Derelict property owners – or slumlords – is an issue many say has long plagued Buffalo. Now the city is on the verge of securing a law that would allow the city’s Housing Court to turn derelict properties to a receiver, who will then bring the buildings up to code, setting the stage for the properties to either be sold or brought back to life.
The proposed bill, backed on May 13 by the Buffalo Common Council and now on its way to Albany for approval by state lawmakers and Gov. Hochul, would not only allow the Buffalo Housing Court to assign a receiver for the designated derelict property, but it would also ensure the current property owner pays the receiver for all services rendered or a lien would be attached and the funds secured when the property is sold. Providing legal teeth to city housing court is a key point in the proposal.
Fillmore District Councilman Mitch Nowakowski says derelict properties remain a major urban headache for Buffalo.
“This bill is a start to clean up a lot of the legislation to give broader powers to housing court to appoint a receiver to a property that is in derelict condition and a threat to the neighborhood,” Nowakowski said.
The proposed bill would be the first of its kind in New York State and may serve as a legal test that other cities, villages, and towns could follow.
Long sought after, the receivership bill has the backing of key groups like Preservation Buffalo Niagara and the support of Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon. Allentown Association Chair Jonathan White says that support matters.
“The receivership law is a tool that residents have been asking for years, that the city implement,” White said.
Nowakowski says the end game is to bring derelict properties back to life.
“We have historic districts that are the character of Buffalo, and we need to be able to not only completely push out slumlords, but we also need to be able to tackle vacancy, blight, and abandonment, and ultimately, the slumlords that have had a death grip on our neighborhoods for quite some time,” Nowakowski said.
Pending state lawmakers and Hochul’s approvals, the receivership law could be in place by mid-summer.
