During the Summer of 2019, following increased gun violence and tragedies that took the lives of children, Mayor Eric Johnson announced the creation of the Mayor’s Task Force on Safe Communities. The Task Force receivedREAD MORE
Enactment of NYS S.5079-A/A.1859-A “Zombie Property Remediation Act of 2019”
On December 18th issued the following press release regarding his signing of the “Zombie Property Remediation Act of 2019” To view the final language, please click here. To view local reporting, please click here. NewREAD MORE
New Path to the American Dream
Property conditions are generally contingent on several factors. Of course occupancy status is the primary factor but there are several others including usage and who resides in the property (i.e. owner occupant vs. rental/tenant). However,READ MORE
NJ S1155 VPRO Legislation Progresses
Following a March 4, 2019 referral to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, S1155 was reported from the Committee and given a 2nd Reading. To view the current text of the proposed bill, please clickREAD MORE
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta White Paper on VPROs
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta just released a white paper on “VPROs” titled, “Foreclosure Externalities and Vacant Property Registration Ordinances” Not surprisingly the study showed positive outcomes from the implementation of a vacant propertyREAD MORE
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Proposes a “Tenant Protection Bureau”
Several of the 2020 Presidential hopefuls have revealed their housing plans, mostly focused on affordable housing. Recently Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released an updated proposal which advocates for the creation of a “Tenant Protection Bureau”,READ MORE
Pennsylvania Restore PA Initiative Update
As previously reported, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf has taken an aggressive approach to the fight against blight. Additional information is now available on the Governor’s website. For an overview of the Combatting Blight component, please clickREAD MORE
Innovative Solution for a Health Care Crisis, a Solution for Vacant and Abandoned Properties?
A radical fix for a U.S. health-care crisis prominently utilizes vacant and abandoned properties. In a recent feature, Bloomberg Businessweek discusses the MyConnections program currently being tested in Phoenix. The brainchild of Jeffrey Brenner, M.D.READ MORE
Flint MI Recipient of a Cities of Service 2019 Engaged Cities Award
Flint MI was one of three recipients of the Cities of Service 2019 Engaged Cities Award. Underwritten by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the award recognizes cutting-edge techniques to engage residents to solve problems.Each winning city receives aREAD MORE
MA H 177 An Act relative to neighborhood stabilization and economic development
Massachusetts H 177 (and accompanying bill S 1627) originally introduced in January had hearings in October. The bill “would form a commission to study strategies for improving the quality of housing stock in weak markets,READ MORE
Urban Institute “Housing Codes Should Protect Public Health, Not Penalize Low-Income Homeowners”
Following a recent report of a resident of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, 57 and uses a wheelchair who is facing jail time because of housing code violations, Christina Plerhoples Stacy and Joseph Schilling with the Urban InstituteREAD MORE
Solar-powered security monitors
In the latest effort to battle blight, Schenectady NY Mayor Gary McCarthy announced the city will install solar-powered security monitors in a number of vacant city-owned properties across the city. The monitors will be installed asREAD MORE