City Touts Progress in Fight Against Blight

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article by Mitch Landrieu, Mayor of New Orleans | photo by Charlie London

New Orleans received exciting news this week in the fight against blight in our city.

As of March 2012, there are an estimated 35,700 blighted homes and empty lots in New Orleans, down from 43,755 in September 2010, as indicated by United States Postal Service (USPS) data. This means the city of New Orleans is no longer the most blighted city in America. According to The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center, the continued reduction in blight since 2010 is attributable to a strong economy and ongoing population growth complemented by the focused efforts of City agencies to bring properties into compliance.

You can read the entire report at www.gnocdc.org.

Nearly two years ago, our administration announced a new,
aggressive blight strategy aimed at reducing blighted properties by
10,000 by 2014. Since then, our tracking indicates 4,930 properties
have been remediated through our effort. These new numbers validate
that we are well on our way to achieving our goal.
Keep up with our progress through BlightSTAT. Click here for
more information on BlightSTAT meetings.
Sincerely,

Mitchell J. Landrieu
Mayor
City of New Orleans

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Drop in New Orleans blight marks significant progress: Editorial

Published: Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 7:02 AM
By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune

New Orleans no longer tops the nation’s list of most blighted
cities, and though that’s not nearly enough to declare this chronic
problem solved, it shows we’re making tremendous progress.
The Greater New Orleans Data Center, in an analysis using U.S.
Postal Service data, estimated that 8,000 properties in the city
were repaired or rebuilt between September 2010 and March 2011. For
any urban area, that’s a significant bite off blight. Indeed, that
caused New Orleans to drop behind Detroit and Flint, Mich., which
now have a larger percentage of ramshackle or abandoned properties.

Much of the progress came as Mayor Mitch Landrieu launched an
initiative to target this massive problem, and the mayor deserves
credit for making blight reduction a priority in his
administration. Residents who have continued rebuilding their homes
and new residents who have moved into the area in recent years also
deserve credit for the city’s progress.

Shortly after taking office in 2010, Mayor Landrieu set a goal of
eliminating 10,000 of the city’s then-43,755 blighted properties by
the end of 2013. The city then proceeded to demolish almost 1,600
properties last year. That was almost three times the number of
buildings demolished in 2010. Many of the demolished properties
included homes that were flooded after Hurricane Katrina and
properties sold to the Road Home program.

At the same time, the city cleared 1,750 lots in 2011, or almost
twice the number it cleared the year before. The Landrieu
administration has also been aggressive in filing writs to seize
properties whose owners have neglected them. As a result of city
efforts, owners brought more than 1,000 properties into voluntary
compliance last year. The city also put some of its surplus
property up for sale, and other public agencies, such as the
Housing Authority of New Orleans, focused on getting rid of their
own blighted property as well.

These are impressive and encouraging results. Decades of neglect
and poverty, aggravated by destruction post-Katrina, left our city
with the country’s highest proportion of dilapidated buildings,
reaching 34 percent in 2008. Progress since then has dropped that
figure to 21 percent, according to the data center’s estimates.

That’s still a very large number. Even excluding vacant units that
are likely habitable, the center estimated that the city still has
close to 36,000 blighted properties. Allyson Plyer, the data
center’s chief demographer, said surveys show residents who have
rebuilt are growing inpatient with blight in their neighborhoods.

That gives Mayor Landrieu support to continue targeting blight
aggressively and help the city improve further in this undesirable
ranking.

Sheriff Sales June | July | August

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BUY YOURSELF SOME PROPERTY!



For more information, please go to:
http://civilsheriff.com/RealEstateSales.asp


Ownership of property, either real estate or movables, can be jeopardized by a money judgment or by a delinquent payment on a loan.

When the interests of a borrower and/or other defendants in a property are foreclosed, the property is sold to satisfy the debt at a sale called a public auction. The Office of the Sheriff Civil Division is the official auctioneer for Civil Court ordered sales in Orleans Parish.

City to Bust Bandit Signs

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info courtesy Charlie’s Neighborhood News…


In an exclusive interview Charlie’s Neighborhood News has learned from a trusted source that the City of New Orleans will be giving Sign Bandits until September 12th to get their act together.

On September 12th the City of New Orleans will begin aggressively fining those who insist on placing signs on public property. To learn more about bandit signs and how you can help fight blight, please visit the link below:
https://fsjna.org/links/steps-to-stomp-out-blight/

BlightStat 18

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by Charlie London

Click HERE for a PDF of the City’s
July14th BlightStat powerpoint presentation

This was the eighteenth 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 July 14th BLIGHTSTAT MEETING

Mr. Oliver Wise (Performance and Accountability) began the meeting and was the master of ceremonies as he has been for every meeting.

