Blight is a problem that’s plagued neighborhoods across Hartford for decades and boarded up buildings have been hurting property values and attracting crime.
In one Hartford neighborhood residents have begun fighting for a cleanup and neighbors are starting to see progress.
In Hartford’s Barry Square neighborhood on the south end of the city it was hard to miss the eyesores, “When anyone comes in from out of town and looks at the blight they say hmmm,” a neighborhood leader told NBC Connecticut News.
The abandoned properties don’t just attract vandals, “People pour garbage over there and why do people pour garbage over there, because people think it's a dump,” a resident said.
Hartford has a new anti-blight ordinance, and it allows the city to take ownership of blighted properties in the short term and find a purpose for the problem properties.
“It’s really important, it doesn’t just impact the quality of life but impacts the values of surrounding properties,” Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra stated.
The city has intervened with several abandoned properties so far, but the work is far from over because too many property owners have neglected their places for too long.
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The mayor said a lot of neighbors might not know about the new ordinance. For more information on dealing with similar problems in a neighborhood call 311.
