Friday, September 10, 2010

Divorce leaves abandoned house behind

From The Brooklyn Paper:

The Gouras family has been complaining about the run-down mess between Third Avenue and Ridge Boulevard since 2007. At first, it was simply an uneven pile of soggy wood and caved-in roof that served as an eyesore for the swank block — three years later, it’s become a breeding ground for looters, raccoons and mosquitoes.

Worse, water leaking through the roof of the structure has seeped into the basement and caused damage to the Gourases’ foundation — but they said that the Departments of Buildings and Sanitation merely write citations and nothing ever changes.

The debacle began in the mid-1990s, when the building’s owner, Frank Landy, and his wife divorced. At the time, he allegedly told the Gouras family that he could not sell the house because he did not want his soon-to-be-ex-wife getting half.

Mysteriously, they haven’t heard from the antique-collecting Landy family since Frank died a few years back. Holes in the roof offer views of century-old cabinets, a bathtub, and standing water. The front windows are smeared with concrete, and only a rickety fence separates the sidewalk from bushes and a water-damaged house front.

Needless to say, the Gouras family is at a loss for answers. Local elected officials said on Friday that they’re back on the case to get the building re-inspected, but since the Landy family has no outstanding violations with the city, officials aren’t sure what else can be done.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

No outstanding violations?

WTF?

Oh yes, absentee landlord. Still getting around to writing regs for those fellows.

No rush.

Anonymous said...

In America, if someone causes damage to ones person or property, one has the right to sue the party responsible.
Why should our tax dollars be spent to fix a civil matter that should be resolved in court by the parties involved ?
A property owner is responsible for the up keep of a property.
By failing to do so, the neighbor has suffered a loss and should be compensated in court.
Our tax dollars should not be spent to resolve civil matters, when eventualy it will end up in court anyway.
Does the state repair fences or homes when a vehicle crashes and does damage simply because the State regulates motor vehicles through the DMV ?
Get the scumbag owner(s) in court, it's the only way.