I would also like to see this graffiti removed. It is an eye sore and makes the abandoned house look even worse! Thanks

This blight would not be allowed to exist in any of our other downtown neighborhoods. We would like the city to take care of this and bill the owners if they have to. It must go away immediately. Our residents deserve better treatment from our city. Thank you.

Is it possible for the city to compel the owner to clean up the property, or to clean it for them and bill them?

Why does this bother you so deeply?things are changing, it's not going to be like this forever. Just be patient it's not so bad,someone is making money on this property...or will.

Broken windows theory! PLEASE do everything possible to ensure this is removed ASAP. It’s a block that tenuously maintains safety on the best of days. The city needs to intervene please.

Thank you for contacting the City of Jersey City. The Division of Neighborhood Improvement is in receipt of your complaint. Please be advised weather permitting, graffiti removal is closed from November 1st – April 1st. Your work order will be addressed during open season in the order it was received.

Good Morning to all,
Graffiti removal has been suspended however we will send an inspector to make sure this private property is secured and clean. I will redirect this also schedule for graffiti removal in our open season.

This issue was recategorized from Graffiti to Vacant Building Board Up.

RAY assigned this issue to Crystal

Thank you Ray - and Crystal. The building has sadly deteriorated very quickly, especially over the past 18 months, and it does badly need to be properly secured and boarded up, as we noted the front door was left open last week. We're aftraid of animal infestation and also illegal uses of the property. Should I follow up in early April regarding the graffiti removal ?

You can however I have a list already in progress. Happy Holiday's

I will send an officer to make sure it is vacant and secure. The graffiti is not a housing code issue. Please refer to DPW.

Now that the vacant building is secured I will open / acknowledge it and proceed with the graffiti issue during open season. Thank You and Happy Holiday's

This issue was recategorized from Vacant Building Board Up to Graffiti.

RAY assigned this issue to RAY

Now that the vacant building is secured I will open / acknowledge this work order then proceed with the graffiti issue during open season. Thank You and Happy Holiday's

Thanks Ray for staying on top of this....

Hello Ray - is there any progress on addressing this issue ? Thanks.

I guess this has fallen off the radar !

RAY assigned this issue to Code Compliance - Valerie

It’s now well after April 1st and this is the state of the place (spoiler alert: same as it was 7 months ago). How does the city collect taxes from the family in the adjoining unit in good conscience?! It’s an outrage to expect a family to put up with with consequences (risk, harm, fear) of the city’s utter incompetence. REMEDY THIS!

Thanks NS I totally agree with you. We in the neighborhood are absolutely sick of this eyesore. We know the lovely lady that lives in the adjoining unit and she's totally despairing about the state of this house next door to her - especially as she keeps her house so nicely.

This issue was recategorized from Graffiti to Housing Code Violations/Repairs.

Jersey City, NJ assigned this issue to Code Compliance Housing unit Supervisor - Bob K

This is absolutely not ok. This will be immediately investigated on Monday by a housing code enforcement inspector. Covid 19 has thrown everything off, but this is not something we want to fester. This is now properly assigned and will not fall off the radar again.

Thank you Althea - I reported this back in December last year, and though I know Covid has had a terrible effect on pretty much everything, it would be fantastic to get this issue addressed and the graffiti removed. I was getting very close to emailing Mayor Steve about it but I know he's got bigger fish to fry. By the way the poor lady that lives in the house attached to this one keeps a very nice and well-maintained house, and I know she's been suffering because of this graffiti eyesore. Thank you again.

This issue was recategorized from Housing Code Violations/Repairs to Vacant Building.

I put this in the wrong category and had to redo it again! It doesn't make a difference as far as taking action, but it will make sure my data analysis is more accurate.

You know the Mayor actually reads and replies to all of his emails personally. He would have gotten really mad and called me to ask me to take care of it! We have successfully cut out the middle man.

Well the RRC has been hounding us weekly about this and it seems like we are all getting our feet back under ourselves. Let's see how fast we can take care of this. You live in a great area.

Thanks Althea, I do know Steve replies to his emails and he does so when I email him - I know him fairly well. I have lived in his neighborhood for over 20 years now. It is a great area, and we know our friendly neighbors, and I feel bad for poor Belinda who lives in the house that's connected to this wreck. This property is open to the rain and elements, as well as raccoons and pests, and is slowly falling down - in addition to the graffiti.

This issue has done a round of musical chairs of recategrization between :
12/09/19 recategorized from Graffiti to Vacant Building Board Up.
12/17/19 recategorized from Vacant Building Board Up to Graffiti
6/22/20 Ray assigned this issue to Housing Code Enforcement
7/24/20 recategorized from Graffiti to Housing Code Violations/Repairs.
7/24/20 recategorized from Housing Code Violations/Repairs to Vacant Building.

I can't wait to see the next recategorization!

