City Confronts Problem of Abandoned Buildings

A review by Philadelphia’s City Controller has found that there are over 100 buildings throughout the city that are abandoned and derelict enough to pose an “imminent threat.” Controller Alan Butkovitz is calling for the city to take action and tear these buildings down.

In this image from the City Controller one can see some of the “imminently dangerous” properties mentioned.

Abandoned buildings pose a number of potential hazards. Troublemakers and the homeless may “squat” in these buildings, further damaging them. Overgrown weeds and shrubbery invite insects, rodents, and other types of vermin, which may spread to neighboring properties. This is, of course, all to say nothing of the eyesore these buildings constitute and the blight they impose on the neighborhood.

In reviewing city records on some 1,200 vacant properties throughout the city, Butkovitz says that he found 2,300 outstanding citations that have not been addressed. These citations range from high grass to matters as serious as collapsing structures. Butkovitz compared the properties with the most severe problems to ticking time bombs, saying that “it is only by the grace of God that they don’t go off on any particular day.”

Butkovitz has addressed the issue before on several occasions, calling for the city to hire more building inspectors to help bear the weight of finding and following up on violations. There are currently fifty-six inspectors in Philadelphia; Butkovitz wants to see another hundred added on. He estimates that doing so would cost the city about $3 million annually.

He also suggests that the city keep a closer eye on neighborhoods where there are many abandoned buildings, as well as raising vacant property licenses to a higher amount on those owners who are delinquent on outstanding citations.