YWCA Jamestown’s Broadscast features members of the local YWCA Jamestown team – Hillary Belin, Indo Quinones, Alize Scott, and Cienna Simon – discussing a variety of issues and topics with various guests from the Jamestown and Chautauqua Region.

This episode features YWCA cohost Indo Quinones focuses on Housing Issues faces residents in poverty in Jamestown and Chautauqua County. Guests include:

• Nanci Okerlund – YWCA Jamestown, Transitional Housing Director
• Kizzy Tell – Evergreen Health, Housing Services Manager
• Andrea Davis – Evergreen Health, Housing Services Coordinator
• Jade Shirey – Community Advocate and Educator on Lead Poisoning

The Broadscast program covers a wide range of topics, including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) issues; racial justice and civil rights; empowerment and economic advancement of women and girls; and health and safety of women and girls. It is provided through funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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The discussion was broadcast live on WRFA radio, with video streaming available on both WRFA’s Facebook Page and Youtube Channel.

A virtual Q&A was also available for audience members.

Funding for the Community Conversation is made available by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Rescue Plan Act stabilization grant fund.

A multiple unit rental property that once sat on the corner of Falconer and Cowing Streets and which was recently torn down after being condemned (Image from Google Street View).

JAMESTOWN – A new addition to the state’s Multiple Residence Law that prohibits landlords from collecting rent or maintaining a nonpayment eviction proceeding for properties without a valid certificate of occupancy (CO) wont have much of an impact on the city of Jamestown.

That’s according to Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi and Development Director Vince DeJoy, who are responding to a state law signed by governor Andrew Cuomo earlier this week.

According to the governor’s office, the law specifically expands the state’s existing Multiple Residence Law, which covers cities with a population of less than 325,000 people, including Jamestown. Not only do the new additions prevent landlords from collecting rent or evicting tenants when they don’t have a valid certificate of occupancy, it would also prohibit tenants and owners from living in a residence that does not have a valid CO.

However, according to Mayor Teresi, the law will have little to no effect on the city of Jamestown, since the city already addresses the issue by removing the COs when a property has been condemned.

“In Jamestown no building can be occupied for any purpose – residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, institutional, etc. – unless a valid CO has been issued at some point along the line,” Teresi explained after WRFA reached out to ask if there would be any local impact with the new law. “When we cite violations to the point where a property is unsafe to be occupied and we ‘post’ it for no occupancy, we are in effect pulling the CO and the property cannot be reoccupied until all of the issues have been addressed. [When that happens] the CO is in effect reissued allowing for the property to be inhabited and used once again.”

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi during the city council’s Sept. 23, 2019 work session (WRFA File Photo)

“There is nothing here that is going to put a crimp into our style, as to my knowledge this is the way things have always been done here,” Teresi noted.

However, another component of the new law could have an impact on landlords and their tenants, but that would depend on whether or not legal action is pursued.

“The other legal actions – prohibiting landlords from collecting rent – is more of a matter for the legal combatants and the courts to deal with,” Teresi said.

The mayor also said that even with a valid CO, rental properties can still be in violation of some city codes and not be precluded from having tenants.

“A property can still have a legal CO with code violations present, under citation, and hopefully in the process of being addressed. It’s a matter of degree when things get to the point where conditions are so bad and dangerous that the government has to order it vacated and effectively pull the plug on the CO,” the mayor explained.

“Quite frankly, I’m a little stunned that there are apparently places in the state ( thus the apparent need for this legislation) that allow occupancy of any building without a valid CO,” the mayor added.

City development director Vince DeJoy also pointed out that the new CO rules only addresses rental properties and single-unit properties would not fall under the new state law.

“There isn’t currently a process to provide a CO on established properties where there hasn’t been a change of use, such as converting a one-family house to a two-unit rental property, or a Condemnation has occurred,” DeJoy pointed out. “Perhaps this legislation is leading to something else or more. Could there be more restrictive rental rules coming, and could every rental property be subject to some type of renewal process for the CO? We are not sure right now.”

Under the state’s Multiple Dwelling Law, property owners in New York City were already prohibited from collecting rent or maintaining nonpayment eviction proceedings during the period where a dwelling unit is occupied in violation of the CO requirements. The state’s Multiple Residence Law has also been in place to deal with CO requirements in cities with a population under 325,000.

The new law signed earlier this month would provide more consistency between the two already existing laws.

But as Teresi notes, the new additions not only will have little impact on Jamestown, but most all other communities in the state.

“If a property in Jamestown or elsewhere already is not allowed to be occupied without a legal CO, I’m not entirely sure what the other provision in this new law – landlords can’t charge rent to occupants in properties that are lacking a CO – is actually about and seeking to accomplish,” Teresi said. “Like so often is the case in Albany and Washington these days this appears to be ‘a solution in search of a problem.’”

