heap in front of it. We have been told that at least one of the individuals living there is related to the owner. The place is beyond scary and more than just an eyesore--I think the place is a hazard in every regard and I do not understand how it continues to exist. How does one go about getting a building condemned? is that even something an outsider can do? is there anything or anyone I can call? I was brought up not to be a snitch but I think this house brings the whole block down and I think its fallen into a dangerous state and it can no longer be ignored.
Comments
Call 311 repeatedly--it's a health menace, sanitation will come to ticket/cleanup.
Posted by: guest at November 27, 2007 5:18 PM
Wasn't "More Than an Eyesore" a song in Saturday Night Fever?
Posted by: BrooklynCouch at November 27, 2007 5:56 PM
gas can, match, problem solved.
Posted by: guest at November 27, 2007 10:09 PM
Call 911 and report drug activity. call daily.
Posted by: guest at November 27, 2007 10:11 PM
Point your speakers out the window and play Phillip Glass music at earsplitting volume--that always clears out my neighborhood really well. Of course, then, I, too am listening to Phillip Glass at earsplitting volume. Doh.
Posted by: Rehab at November 28, 2007 7:41 AM
Is it your house? No.
Feel free to try to buy it, but the owner is free to do whatever he wants with it.
don't call 911 or 311 -- it wastes police resources, and makes the cops cynical; it is also a form of harassment against the owner.
Have some respect for people's privacy!
Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 9:06 AM
9:06:
Is it your neighbor? No.
Have some respect for civil society and how what we do impacts our neighbors.
Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 9:32 AM
"the owner is free to do whatever he wants with it"
Ignor comments from dipshits like 9.06
What a ridiculus comment. If the building creates a hazard then you have a right to report it!
Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:46 AM
Following on 11:46AM. IMO if the building creates a hazard then you have an OBLIGATION to report it.
Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:05 PM
Recently a neighbor reported a break in at a vacant house for sale on my block. (He had seen person climb out of basement hatch and pull two chairs out with him). Police arrived, paused, began to drive off. When he chased them down, they told him it was an "abandoned" house and they wouldn't do anything. While it is true that a prosecution might be difficult without a houseowner present to help, even the newest of cops should've at least gone and questioned to chair-grabber. That said, I don't recommend making false reports to the police - that's a crime, and yes, a misuse of resources.
Posted by: Putnamdenizen at November 28, 2007 12:42 PM
squatting in an abandoned house is also a crime, so feel free to call the cops everyday to report it. just cuz you 'heard' one of the occupants is somehow related to the owner doesn't make it so. call 911. make the cops do their job in protecting your property. you pay taxes so you pay their checks.
Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 1:04 PM
Also, if you dont get a response from 311/911, call the local precinct.
I find that there's a much faster response then.
Posted by: slick at November 28, 2007 3:40 PM
You need your records of all your 311-911 calls when you go to the precinct. Keep all those reference numbers they give you!
Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 5:20 PM
When you call 311, make specific complaints, and make them separately. Get your neighbors to call about the same things. The rats are a health department complaint. The garbage out front is also a health department complaint. It might be a sanitation complaint, too. The facade issue is a buildings department complaint, but lots-o-luck on that one
I suspect you live on my block, though. We have such a house Pacific Street. Many complaints have been lodged, many rat traps baited, and many fines levied. Nothing changes. Periodically the owner pays off the fines. The end.
I sort of agree with the MYOB crowd. Not only is the house the owner's to do with what she wishes, but also she is poor and mentally unstable -- deserving of sympathy. The house isn't just unsightly, though. It's an immediate health and fire hazard. The laws in NYC seem to have been designed with detached houses in mind. Despite extreme pressure, we have gotten very little except the occasional cleaning up of the front yard and an endless line of tickets. I can only hope the thing doesn't catch fire. Since it it filled to the roof with flammable objects, it might well take other houses with it and possibly injure firefighters or sleeping neighbors.
Good luck to you.
Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 6:57 PM
You can make the complaints and even when they are investigated and found to be valid, only in the most dire circumstances will the city step in to make a repair, unless tenants are involved. The owner will get fine after fine and if they are not paid, a default judgement will eventually be entered and if still not paid, a lien will be placed on the home. Why don't you and your neighbors clean up the yard and trim any trees or hedges. You can also call any number of agencies to deal with the feral cats and maybe get an exterminator so that the rats don't gravitate to your home. You shouldn't have to do any of these things but if it affects your property, it will be worth your while.
Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 7:34 PM
something I hadnt thought about until now is that you can make a complaint that the tenants are living in squalor. People cant live in a building w/o heat, hot water, etc..
It will get a different set of inspectors involved.
Posted by: slick at November 28, 2007 11:03 PM
OP here-It seems we are not the only one with a scary house on our block. And it seems that my concern of the facade crumbling into the street is not unfounded after seeing what happened on well maintained 5th Avenue in park slope (Mr. B posted about it a couple of days ago). It would be a death blow if someone happened to be walking past the house when that old brown stone finally gives way.
Who do you call about tenants living in squalor? Is that the health department?
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