Ms. Cynthia Sylvain-Lear gave a report on illegal dumping sites and tires removed throughout the city. The City has approved some overtime to help get dump sites cleared. Ms. Lear asked that everyone continue to ask their friends and neighbors to apply for their recycling carts.

Mr. David Grunberg gave a report for code enforcement. Inspections are down a bit but code enforcement inspectors remain busy and the grass cutting season is in full swing. Mr Andrew Kopplin, Mr. Jeff Hebert, and Mr. David Grunberg discussed the backlog. The backlog was emphasized as being a priority. The City is way ahead with inspections.

Mr. Kopplin suggested tracking reinspections and those inspections not yet closed out. Ms. Kristin Illarmo noted that reinspections for cases have to be done 10 days before the hearing and cannot be done earlier. Ms. Illarmo gave a report on hearings noting that the number of hearings increased to 153 this bi-weekly period. Undesirable resets were also up a bit but consistent work is being done on blight hearings. Ms. Illarmo also addressed the large backlog of hearings. The Code Enforcement Department has a plan and will be adding about 100 cases each bi-weekly period. The quality of the cases is emphasized as is getting the judgments signed immediately after the hearing.

The Code Enforcement Department is working with volunteers and Job1 who sort mail. Code Enforcement is working with HR to fill vacant staff people. The department needs clerical people and someone to drive the mail to the post office. Ms. Rita Legrand of Lakeview was noted as calling the mail problem to the City’s attention.

Mr. Kopplin suggested someone in the City’s mailroom drive the mail to the post office. Mr. Hebert noted that each piece of mail needs to be postmarked.

Ms. Illarmo noted that Mr. Square is getting the bandwidth for Accela increased which should help with increasing the speed that Accela can be accessed. Mr. Hebert noted that it could take up to 4 minutes to upload information to the system previously.

Mr. Square noted that Accela is hosted in California. There was some discussion about hosting the system locally. Mr. Kopplin said “Bring it home!” Hosting the system locally would help with speed.

Mr. Kopplin thanked the Code Enforcement department for following through with his requests for more information. He also stated that the Mayor has met with the Bar Association to get lawyers who will volunteer to help with Blight cases.

Mr. Hebert noted that City Attorneys will be volunteering their time this Saturday and next to research files and get the blight cases moving.

Ms. Illarmo once again noted that Accela is a stumbling block to progress. While Accela is better, it’s not completely set up the way Code Enforcement needs it to be to make reporting more efficient.

Mr. Wise asked what opportunites for citizens to help with the process. Ms. Illarmo noted that her department gets over 100 pieces of returned mail daily. Ms. Rita Legrand has been helpful with this.

Mr. Carrere reported on demolitions. The number of demolitions remains constant. The City continues to work with its partners to move the demolition process along. Ms. Joyce Wilkerson noted that the LLT has a plan complete its demolitions by December, 2011.

Mr. Kopplin asked if anyone has data comparing LLT demos in St. Bernard vs Orleans Parish. Ms. Wilkerson said that she believed many of the demolitions in St. Bernard were done with FEMA money. Mr. Kopplin is worried about LLT demo money running out.


Mr. Wolcott discussed FEMA funded demolitions. He noted that his department has a plan. Mr. Hebert asked Mr. Wolcott to make some changes in how the FEMA demo presentation slide is shown.

A discussion ensued about FEMA and Hurricane Katrina damaged properties. There are still 34 FEMA trailers remaining. Mr. Kopplin expressed the need to close out the FEMA trailer problem.

Mr. Hebert discussed lot clearings and noted the emphasis on the lower 9th Ward which is something he requested. Emphasis on lot clearings in the lower 9th Ward will continue throughout the summer.

Mr. Miles Granderson discussed code lien foreclosures. He discussed 609 Jackson Avenue which has 78 condos so 78 writs had to be filed. Jeremy Stevens and Diane Nixon did a great job on filing the writs. Mr. Granderson noted that more money came in for properties sold at Sherrif’s Sale. Total year to date income from Sherrif Sales is $349,514.48.

Mr. Kopplin noted that people coming in to pay the $575 court costs to keep a property out of a Sheriff Sale does not even begin to cover costs to the city for adjudicating the property. Mr. Kopplin suggested that the City’s costs should be covered.