City Development Director Vince DeJoy (standing) goes over the city’s 2018 Priority Demolition List with the city council during it’s March 5 work session.

JAMESTOWN – Due to a lack of funding, the city of Jamestown has a relatively short list of condemned properties that are scheduled to be demolished in 2018.

On Monday Jamestown City Development Director Vince DeJoy presented the Jamestown City Council’s housing committee as well as the full council with a list of seven residential properties and three commercial properties that his department has targeted for demolition.

DeJoy said funding for the demolition will come from federal funding from the Community Development Block Grant program and with the demolition allocation in the city’s 2018 budget.

He added that in the past, the city has been able to address condemned properties in the city with the use of funding from the Chautauqua County Land Bank. However, he said there is less money to be used this year.

“The numbers would probably be higher if there was more funding,” DeJoy said. “Most of the funding that we received over the past three or four years from the land bank has basically dried up but they are going to apply for more money.”

A dilapidated home on Falconer St., in Jamestown is set to be demolished in 2018. It’s one of more than 100 condemned properties in the city.

The condemned residential structures that the city will focus on removing this year are located at:

• 392-394 Falconer St.
• 42 Eagle St.
• 152 Buffalo St.
• 206 Charles St.
• 11 Norwood Ave.
• 867 Spring St.
• 869 Spring St.

The commercial properties include:

• 24 N. Main St. – which was the location of a major fire that broke out last summer;
• 8 E. Second St. – the building next to the Fenton building where the adjoining building next to it had collapsed;
• 771 E. Second St. – which is the former Galati’s Restaurant.

DeJoy said there are six other properties that are in various stages of demolition that will be completed within the next 90 days.

In addition to going over the list of properties that will be addressed this year, DeJoy also handed out a list of just over 100 residential properties that are condemned and posted within the city.

Those properties are located throughout the city and any resident who wants to see which properties are condemned can find out by going to the Department of Development page on the city website and using the MyGov database software.

A dilapidated home on Falconer St., in Jamestown – one of the dozens of condemned properties in the city.

JAMESTOWN – Mayor Sam Teresi has signed off on a new housing program that is designed to address abandoned and vacant homes and properties in the city.

The program was first discussed in January at the request of city council woman Marie Carrubba. Earlier this summer the state legislature approved a resolution allowing the city to launch the Local Property Tax Abatement Incentive, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo signing the legislation at the end of July. In September the Jamestown City Council unanimously approved the law, and following a public hearing last week, Teresi signed it on Wednesday.

City officials say the program will allow investors who rehab vacant and condemned properties for owner-occupied residential use to qualify for a 12-year property tax abatement schedule.

The abatement period would last eleven years with an abatement schedule that begins with the property owner paying no property taxes in years one through three, 20 percent property tax in years four and five, and then seeing that amount increase by 20 percent for every following two years, until the full property tax value is paid by year 12.

Teresi has said that while the city doesn’t expect the program to have a large impact on addressing housing concerns in the city, it does help provide another option in addressing dilapidated, abandoned, and/or condemned homes.

In August city Development Director Vince DeJoy told WRFA that the number of active condemned properties in the city was 118, although many of those likely won’t be rehabilitated.

Jamestown Renaissance Corporation’s Neighborhood Project Manager Mary Maxwell and others present details from the JRC’s Housing Market Analysis and Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Review to members of the Jamestown City Council Housing Committee during the committee’s Aug. 21 meeting.

JAMESTOWN – Four target area neighborhoods have been identified as the focus for any new strategies needed to help shore up housing value and market stability in Jamestown.

The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation shared details of its recently completed Housing Market Analysis and Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Review report with members of the Jamestown City Council’s housing committee on Monday night.

Representatives from the JRC went over the report prepared by Peter Lombardi from czb LLC, which offered details on the impact recent intervention programs had on target neighborhoods over a five-year period, as well as what new neighborhoods should be focused on during the next several years.

Examples of intervention programs include the Renaissance Block Challenge, the GROW Jamestown gardening and landscape program, and the establishment of Lakeview Ave. as a state and nationally recognized historic district. Each effort was largely funded by a combination of $1.25 million in program funding from the JRC ($350,000) and private investments by the property owners ($900,000).

According to the report, the neighborhoods that benefited from intensive intervention saw the average sale price of a single-family home increase by 5 percent. However, homes in neighborhoods that saw intermediate or only a small amount of intervention saw the average sale price go down by 13 percent. The average sale for homes in neighborhoods that didn’t get any intervention saw an increase of just under 2 percent.

As a result of the study findings, the JRC said it’s next round of intervention programs will focus on four neighborhoods in the city where there is a strong market area located next to a soft or very week housing market area: The Northside/Lakeview Focus Area;  the Western Gateway Focus Area; the Hazeltine/Forest Focus Area; and the Allen Park/Hospital Focus Area.

