Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Slumlords do nothing to help turn the tide

Vineland Realtor Dennis Ingraldi owns 105 N. 4th Street, among other properties in Millville neighborhoods. his name constantly appears on nuisance lists. His property at 410 Broad Street is a hideous atrocity. he does absolutely nothing to enhance the street appearance of the slums he rents, and then he probably wonders why he can't get a higher class of renter.

For instance, renters at 401 Broad gutted the interior of the house, making it unfit for human habitation according to a health inspector. When he does get decent tenants, they are forced to live in unhealthy conditions, such as was the case with a house he had on S. 3rd street, where he allowed pigeons to inhabit the space above the drop ceiling. The extreme weight of the pigeon defecation finally caused the drop ceiling to collapse on the childrens bed beneath.

The current problem house is an all-night drug store at 105 S. 4th st. One afternoon last week I was driving down Pine St. when one of Millville's working girls propositioned me. As I turned the corner, I immediately called MPD dispatch.

The police arrived too late, as the girl had apparently found a John in the few minutes it took the cops to arrive. how do I know? I arrived home, and who do I see stepping out of a car at 6th and Sassafras, and heading down the street? You guessed.

And where did she go? You are GOOD! She went to the upstairs apartment at Ingraldi's slum tenement. This apartment has foot traffic all day and all night, and I am seeing a lot of new faces on the street since they opened the drug store a few weeks ago.

It has gotten so bad that I am now forced to bring the video camera out of storage and begin filming. I have worked five years to clean up this street, and now Ingraldi with his slum house is creating a dangerous situation, attracting drug addict who are now hanging out where little children play.

I would have more empathy if Ingraldi indicated even the smallest amount of interest in actually fixing up the properties he rents. I have to give credit where it is due, and even Paul Porreca Jr. rents out to mostly decent tenants, doesn't allow nuisance activity on his properties, and gives them a decent face-lift so that they are not the eyesore they could be. I wonder how Ingraldi would feel if one of these slums was located next to his house?

3 comments:

NORTH 5TH ST said...

I LIVE IN A RENTAL WHICH IN THE PAST HAD A BAD REP HOWEVER MY LANDLORD HAS CLEANED UP AND OUT . HE HAS ATTENDED THE CLASSES . HIRED LAWN CARE AND A CREW TO TEND TO THE NEEDS OF HIS RENTERS. HE RECENTLY BOUGHT 3 APT. BUILDINGS ON S.2END ST. HE HAD TO EVICT 5 PEOPLE RIGHT AWAY WHO WAS IN JAIL WHO OWED 10,000 IN BACK RENT EVERY UNIT WAS NASTY TO THE POINT OF HIM HAVING TO REMODEL EACH ONE . BE LOOKING FOR NEW WINDOWS DOORS AND PAINT ! HE REALLY IS TRYING TO DO SOMETHING AND WITH THE SCUMBAG RENTERS WITH THEIR SECT. 8 WHO LIVE FREE SO THEY TRASH THE PLACE AND MOVE TO THE NEXT ONE CAUSE SEC. 8 WON'T PAY TILL IT'S FIXED...IT'S ALMOST A LOSING BATTLE !

Carl B. Johnson said...

Not all landlords are slumlords - I would suggest that most want decent tenants and want to take care of their properties.

By the same token, not all section-8 renters are bad tenants, many have fallen on hard times and need a helping hand.

The problems arise when you have lifetime welfare cases, often generations raised on the ethic that they are entitled to everything without lifting a finger. They never learn respect for other people or other people's property. How could they, they have no self-respect. Self respect only comes when you earn what you have.

And then we have slumlords that see the property merely as an investment - guaranteed income every month. They could care less about the neighborhoods they are destroying by their careless actions. And they have to dump the house after 30 years, after it has fully "depreciated" - and so they have an incentive to allow the property to go to seed. If they make too much on the sale of the property after depreciation, they have more taxes to pay.

This is also why a certain Millville group is steadfastly against any and all improvements in the neighborhoods. They own rentals - a LOT of rentals. If property values increase - which will happen when we clean up the neighborhoods, we cut into their income. they have a vested interest in keeping these areas slums.

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