PITTSTON - City officials are cracking down on blighted properties as part of a revitalization plan under way throughout the city.
Over the past year, Pittston has condemned more than 20 properties, declared seven unfit and cited dozens of other property owners for unsafe or unsanitary conditions, according to a list provided by Pittston City Manager Joe Moskovitz and Operations Coordinator David Allen Hines.
City officials said they are ramping up code enforcement because the nuisance properties represent decline and neglect and lead to property devaluation, an eroded tax base and a threat to public safety and quality of life.
'Hard-line stance'
"The city is taking a hard-line stance on absentee landlords and slumlords. It will not be tolerated. The city is prepared to play hardball," said Michael Lombardo, vice chairman of the Pittston Redevelopment Authority. "It's unfair to residents who spend time and money caring for their homes. It diminishes their property values."
Orange "condemned" signs and yellow "unfit" signs are now posted on properties throughout Pittston. Mr. Lombardo characterized some of the structures as "just downright deplorable."
"They're rat-infested. There are all sorts of insects. There were children in some of these," Mr. Lombardo said. "We believe people in Northeastern Pennsylvania deserve better quality housing than this."
The crackdown on unfit properties is being called the "City of Pittston Neighborhood Housing Initiative" and it's part of city officials' "mission to improve the neighborhoods," Mr. Moskovitz said.
"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that the blighted conditions bring a number of other social conditions with them, crime among them," he said. "We have a responsibility to property owners who do maintain their properties."
Landlords critical
The housing initiative has not been without critics, such as Anthony Zambetti, who owns 10 apartment buildings in Pittston.
Mr. Zambetti said code enforcement officials condemned two of his apartment buildings at 5-7 Columbus Ave. and 273 N. Main St., and drove out 24 of his tenants before Thanksgiving. He found housing for four of the tenants.
He said the apartments were shut down when he was hospitalized after a heart attack. He denied the code violations were life-threatening.
He said code enforcement also cited his other properties and he is making improvements.
"I'm not a slumlord," Mr. Zambetti said. "They are not the nicest places in the world, but they're not unsafe. People who don't have a lot of money need places to live, too."
Revitalization
Pittston officials said the neighborhood housing initiative is part of an overall city revitalization plan taking place.
Among the recent developments in downtown Pittston, British clothing company Boden recently opened on South Main Street and the United Food and Commercial Workers Credit Union opened a new office.
A grand opening ceremony will be held from the new credit union Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., the same time that the new downtown Heritage Mural will be dedicated. The mural covers the side of the Pittston Dental building and depicts coal mining, the garment industry and railroads.
Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com