With almost 1,000 vacant properties, Paterson looks for solutions

Published October 10, 2013
By Charlie Kratovil

PATERSON - More than 30 community members came out to Paterson's public library this week to voice their concerns about the hundreds of vacant and abandoned properties in the city.

"We need to not take this lightly," said former City Councilwoman Marilee Jackson, who spoke in favor of collaborating with local groups and community development corporations to rehabilitate blighted and abandoned property.

First Ward resident Patricia McNeal said vacant buildings in her area were hot-spots for crime and drugs, and that rock-throwing children were using the overgrown weeds to hide behind.

Fourth Ward resident Roger Grier said he counted 22 abandoned properties on the three blocks of Godwin Street.

Showing off photos he took of abandoned properties across the city, Grier asked "How long does it take until action takes place?" He added, "I think that we need some 'get tough' laws and we need some administrators that are willing to break the law."

The two-hour meeting on Monday night among community leaders and local officials included a discussion of short-term and long-term strategies for dealing with the properties, a majority of which officials said are owned by banks.

"I can't do anything that the Law Department says I can't," said Community Development Director Lanisha Makle, who said the city's hands are often tied when it comes to demolishing dangerous properties against an owner's wishes.

"Property rights are the strongest rights we have.  So its really hard for the city to take these rights," Makle said.

Makle asserted that the city recognizes the problem and is working to address it through a 2011 ordinance that requires owners of vacant properties to register them with the city, and pay an escalating fee. Under that ordinance, almost 1,000 such properties have been registered so far.

"They also have to put some kind of signage on the property to let neighborhood residents and community members who to contact if there's an issue with the property," Makle said.

Presentations from New Jersey Community Capital, the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ, and Paterson Habitat for Humanity's focused on that and other tools available to cities concerned with property abandonment, touching on several policies implemented in the state's two largest cities - Newark and Jersey City.

A state law adopted in 2003 allows cities to take abandoned properties through "spot blight eminent domain" and to sell liens against them at special tax sales, officials said.  It also allows for accelerated foreclosures of abandoned properties by any lien-holder.

Municipalities also have the power to create lists of vacant and abandoned properties, the first step towards using many of those tools, as well the power to charge fees to the property owners.

Last year, Paterson's vacant property owners were required to pay $250 to register their properties.  This year, the amount doubled to $500.  Going forward, owners will be required to pay $1,000 registration fee each year their property remains vacant.

But unlike Jersey City's program, where vacant property registration fees go directly to the city's Department of Housing, Economic Development & Commerce, Makle said that the $60,000 collected so far has been paid into Paterson's general budget fund.

Grier said he would prefer that the fees go towards directly addressing issues with vacant properties.

"That money should go back to buying up properties," said Grier.

Makle said she pushed for dedicated funding from the registration fees, but it was not included in the 2011 ordinance.

"I asked for the dedication.  We were also told that we can't do that by the Law Department and the Finance Department."

Another key difference between the Paterson and Jersey City ordinances is that Jersey City issues a fine against property owners who fail to register.

Jerry Flach, of Paterson Habitat for Humanity, spoke highly of Jersey City's coordinated effort to address issues created by vacant properties.

Flach said a team known as the "Mayor's Quality of Life Task Force" deals holistically with issues associated with vacant and abandoned properties.

That team includes representatives of police, fire, public works, code enforcement, animal control, utility companies, and numerous other agencies.  Together, they deal with issues like squatters and wild animals, including dogs trained to guard stashes of drugs.

According to the Jersey City website, "The Task Force has been involved in illegal dumping investigations, buildings with severe property maintenance issues that go beyond the jurisdiction of just one agency, and vacant buildings with chronic illegal occupancies."

Flach said the task force visits that city's 850 vacant properties once every 45 days.

"We don't have a task force," said Makle, adding that the Mayor Jeffery Jones has a similar enforcement team that can cover 20 buildings or businesses in a single night.

"The mayor calls it 'the unit.'  All of the departments are represented and they do a comprehensive look at a building or a business," Makle said.

The unit has been used to scrutinize liquor stores and chicken shacks, Makle said, but it can also be used to address issues at vacant properties as well.

Makle said there were currently 968 properties on Paterson's vacant and abandoned property list, and the city inspects them every six months.

"We try to do it every six months, not every 45 days like Jersey City.  I wish it was, but we're not there yet," Makle said.

This week, her office is "in the process of publishing" a much shorter list of abandoned properties that the city will target for rehabilitation or demolition.  Makle said she consulted the city council and administration in developing the list.

"We came up with a number, 50, and asked [the council] to submit properties.  There is no ward in this city that does not have a vacant or abandoned property."