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
Meaningful Code Enforcement Communication and Engagement
One of the sessions at the recent Center for Community Properties Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference highlighted New York’s Cities for Responsible Investment and Strategic Enforcement Cities RISE project. At the session, staff from Hester StreetREAD MORE
Ohio Land Bank Lawsuit….Sorry, but your math is wrong
Along with vacant property registration ordinances, Land Banks are one of the more widely used tools in the fight against blight. Now, class action lawsuit have been filed by former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann,READ MORE
New York State A07190 LLC Ownership Information Disclosure
In New York State, A07190 was signed by the Governor on September 13th. As New York State Assemblyman John T. McDonald III writes in The TimesUnion this bill is “an important tool in fighting blightREAD MORE
Successful “Greening” in Chicago
In a comprehensive report, the Chicago Sun Times focuses on an increasingly popular approach to decreasing violence, often referred to as “greening”. “The city is spending millions to beautify the public spaces where shootings areREAD MORE
Universities of Boston and Stanford Paper: “How Do Foreclosures Exacerbate Housing Downturns?”
As discussed in a recent article from MarketWatch, “A new working paper authored by researchers at Boston University and Stanford University investigates the ways in which foreclosures exacerbate a housing bust and reduce prices for non-distressed homes.READ MORE
Governing Magazine “Addicted to Fines”
Last month, Governing Magazine issued a report titled “Addicted to Fines” The article discusses a large scale analysis of fine revenues to date, constructing a database from thousands of annual financial audits and reports filedREAD MORE
Baltimore Vacant Properties, is Public Shaming the Answer?
In a recent Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun, Peter Duvall, community revitalization coordinator for Strong City Baltimore discussed new legislation being proposed by Councilman Kris Burnett. This legislation would “target the hard-to-track owners of vacantREAD MORE
New York Legislation Update
New York Legislative Update In August, we reported on S5079A Zombie Property Remediation Act of 2019, while it awaits the Governor’s signature (or veto) a recent editorial in the Daily Gazette suggests that the “GovernorREAD MORE
New Jersey “Foreclosure Database” & “Land Bank Law”
Foreclosure Database Following a conditional veto, on June 24th, Governor Phil Murphy signed A5000 into law. A5000 orders the Department of Community Affairs to create a statewide database of all homes under foreclosure as aREAD MORE
Permit Denial Ordinance
A recent article in the Morning Call, discusses a new anti-blight ordinance passed in June 2019. Alicia Miller Karner, city director of community and economic development said “the city will be modifying its permit applications,READ MORE