There are several properties scheduled for auction in the Sept 15-23 time frame.

Ms. Wilkerson said no NORA closings were done in the last two weeks. Several will be closed out during the next two weeks. Mr. Hebert asked for more information on NORA closings.

Mr. Kopplin suggested that putting a lot of properties up at a Sherrif Sale may entice speculators who will simply sit on the property until the market recovers. How can we make sure properties will get fixed and not just mothballed by speculators?
Mr. Wise noted that 20% of people who go to hearings put their property into compliance.

Questions from the audience were read and answered. The City has to show due diligence to find property owners. They don’t have to actually find the owner to get a blight judgment on the property.


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BLIGHTSTAT MEETING (every 2 weeks)
WHO: Key blight policy and code enforcement staff

WHEN: Thursday, July 28, 2011
8:00-9:30 AM CST

WHERE: 1340 Poydras Street
9TH Floor—City Planning Conference Room
New Orleans, LA 70117

BlightStat Meetings
Nov 4, 2010 | Nov 18, 2010 | Dec 2, 2010 | Dec 16, 2010
| Jan 13, 2011 | Jan 27, 2011 | Feb 10, 2011 | Feb 24, 2011 |
Mar 10, 2011 | March 29, 2011 | April 7, 2011 | April 21, 2011 | May 5, 2011 | May 19, 2011| | June 2, 2011 | June 16, 2011 | June 30, 2011 | July 14, 2011

BlightStat 17

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by Charlie London

CLICK HERE for the City’s June 30, 2011 BlightStat Presentation

This was the seventeenth 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 30th BLIGHTSTAT MEETING

Attendance from the public at the BlightStat meetings remains low due to information from and about the meetings being readily available. Mr. O.J. Wise announced he and his wife have a baby due around Christmas. Mr. Jeff Hebert did not attend the meeting as he is on vacation.

The meeting began with a report from Mr. W.H. Reid noting that inspections were down a bit with 900 inspections this bi-weekly period due to vacation and sick days. While this bi-weekly period was down a bit, the Code Enforcement Department has already done over 20,000 inspections just this year.

Ms. Kristin Illarmo and Mr. Reid are constantly working toward getting more hearings done.

Mr. Andy Kopplin suggested that inspections may not now be a priority as demolitions and hearings need more focus. Resources need to be moved around to have balance in progress.

Mr. Reid stated his department is looking at other “tools in the toolbox” to get things done.

There was some discussion about how FEMA inspections are categorized.
Mr. Reid noted that backlogged inspections continue to be a problem.

Grass inspections are a priority during the summer growing season.
There was some continued discussion about the backlog. Mr. Reid summed up the discussion by stating, “Bottom line… we’ll take care of it.”

Ms. Illarmo said that Ms. Brenda Breaux is organizing a volunteer day for city attorneys to help with hearings. The Accela system, while better, continues to thwart the progress of hearings.

There is a specific issue with photos being attached to hearing files.
Ms. Illarmo and Ms. Breaux are working on a write-in form for judgments which is a production of the actual judgment at the time of the hearing so it can be mailed out the same day or the next day.

Mr. Kopplin noted that this will make the hearings more efficient.
Ms. Breaux will have Asst. City Attorneys come in on two Saturdays. Inspectors will also be brought in from the field to help with case management.

Mr. Kopplin demanded a plan to make more hearings happen whether it involves contracting out or whatever. We will be hard on the problem and soft on the people. We will solve whatever the problem is.

Mr. Kopplin said he will approach the Bar Association for assistance.
Ms. Illarmo gave a report on hearings. 24% of the hearings were found guilty, 20% complied. A discussion ensued about the mechanics of the reports. Accela continues to be a problem along with the unavailability of a color printer for photos.

Mr. Reid continued the meeting with a report on demolitions. The process is moving smoothly right now. Mr. Wise reviewed the strategic demolition process shown on a flow chart. A discussion ensued on the process.

Many more people are appealing the decision to demolish their property. Mr. Wolcott reviewed FEMA funded demolitions stating that the process is going well. Mr. Wolcott is working on funding sources to keep the process moving. Abestos inspections and abatements was a sticking point that has been worked out.

Mr. Kopplin asked if there are unresolved bottlenecks. Mr. Wolcott noted that owners appealing the demolitions slows the process.
Mr. Kopplin asked for more details on things that aren’t working so those problems can be solved.

Mr. Kopplin stated that Mr. Horan of Safety & Permits indicated that all of the FEMA trailers should be removed by August 1st.

