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
Looking for the Loophole
A recent article in the Jackson Sun discusses what appears to be efforts by commercial property owners to circumvent a newly enacted ordinance in Jackson TN. A prime example of why strong language and replicatingREAD 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