Some individuals in attendance raised questions about the report, as well as the conclusion that further investment should be provided in areas where there is a strong housing market. Patrick Morris, executive director of CODE, questioned why the funding isn’t being applied exclusively to neighborhoods that have seen housing prices decline, rather than also using the money in areas that have stability or seen a market increase.

“Our goal is to get the best value for the money we invest in a broader sense,” explained JRC board member Leonard Faulk. “One focus that we have is how do you develop an increased tax base? Part of our goal is how to we get people to have more confidence in the future so they are willing to invest more of their own money in housing improvements. That’s why we focus on areas where property owners can also invest their own money, instead of areas where property owners have little to no money to invest.”

Another attendee questioned the return on investment, considering more than $1.25 million in total investment had been made in the past target areas, with the 5 percent increase in housing prices in only some of the targeted areas being the final result, while other areas that saw a lesser amount of investment actually saw a decrease in housing prices.

Due to time constraints, a thorough discussion on the impact of the programs couldn’t take place. However, the report will also be presented to the full city council at an upcoming work session.

The JRC will be also be posting the housing report at jamestownrenaissance.org.

A dilapidated home on Falconer St., in Jamestown – one of the dozens of condemned properties in the city.

JAMESTOWN – Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed off on a new housing program that would address abandoned and vacant homes and properties in Jamestown.

Earlier this summer the state legislature approved a resolution allowing the city to launch the Local Property Tax Abatement Incentive, with Gov. Cuomo signing the legislation at the end of July.

When the program was first announced in January, city officials said it would allow investors who rehab vacant and condemned properties in Jamestown for owner-occupied residential use to qualify for a property tax abatement.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi recently told WRFA that while the city doesn’t expect the program to have a large impact on addressing housing concerns in the city, it does help provide another option in addressing dilapidated, abandoned, and/or condemned homes.

“This is another tool in the tool chest for us to work with. It’s not something that is going to be dealing with dozens of properties on an annual basis,” Teresi explained. “But every property that we can get into the hands of a responsible buyer who has the ability, and sometimes with our assistance, to bring it into code compliance and to get it reoccupied with a good owner-occupant is one less property that neighbors have to worry about, that the fire department has to worry about, and that the city budget or a land bank grant has to worry about in ultimately demolishing.”

Under the initial program proposal, officials said the abatement period would last eleven years with an abatement schedule that begins with the property owner paying no property taxes in years one through three, 20 percent property tax in years four and five, and then seeing that amount increase by 20 percent for every following two years, until the full property tax value is paid by year 12.

City officials said that since the properties that would qualify typically yield little to no tax revenue to begin with, the abatement wouldn’t have a negative impact on tax revenue. But, they said it would also help save the city money by avoiding demolition costs and would also help to stabilize neighborhoods by helping to reduce the number of condemned or blighted homes.

The mayor said anyone who wants to participate in the program will likely have to have a housing inspector come to their property and verify that it is not code compliant. Once the inspection takes place, the property owner can then move forward with renovating the home. Once the property is back in compliance, it can then qualify for the tax abatement, so long as it is owner-occupied. He said that the property would still qualify for the abatement even if it is sold, so long as it remains owner-occupied under the new owner.

Tersi said specific details for the program will be rolled out later this year.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN HERE

Originally airing Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017.

WRFA public affairs director Jason Sample continues his mid-year conversation with Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi to get an update on several quality of life initiatives the city has been working on in 2017, which were first announced by the mayor in his 2017 State of the City report, released in January. Specifically, the mayor talks about the challenge of housing in the community and what the city is doing to address it, along with the challenge of drug trafficking and drug use.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi

City Development Director Vince DeJoy (left) discusses the recent upgrades to the city website, making it easier for residents to report possible housing code violations.

JAMESTOWN – Residents in Jamestown who have concerns about neighboring properties will now have another method of reporting those complaints to city housing enforcement.

On Monday night City Development Director Vince DeJoy walked the Jamestown City Council members through the latest upgrades to the city website involving code enforcement.

For the past two-and-a-half years the city has been using the MyGov software program to keep track of various property cases in the city. Now, local residents will also be able to have access to the platform, which will not only allow them to check up on property in question or the status of a past complaint, but also allow them to directly file a complaint to the city.

Residents will also have the option to offer their own contact information – if they so choose to provide it – to receive updates on their complaint.

In addition to checking in on individual property cases, residents will also have the ability to request reports outlining the number of active cases currently being tracked by the housing department, as well as see the total number of condemned properties that are currently listed in the city.

Program users will be able to use their smartphone, tablet device or personal computer to access the site.

The platform can be found under the Code Enforcement section of the city website at JamestownNY.net.