The City of Newark announced a series of massive legal actions against the slumlord owners of four dangerous residential properties and personally condemned the structures yesterday at the 2 Stratford Place and 18 Stratford Place sites.
The four properties, all located in the South Ward, are:
- 2 Stratford Place
- 18 Stratford Place
- 23 Johnson Avenue
- 25 Johnson Avenue
All four buildings will be officially condemned and declared unfit for human habitation or use. The owners will be ordered to seal the buildings. If they fail to do so, the City will seal the properties, and impose tax liens on them.
The four properties are owned by Realty Management Associates, whose agents are Wayne and Denise Fox of Virginia. The two buildings are facing complaints in Newark Municipal Court by Housing Code Enforcement, the Police Department, and the Fire Department, for multiple violations, as follows:
- Faulty elevators
- Rat infestation
- Defective Fire Alarms
- Mold
- Electrical violations
- Plumbing violations
- Heat and hot water violations
- Collapsed ceilings
- Water leaks
- Severe drug activity
- Failure to obtain a certificate of occupancy for either property
- Unsafe Fire Escapes
Housing Code Enforcement has conducted complete and separate inspections on these properties for the past 10 years, and most recently filed complaints on these issues in 2015, which were heard in Newark Municipal Court. The property owners and their agents failed to appear at these scheduled hearings, ignoring the complaints. Bench warrants were issued, which have also been ignored.
On August 29, 2014, a complaint was filed upon the owners for an unsafe fire escape. On September 9, 2015, the defendants pleaded guilty and were ordered to abate the conditions with a licensed contractor. That has not been accomplished.
The properties are totally funded by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and all residents will be given HUD vouchers to enable them to find alternate housing while the building is sealed and the most dangerous conditions abated by municipal agencies.
Photos courtesy of City of Newark Press Office.
