by Charlie London
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A SHERIFF SALE IS HAPPENING TODAY, June 2nd, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SHERIFF SALES.
- Fighting Blight with Sheriff Sales
The auction date for properties is advertised in the Times Picayune, the official newspaper of record, thirty (30) days before the auction and again on Monday, the week of the auction. Upcoming lists of properties for sale are available in the Real Estate Section of the Sheriff’s Office three (3) weeks prior to the actual auction of a piece of property and on the Sheriff’s website under the heading, “Real Estate Sales Lists.”
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FIGHT THE BLIGHT DAY SATURDAY, JUNE 4th
This Saturday, the City of New Orleans is planning the 3rd Fight the Blight Volunteer Day from 10:00am 1:00pm. Throughout the past year, residents have made it clear that they are serious about fighting blight.
The comprehensive blight strategy, including organized volunteer efforts, has resulted in marked progress, but it will continue to take all hands on deck to truly rid our city of blight. Saturday’s Fight the Blight Volunteer Day, just like the previous two, reflects a true partnership between the City, local neighborhood organizations, local non-profits and volunteers from throughout the community.
Efforts will be targeted within a five-block radius of open schools, playgrounds, and high-traffic commercial corridors.
The five locations for the 3rd Fight the Blight Volunteer Day will be:
George Washington Carver Park, 7424 Prytania St. at Leake Avenue. (District A)
Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. Corridor, 1529 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. (District B)
St. Roch Playground, 1829 St. Roch Street (District C)
Union Playspot, Corner of St. Roch and Humanity (District D)
Di Benedetto Playground, 4700 Papania (District E)
Activities will include litter abatement, strategic demolitions, grass-cutting, neighborhood beautification, code citing, and painting. Volunteers are encouraged to bring gloves.
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Click HERE to view the City’s BlightStat presentation
This was the fifteenth BlightStat meeting where the public was invited to attend.
The City continues to march toward its goal of eradicating 10,000 blighted properties within three years. City departments that can help with this process meet every two weeks for a “BlightStat” meeting.
Goals have been set for each department and a presentation is made at each meeting to show how each department is doing toward meeting those goals.
BELOW ARE NOTES FROM THE JUNE 2nd BLIGHTSTAT MEETING
Code enforcement inspections remain high with 1299 inspections this bi-weekly period. The bi-weekly goal for inspections is 1200. Hazardous Waste dropoff at Elysian Fields facility on Saturday, June 11… paint, oil, lightbulbs, etc.
Report from WH Reid, same report as last week. Strategic demo pipeline and FEMA pipeline. Chipping away at inspections backlog. Focusing on very old inspections.
Mr. Andy Kopplin – Now we have accurate data to help keep inspections current. So, now what’s next? WH Reid – during the summer grass becomes an issue as do falling buildings.
Ms. Kristin Illarmo – still below target but hearings should pickup during July. Currently working on cases for July 12th sale. Need more people. Cases coming out now are quality cases and Kristin is reviewing each one. Quality takes time and they are doing well. Quality is essential to getting problem properties to Sheriff Sale. Need more people to get quantity. 7 case managers with support staff.
Hearing outcomes – cases have fewer resets. Better quality info going to adjudication. A. Kopplin – let’s get quality assurance going – WH Reid to assist with re-inspections
Mr. Jeff Hebert – hearing results are not updated online. Will work on it.
Mr. Carrere – large complexes on Michoud and Chef Hwy torn down.
Reinspecting properties denied by SHPO. Mr. Jeff Hebert – SHPO denials that fall down, catch on fire, etc – need stats. Hillaire will get info.
Demo of condos is a problem. Many in the East do not have firewalls. Built in 70’s – the code is better now. Project Home Again is helping. Labor intensive problem. If one condo is demolished the process can affect other condos.
LLT has spent most of its demo money.
FEMA demo report – Dean Wolcott – owner notifications and historic review slows FEMA demolitions but process is moving forward. Utility cutoffs and asbestos testing is part of the process. Some waiting on hearings and re-inspections.
65 FEMA trailers remain.
Lot clearings 28 cleaned 18 complied
Ms. C.S. Lear – illegal dumping sites- working with DEQ and QOL officers. Tire dumping getting worse. Working with small tire shops. No more than 20 tires on site. Some houses are full of tires. Expects number of tires to increase.
June 11 – 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. – 2829 Elysian Fields- household haz waste day. More waste in canals and dumping in storm drains.
Recycling saves money for city. Door hangers were distributed in Faubourg St. John today and are also available at Terranova’s.
Increase in enforcement has the negative effect of more dumping and storage in unacceptable areas. 4 tires will be picked up in front of residences.
Sheriff Sales – steady improvement. Myles Granderson -& Tyler. Civil Sheriff to have education program about Sheriff Sales in September.
Liens are being collected as property goes to Sheriff sale. Collected 200,000 in fines in the last few months.
Mr. A.Kopplin – clearly Sherrif sales are getting people to pay fines and begin taking care of property. Do fees cover costs? Needs to be investigated.
LLT accepting bids on properties. Investigate grants and loans. Credit tight. Mr. Andy Kopplin – let’s think out of the box to see who can help.
Hearings remain below the target of 450 with 88 hearings this bi-weekly period.
Clearly code enforcement hearings are holding the blight eradication process back. With 1200 inspections every two weeks and less than 100 hearings every two weeks, it will be a century before the goal of 10,000 units of blight will be eradicated.
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WHO: Key blight policy and code enforcement staff
8:00-9:30 AM CST
9TH Floor—City Planning Conference Room
New Orleans, LA 70117