Thank you

We here at Housing Preservation are waiting for the RRC to create the categories of "Everything that could go Wrong" and "Anybody's Guess"! Ha ha ha! But until then, vacant building has the highest priority specifically for the reasons you named. Thank you for not giving up. Belinda is lucky to have you as a neighbor.

Thanks, Althea, from another neighbor! I look forward to seeing it fixed!

This is in the Court system, which means I would normally close this out in SCF. Should this get closed out in the system, it does not mean it has fallen off our plate. Sometimes it takes awhile in the court system before we hear back. If it gets closed out here, then you can email us at housingcode@jcnj.org or call us at 201-547-4821.

Summons were issued by our inspectors on 3/6/20 and the issue went to court. However, today our inspectors went out again and issued further violations, including required signage on all vacant property which would identify a contact person and how to contact them. The owner has 14 days to respond to the new violations. The old violations are in court now.

Thanks Althea- you rock!

I'm glad to hear this!

Thanks Althea - is there anything that can be done by the City to even just paint over the graffiti ? We don't know if this may be graffiti by a gang, but in any case it's ugly and stands out like a blot on the appearance of our whole street, and not least for poor Belinda who has the attached house to this property.

Why can't the City just slap a coat or two of paint over it? Anything would be better than what's there now. It seems ridiculous to have to wait for violations to grind their way through the Courts in order to get anything done.

And even if you post notices naming who the deadbeat owner is - what good does that do for the residents of our neighborhood? Are we supposed to call the owner and berate him/her for leaving this property in such a state?

Thanks Althea for your help and I hope you understand our frustration.

I definitely understand your frustration! The violations are issued; the property has been placed on the abandoned properties list (APRA); and this property has been brought to the attention of the Mayor's Quality of Life Task Force, which in addition to pulling inspectors from all divisions, will be able to track this issue through the court system on behalf of the residents.

This matter is now being handled by Municipal Court.

Contact Housing Code directly to get updates on Court dates at HousingCoding@jcnj.org

So, does this mean that JC Housing Preservation is now washing its hands of this issue? And that people who are interested in the state of this disgraceful house now have to actually attend Municipal Court hearings in order to find out what's happening?

Surely if Jersey City is the plaintiff bringing an action in Court, then Jersey City should be able to report on the proceedings in Court back to its citizens?

It's really quite disheartening that both this property and also 332 Whiton Street (SCF issue 7900814) are being left to crumble - they pose definite peril to their neighbors and they bring down the overall appearance of an otherwise well-maintained street of houses.

This issue has been "recategorized" since December last year from Housing Code Enforcement to Graffiti, and back again various times, and now it seems like the ball is being passed yet again by you - it appears that you're saying effectively "it's now with the Court and it's up to you to chase it down".

Very disappointing.

Althea - as an additional comment to the above - you said on 7/29/20 " this property has been brought to the attention of the Mayor's Quality of Life Task Force, which in addition to pulling inspectors from all divisions, will be able to track this issue through the court system on behalf of the residents."

So what happened to the " ...will be able to track this issue through the court system on behalf of the residents part of your comment?

I agree with Angus. There’s got to be a way for the city to take action now.

Looking back at this thread, I see that this has been ongoing for over a year and nothing seems to have been done. Can we address this? I’m especially concerned about the safety of the senior who lives in the adjacent property. This blight invites a host of hazards to her doorstep.

As described to you all along and the process, Housing Code can take no other action then to issue violations and then yet another summons. I closed this because this is now in the Court system. The head of the Mayor's Quality of Life Task Force IS the Municipal Prosecutor. Our office has done absolutely everything that it can possibly do and now this will be followed up aggressively in the courts. This is closed out, not because anyone is "washing their hands" of the situation, but because it is following the next phase. Once in the court and the owner continues to not abated the violations or pay the fines, then the City will seek to mark this as abandoned property and take control.

Property rights in this Country are quite strong and for very good reasons. Unfortunately, situations like this happen.

If you want this to remain open, then I will need to assign it to the RRC.

No one said that the community must track this through the court, in fact I left our email address for you to contact us so we can give you information, such as the court dates. Or you can contact the Mayor's Task force.

I am sorry if you do not believe everything I have said above, that is your choice. However, I will stand by everything I said.

There is no action the City can take now. Government does not have the authority to go on private property and alter that property. We are very limited in what we can do. Right now it has to go through the Court system.

This matter is in the court. As stated before, you can reach us at HousingCode@jcnj.org to find out when new court dates are set.

Thank you Althea - I appreciate your clarification - it's not that I don't believe you, it's just that we are all learning about the process - a process that is familiar to you, but not to us as ordinary residents, who are simply concerned about the issue of this, and other blighted houses on our block.

Until you said so above, I had no idea that the head of the Mayor's Quality of Life Task Force is the Municipal Prosecutor. I now understand regarding the email address you sent - Housing Code: HousingCoding@jcnj.org

We are trying to both help out the senior whose house is connected to this property, and learning in the process how THE PROCESS works. Thank you for your clarification.