You may have noticed the peeling paint at 1603
Claremont.
The corner of the roof is rotting. The gutters are broken and parts of
the downspout are gone.
The yard is a garden of weeds, It was decorated by three abandoned cars
until Mr. Treger did his thing.
When we called Codes Enforcement to ask what they were doing they
refused to talk, and told us to file a Freedom of Information Act request. The results of
that request were astounding:
The Environmental folks have cited this place five or six times since
1990. They have towed abandoned vehicles twice, and sent a City contractor to clean weeds
out of the alley once.
The Code Enforcement file is even more interesting. Despite a citation
in 1990 and the half dozen later visits by the environmental people, the Code Enforcement
people stayed away from the place until one of our neighbors complained in June, 1996.
They cited on 6/21/96 (peeling paint; roof & downspout in disrepair), took it to
court, and got an order on 8/24/96. The owner did not show cause as ordered by 10/22/96;
an inspection on 3/4/97 showed that the problem still was not fixed.
Then Codes Enforcement did exactly nothing until August, 1998,
when we complained about the condition of the property. On August 12 they closed their
"Action File," marked it "Status: complied," and opened a new
"Action File." They inspected again on 8/20/98 (the file calls it an
"initial visit"), and cited on 9/29/98 for peeling paint, gutters &
downspouts in disrepair.
This would be a fine comedy if our tax money were not paying for it,
and if 1603 Claremont were in somebody elses neighborhood.
We have the correspondence with Mr. Cooper here. In the meantime, on November 10, the safety
committee circulated a petition at the Board meeting to send the property to Operation
Squalor. In January, the Grand Jury In January, the Grand Jury issued a presentment against the
structure and the owners. The Committee also
The Committee also attempted to meet with the City to demand action.