Mr. Keith Ferrolet proudly reviewed the lot clearing process stating that the process is moving along smoothly and that the City does charge for every lot they cut.

Ms. Cynthia Sylvain Lear noted that there are still large groups of volunteers to help with lot clearing. Mr. Kopplin noted that Mr. Hebert is working on getting volunteers to help maintain the properties stay cut after the City does it.

Ms. Lear reported that big successes are being made with enforcement of tire and other dumping. The new Sanitation Ranger is doing well. NOPD and LDEQ are working on the dumping problem as well.

Ms. Lear asked that everyone register for recycling carts at http://recycle.nola.gov
28,000 recycling carts have been delivered to date. Mr. Kopplin noted that as the Sanitation Department does “house counts” and other non-standard duties that the numbers on regular duties will go down due to finite resources.

Mr. Myles Granderson gave a report on Sheriff Sale files. The files received remains around 250 each biweekly period with a consistent number of 60 cases accepted each bi-weekly period.

While Mr. Kopplin is always involved in the meetings, he had a more intense “take charge” attitude reflecting not only his own but the public’s frustration with the progress of eradicating blight.

Mr. Granderson continued with a lien foreclosures report noting that the City is continue to reap financial benefits from enforcement. Total year to date collections from the city getting aggressive with foreclosure on those who refuse to take care of their property is $352,174.83.

Ms. Joyce Wilkerson reviewed the progress of sales of NORA properties. Ms. Wilkerson noted that people are bidding on the properties from six different states. The current focus for NORA is to sell the “best of the inventory” first to get things moving.

Mr. Wise inquired about people who are bidding from other states and cities. Are they speculators? Ms. Wilkerson noted that these are homeowners because they sign an agreement that the high bidder will keep the property for a minimum of three years.

Questions from the audience were answered.
PRC and National Trust are organizing a Sherrif Sale instruction course tentatively scheduled for July 28. NORA is also having training sessions.

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BLIGHTSTAT MEETING (every 2 weeks)
WHO: Key blight policy and code enforcement staff

WHEN: Thursday, July 14, 2011
8:00-9:30 AM CST

WHERE: 1340 Poydras Street
9TH Floor—City Planning Conference Room
New Orleans, LA 70117

BlightStat Meetings
Nov 4, 2010 | Nov 18, 2010 | Dec 2, 2010 | Dec 16, 2010
| Jan 13, 2011 | Jan 27, 2011 | Feb 10, 2011 | Feb 24, 2011 |
Mar 10, 2011 | March 29, 2011 | April 7, 2011 | April 21, 2011 | May 5, 2011 | May 19, 2011| | June 2, 2011 | June 16, 2011 | June 30, 2011

BlightStat 16

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by Charlie London

CLICK HERE TO SEE A PDF OF THE CITY’s June 16, 2011 BlightStat Presentation

This was the sixteenthth 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 16th BLIGHTSTAT MEETING

Attendance continues to be sparce at the BlightStat meetings but interest from the public remains strong. Reports from various sources allow people to get the information without having to attend the meetings.

Mr. Oliver Wise continues to work as moderator for the meetings.
Mr. Jeff Hebert asked Ms. Lear to talk about Household Hazardous Waste day.

Ms. Cynthia Sylvain Lear – over 600 vehicles showed with up 5 tons of ewaste, 3,400 gallons of paint which was donated to the Green Project. City is committed to doing it again. Ms. Lear urged citizens to save their hazardous waste for the event.

Mr. Winston Reid – inspections remain above target in spite of Memorial Day holiday. Uptick in sweep levels. Targeting FEMA properties. Continuing demo pipeline and inspections for hearings. Continuing sweeps. Still working on backlog. Updated backlog by address with internal filtering to look for matches of properties already done.

Mr. Jeff Hebert – Kristin away. Slight increase in hearings but remains far below the target. JPHebert, AKopplin, and Brenda Breaux working together on a strategy to get cases moving. Dedicating two Saturdays to just go through files. Considering staff adjustments.

Mr. Andy Kopplin – there is a much bigger backlog than two Saturdays. Fill the capacity of hearings officers. Spend two Saturdays to fill the short term pipeline but that doesn’t remove the backlog. Suggested to go back to the bar association for help. Let’s get together to make a pitch to the bar association to Brenda Breaux…will do.

Mr. Jeff Hebert– uptick in cases with 24 percent guilty. Resets are down.

Mr. Hillary Carrere – abatement – 6 emergency demos. Strategic demos lower due to SHPO. SHPO has not responded to requests for review of some properties.

