2016 a Record Year for City-Owned Property Sales

Newburgh Property Sales Record 2016

It’s nice to get confirmation that the work I do showcasing some of these abandoned properties has produced positive results. Last year I blogged about city-owned property, 28 Courtney. Shortly after, a serious buyer contacted me. I put her in touch with David Kohl, the city’s economic developer, and a sale was completed. You can read more about it in the article above. If it’s too small, you can see the PDF version here.

7 Comment

  • This site has done wonders for bringing attention to hidden gems in our city that few outsiders have ever seen unless they’ve combed our streets. Kudos to Cher for all her dedicated work over the past 8 years!

    On the flip side, I’m not familiar with all the sales through the Economic Development Department and/or the Land Bank, but with the ones I am familiar with, many have been sold over a year ago and not a thing has been done to them. The properties’ sidewalks aren’t shoveled during winter snows and garbage isn’t picked up from them. Where there are standing buildings, several haven’t been secured properly and are causing neighboring properties to question the value of these sales. Where is the enforcement arm of these agencies or are numbers their only gauge of success? Properties that were sold over a year ago were sold for pennies on the dollar. Since then their prospects for a return have gone up significantly- in as is condition- yet there are many who are doing exactly what many before them have done- let the properties sit until they can be flipped. If these agencies have any interest in actually improving this community, what are they doing to enforce a stricter code on these new property owners who are not holding up their end of the bargain? Deeds should be held and fines should be increased dramatically over certain blocks of time when there is little substantial action.

    • downingfan, I second that.

    • Agree, Cher is wielding a double-edged sword, but her effort will not be reconciled in the short term. The inverse function you comment on is peculiar isn’t it? Years and countless tax $’s spent toward holding tbtf banks with accountability yet, local municipalities such as Newburgh still don’t hold its own home brewed speculators to it. As many of these projects will not even begin until the ‘standard terms of sale’ expire, the agencies should employ superintendents to maintain the vacant properties from day one. Once a week said person(s) do their thing. Forget the requirement of posting a bond, that’s feel good legislation. Besides, the city hasn’t the resources to claw back the related expenses let alone to actually perform. Alternatively, as the City already employs a third party property management co., assign them the work and bill accordingly. The City’s Fire/Codes Dept. will hand out fines 24/7/365. They had $800k in overtime last year, making these trumpeted sales a wash all else considered. The poor stewardship isn’t a function of absenteeism. Let’s face it, the ‘civility” synapses just aren’t firing in some peeps, and you can’t legislate human behavior. That said, what I have noticed to be different from “before” is that the new round of owners are making the properties into better ‘hibernation pods’ (new roofs, fasciae, plywood window shields) until it’s determined destination ‘Burgh 2 has been reached or, as you say, “flipped” to a greater fool. In the interim, perhaps it’s time to revisit Hammurabi’s building codes (in principle), as decades of intermediation is proving to be an expensive dead end trip for us peeps. Otherwise, I hope they reserved Cher a nice place…http://www.passengersmovie.com/

  • Some sales don’t work out well. 279 Grand Street was sold over 18 months ago and simple fixes for saving the architecture have not been done– it is boarded up like a slum while owner posts photos of his new custom bike and trips abroad. Take it back– the roof is going to fail soon and is causing problems to the histori adjacent structures which are occupied. On Clinton Street the little brick house that was sold has had ZERO work– it is a boarded up slum. I hope the new owners will be charged for the vacant slum they are maintaining. That block now has three corners that are now vacant homes — one the location of a recent fire at Clinton and grand yet the land bank says they will not do any lending there. It is hard to describe the neighborhood as changing when the lidless cheap garbage cans are overflowing and junk is piled high, open drug market on Liberty with zero enforcement of law for permits for gatherings over 10 people.

    • Regarding 279 Grand, they went before the ARC tonight. They have already completed one project that family lives in, and they are in Newburgh at least once a week working out the kinks of a project of that size. It looks like zero work, but I know for a fact they are working very hard to get that project going.

    • “279” recently purchased three long time vacant lots that configure into an ‘L’ shape off of Grand and to the rear, resulting in off street parking for its residents. That aspect alone will be a plus for the neighborhood. Often, there are projects that haven’t gone ‘live’ yet for less than obvious reasons. As for the garbage cans, the DPW has suggested to the city council incorporating the use of larger mobile cans where applicable. Aside from the esthetic advantages, the larger lidded cans will cut down on handling. As well, since the city is charged by the pound, the added costs of these lidded cans will be offset by the prevention of snow and water accumulating in the garbage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqy4cAQVzLU
      “Do it for the children” ?

  • I am curious, can you tell me how many of these properties were bought by life long Newburgh residents? How many were purchased by people who have moved to the area? We are all looking for a better life, some are more affluent than others due to where they work. Are people who are working in Newburgh able to afford to purchase these properties? I would be very interested in the actual number of “life long Newburgh residents” who bought properties.