Dixwell Blight Battle Heads To Court

Hill is not absolved of the obligation to pay property taxes and it is unscionable that this has dragged out for so many years. The infinite patience of the neighbors is at stake. Lentini should consider either suing the City for destroying the value of HER property or she should sell the house and move on. One more abandoned house in NH won't even be noticed. They say you can't fight city hall. They will outwait and maybe even outlive her and the other neighbors. Justice delayed is justice denied-- I'd sue the City and Hill

A thin glaze of ice has appeared in Hades - I (partially) agree with CY2. As she says, the dispute between the city and the developer does not relieve him of his responsibility to pay taxes on the property. And the city has been unconscionably slow in dealing with this blight. But CY2 underestimates Ms. Lentini, who I have had the pleasure of meeting.

CY2, I’m all for a diversity of views, including those that disagree with mine. More importantly, so is Paul (we’ve talked about this). But a number of recent articles (not this one) have elicited comments that are nasty, misanthropic, and ad hominem.

On a separate note, Nina is my age. I do not doubt that she is aware of the brevity of life.

Here is another example in the NHI of the big bad developer or landlord. I can't wait until the project is finally over and the NHI headline reads "Hills project sells for over twice city appraisal...." or something to that effect.

There is a bigger question that needs to be asked about processes in the Building Department. Why do some builders get permits approved and all inspections are on time and smooth vs others (like Ken Hill) get their applications dropped to the bottom of the pile and have field inspectors that throw the book at them basically ensuring months (years) long delays?

I think this is one piece of the puzzle as to why this project has taken so long.

18 years!!! - laughable, except it is not. This is disturbing for hard-working people trying to improve their neighborhood. The answer for this type of nonsense is massive fines for all parties and public shaming of the government bureaucracy and the courts - a broken system that needs to be dismantled and rebuilt from scratch.

NHI please keep this front and center - it is amazing how quickly things get done when the spotlight is on all of them.

The city needs to fine heavily and foreclose on properties that have been severely blighted for more than a year, and their development or rehabilitation has been outrageously delayed or abandoned by the willful behavior of the property owner, or their taxes have been unpaid for more than a year with no payment arrangement made with the city.
It shouldn’t take two decades with unpaid taxes and blight issues and unpaid fines for blight and unsafe conditions to foreclose and seize derelict and blighted property and to sell it to someone who will fix it up for affordable housing. The burden should be on the property owner to prove that the construction delays are not their fault, but the unpaid taxes should void any appeals until the taxes are paid to the city. It is unfair to the neighbors, unfair to the city, and negatively impacts the value of the neighboring properties and the quality of life in the neighborhood.
The only exception should be for elderly or disabled or otherwise struggling small property owners who have fallen on hard times, and need a one time helping hand from the city to repair an outstanding issue. In that case the city should make an effort to help the owner or find an organization that helps veterans, seniors or disabled with home repairs, yard cleanups or painting, etc. They could also could create a program where youth groups, neighborhood organizations, prison release reentry people, and religious organizations and others volunteer in a group task event to help someone in that situation in their neighborhood to paint, clean up the yard, fix broken sidewalks, stairs or railings, or other things that the veteran, senior or disabled homeowner is struggling to get fixed.

"Private Landlord," I'm sure you're correct that this property will one day sell for a large sum, maybe higher than its appraised value. In the meantime, what a waste for it to sit here deteriorating for an entire generation. A great illustration that the interests of absentee landlords are not the same as the interests of society as a whole.

I do agree with you, though -- and have mentioned here several times before -- that the Building Department has a history of uneven, capricious, and retaliatory code enforcement. A relatively simple digital public records system documenting each step of the approval & inspection process (including plans, required changes, basis for same, and whether/when/how those requirements are fulfilled) would go a long way toward rebuilding trust and creating accountability on all sides.

P.S. I can't remember what the story is, but there has been a similarly "forever blighted" lot a few blocks down for as long as I can remember (at least 15 years at this point); I believe it's part of the 93 Winchester Ave parcel. That has taken at least 15 years to transition from "abandoned, crumbling brick garage" to "rubble strewn pit" to "half fenced rubble lot." I guess you can't -make- a person do something useful with their property in this country, but where's the line between "empty" and "blighted"?