So, how many building code violations can you spot?
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__________________________________________________________________________This house, located at 1504 Michigan Avenue is owned by Bethel CDC. Rev. Richard Stenhouse is the Executive Director of Bethel CDC and doubles as Treasurer of Buffalo's Control Board. Bethel CDC owns three addtional houses here on this abandoned stretch of Michigan Avenue - 1518, 1516 and 1512. Here some very recent pix from this set of houses.
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No Housing Court for Rev. Stenhouse. Despite the fact that the houses sit directly across the street from the recently renovated and soon to be reopened Performing Arts HS. I started covering this story back in January. See Boarding Control and this video for additional information.
Follow this link to additional pix, posts of the Stenhouse property. Here's a video from earlier this year.
Here's Rev. Stenhouse's website Bethel AME Church.
Follow this link to additional pix, posts of the Stenhouse property. Here's a video from earlier this year.
Here's Rev. Stenhouse's website Bethel AME Church.
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4 comments:
Seriously, you would be a good Mayor.
It never ceases to amaze me what this Rev Stinkass gets away with. Why have all this property and do nothing. Why kick back and wait till it collapses or gets bulldozed? I think he must be sleeping with the mayor which it why it gets ignored. It's an outrage especially that it sits across from a school. That the city ignores the owners of these properties and allows owners to churn out more eyesores is why everyone that had cared is leaving the city.
the mayor rides rev stinkhole doggy style
Anon 6:27, what realistic solution do you envision other than it "collapses or gets bulldozed?"
Here's what I don't understand about all this: it's presented as if a small number of people are sinisterly making all this happen, but isn't the root cause that there's simply not enough market demand for houses and other buildings in that area?
I think Byron is worse than useless in many ways, but even if he and the Rev didn't exist, isn't it very probable that everything about these properties would be very similar to what's going on now in all respects?
If David was mayor, he'd order the Rev to court and fines would be imposed. All well and good, and I'd support that. But then what? Either the Rev defaults and the properties are added to the city for auctioning to someone else who won't maintain them either, or... what else? Is it realisitc to think someone is gonna come along and buy up any or all of the Rev's properties, fix them up, and live there? If such people exist, why have those people not already done so with any of the numerous properties already available (as a handful of people have done over there)? What's so special about property the Rev owns that these hypothetical saviors are waiting for those properties to buy-fix-then-move-in-to?
As long as there's way more houses and other buildings than there are saviors with the money and desire to utilize them, won't they inevitably rot away until or unless they are demolished, arsoned or collapsed? I suppose those outcomes could be prevented if the city government takes the responsibility of endlessly repairing, keeping up to code, and boarding up after break-ins... but that doesn't sound like a realistic or wise use of taxpayer money - to pay for upkeep of hundreds or thousands of houses and other buildings of which nobody wants to utilize, does it?
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