Considerable national attention has come to Plainfield again, this time in connection with an attempt by the anti-immigrant organization F.A.I.R. and it's legal arm, the Immigration Reform Law Institute, to invoke the anti-racketeering RICO law against local property management company Connolly Properties. (Googling the opening sentence of the story, which appeared in last Sunday's New York Times, yielded 629 direct hits.)
Whether or not the lawsuit will make it past the first round of challenges (most likely that it is 'frivolous'), it brings attention to one of Plainfield's overarching problems -- the safety and welfare of tenants, who comprise about half the city's approximately 50,000 residents and occupy about half its 16,000 dwelling units, according to the US Census.
(One of the buildings Connolly Properties manages is 609 Madison Avenue. When Mayor Al McWilliams was drafting the ordinance which became known as the 'Safe Homes' program back in 2004, I had occasion to view photos taken by Inspections Division workers of conditions at that address, documenting unacceptable conditions. A fire at an overcrowded mult-family around the corner that left 33 people homeless in wintertime was one of McWilliams' motivating factors. Once Connolly Property took possession of 609 Madison, a considerable upgrade appears to have taken place -- the entire building appears to have new windows installed and the exterior and grounds are far better maintained than prior to his purchase.)
The abandonment of the 'Safe Homes' program by the Council's rescission of the ordinance in May 2006 at the behest of Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs leaves the understaffed Inspections Division at the mercy of the VOLUNTARY compliance by landlords with a provision that they have apartments reinspected when they are re-rented.
And the impression is that overcrowding is now rampant throughout the city.
At the time the program's demise was being debated in 2006, a reader on Kenyon Avenue recounted the extreme difficulty with getting the Administration to respond to or act on suspicions of an illegal rooming house in the 900-block (more here).
In the Van Wyck Brooks and Crescent Avenue Historic Districts, there is anecdotal evidence of illegal rooming house situations -- including basement and attic rooms. I have noticed other houses throughout the city that bear indications suggestive of overcrowding -- properties teeming with satellite antennas, overflowing trash containers, huge piles of mattresses on the curb, etc.
Overcrowding is lucrative -- make that LUCRATIVE. I am told it is not unusual to get $200/week for a room with a lock on the door, a bed and perhaps a chair and/or dresser. Some exploited tenants don't even get such luxuries; I am told tales of several sharing a single room and sleeping in shifts.
And if the tenants function in the 'grey' economy -- being paid and paying for everything with cash, and having no connection to the banking system -- the income they generate for these (often absentee) landlords is on a cash basis and outside the purview of tax authorities.
Seems to me it would be better for the tenants, better for the city, and better for the taxing entities if authorities were to take a proactive approach and once again look into an initiative that would protect tenants from unsafe and overcrowded conditions.
'Safe Homes' for everyone -- tenants included.
Now there's a concept.
Whether or not the lawsuit will make it past the first round of challenges (most likely that it is 'frivolous'), it brings attention to one of Plainfield's overarching problems -- the safety and welfare of tenants, who comprise about half the city's approximately 50,000 residents and occupy about half its 16,000 dwelling units, according to the US Census.
(One of the buildings Connolly Properties manages is 609 Madison Avenue. When Mayor Al McWilliams was drafting the ordinance which became known as the 'Safe Homes' program back in 2004, I had occasion to view photos taken by Inspections Division workers of conditions at that address, documenting unacceptable conditions. A fire at an overcrowded mult-family around the corner that left 33 people homeless in wintertime was one of McWilliams' motivating factors. Once Connolly Property took possession of 609 Madison, a considerable upgrade appears to have taken place -- the entire building appears to have new windows installed and the exterior and grounds are far better maintained than prior to his purchase.)
The abandonment of the 'Safe Homes' program by the Council's rescission of the ordinance in May 2006 at the behest of Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs leaves the understaffed Inspections Division at the mercy of the VOLUNTARY compliance by landlords with a provision that they have apartments reinspected when they are re-rented.
And the impression is that overcrowding is now rampant throughout the city.
At the time the program's demise was being debated in 2006, a reader on Kenyon Avenue recounted the extreme difficulty with getting the Administration to respond to or act on suspicions of an illegal rooming house in the 900-block (more here).
In the Van Wyck Brooks and Crescent Avenue Historic Districts, there is anecdotal evidence of illegal rooming house situations -- including basement and attic rooms. I have noticed other houses throughout the city that bear indications suggestive of overcrowding -- properties teeming with satellite antennas, overflowing trash containers, huge piles of mattresses on the curb, etc.
Overcrowding is lucrative -- make that LUCRATIVE. I am told it is not unusual to get $200/week for a room with a lock on the door, a bed and perhaps a chair and/or dresser. Some exploited tenants don't even get such luxuries; I am told tales of several sharing a single room and sleeping in shifts.
And if the tenants function in the 'grey' economy -- being paid and paying for everything with cash, and having no connection to the banking system -- the income they generate for these (often absentee) landlords is on a cash basis and outside the purview of tax authorities.
Seems to me it would be better for the tenants, better for the city, and better for the taxing entities if authorities were to take a proactive approach and once again look into an initiative that would protect tenants from unsafe and overcrowded conditions.
'Safe Homes' for everyone -- tenants included.
Now there's a concept.
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3 comments:
Dan, the going rate for a "room" in Plainfield is 350-400. Not 200.
Dan:
No one can argue with your assessment of the exploitive nature of people and houses in Plainfield. I might add, this has been going on for years. The most recent explanation for the deteriorating condition is that Director Maier with the support of Mayor Briggs and Assemblyman Green have directed Oscar Turk, Director of Inspections, to give great latitude in the enforcement of the property maintenance code. Further, the Green/Briggs duo has appointed a housing court judge that believes that landlords are exempt from providing safe and clean housing. You would think the judge would at least earn his keep through fines, but from what I am told, housing court is a losing proposition for the city. Something is wrong with this picture folks.
Regards,
An old timer
How can you expect our Mayor to enforce room/house rentals when her next door neighbor has a "for rent" sign on their lawn?
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