Mr. Winston Reid – continuing to monitor processes to see how to streamline the process. SHPO continues to be the problem. Only one SHPO employee in Baton Rouge reviews the files and there is no travel budget. Working on ways to get that person to New Orleans or the files to them.

Mr. Oliver Wise – numbers of cases under historical review only went up by 2. Of the 123. 66 site layouts. 53 in newspaper ads. Remaining called to come back. 6 on hold. 5 deferred. 14 town houses.

Mr. Andy Kopplin – is process flow charted? Yes. Properties can have multiple actions to get them into the pipeline.

Mr. Andy Kopplin – Scott Hutcheson used to be the SHPO. He will be assigned to work on the SHPO problem. He is to work on helping code enforcement solve the SHPO stop gag.

NORA – LLT asked NORA to identify 350 more NORA properties to be demolished. Would like to target multi-family properties. Doesn’t want funding to run out. NORA also has a SHPO backlog. It is a lingering problem.

Mr. Jeff Hebert – have to find a solution to moving the people out of multi-family so the building can be demolished.

Mr. Dean Wolcott- FEMA funded demolitions. Has report. City did a large file location project and most files have been found. Focusing on tracking and accountability.

Mr. Andy Kopplin asked that numbers from FEMA be simplified to make them more meaningful.

Mr. Jeff Hebert – David, please give a report on the file finding process.
Shut down office to make it happen. David- 260 files searched for. Found 107. Some on desks. Did total inventory.

Mr. Hebert to shut down office again to find the other hundred files.

Mr. Allen Square – this is a painful process but one that needs to be done and will likely result in better file management.
JPHebert – it is very effective and another day will be set up to find the rest.

Mr. Andy Kopplin – 47 FEMA trailers remain. FEMA trailer at Fire Dept in Lakeshore area to be removed this week.

City’s grass cutting program for blighted properties ramping up for the summer growing season.

Mr. Hebert – priority for lower 9th Ward and N.O. East. Not satisfied with current efforts on grass cutting.

Ms. Cynthia Sylvain Lear – cleaning dump sites. QOL officers have been busy working in all of their districts. Dumpsters out of public view, citizens contain refuse properly. Sanitation Ranger to start Monday and will focus on bandit signs. Will take pictures and document where the signs are being placed. Will take more than city resources to get bandit signs removed. Stressed that ANYONE can remove bandit signs.

Recycle bins are being delivered except to DDD and French Quarter. Get yours at http://recycle.nola.gov or 658-3800

Keep America Beautiful going well. Submitted 3 grants. One for additional carts. Anti-graffiti project. Education project.
Household hazardous waste day was extremely successful.
Tire dumping continues to be a problem but they are being picked up.

Mr. Miles Granderson – steady, consistent progress on filing cases to go to Sheriff sale. Many people are coming in to pay liens as properties go to Sheriff sale. Over 140,000 dollars collected this two week period. $234,000 collected just this year.

If the Sheriff can’t personally serve the defendant it is turned over to curator. There is a follow up process with curators.

The city is aggressively going after code enforcement liens. If you have one better pay it or it’s going to Sheriff’s sale.

NORA closings – 68 properties closed. LLT is working on additional properties. 200 properties for sale. Working on auction for Lakeview properties in August. Training needed for people participating in auction so that more closings can be completed. Working with 203K lenders to provide financing. Signed 1000th purchase agreement for lot next door program.

Mr. Wise – ahead on inspections behind on hearings.

Mr. Hebert- David to work on pulling together numbers to see where we are where we have to go.

If properties don’t sell at Sheriff sale what then? Ms. Brenda Breaux –Goes to second sale, comparison data, check minimum bid. The law department has a detailed policy on this.

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BLIGHTSTAT MEETING (every 2 weeks)
WHO: Key blight policy and code enforcement staff

WHEN: Thursday, June 30, 2011
8:00-9:30 AM CST

WHERE: 1340 Poydras Street
9TH Floor—City Planning Conference Room
New Orleans, LA 70117

BlightStat Meetings
Nov 4, 2010 | Nov 18, 2010 | Dec 2, 2010 | Dec 16, 2010
| Jan 13, 2011 | Jan 27, 2011 | Feb 10, 2011 | Feb 24, 2011 |
Mar 10, 2011 | March 29, 2011 | April 7, 2011 | April 21, 2011 | May 5, 2011 | May 19, 2011| | June 2, 2011 | June 16, 2011