Apartment Building in Swissvale Condemned, Residents Being Evicted
Local residents have 30 days to find somewhere to go.
WPXI is reporting that residents living in a Swissvale apartment building now need to find a new place to live after the structure recently was condemned.
The building, located on McClure Avenue, will have its water shut off within a week, according to notices that were hung at the complex, WPXI said.
Do you know someone living at the apartment building? Do you know a way neighbors can help? Post your thoughts, comments and suggestions in the comments section here.
Michele Pinzak
8:21 am on Monday, January 30, 2012
This is a damn shame! How were these deplorable conditions permitted to go on for so long and get to this point? I am a renter living in the vicinity and it seems slumlords are abundant! What happened to the Landlord/Tenant laws? Those who purchase rental properties need to be held to higher standards and have their backgrounds researched as closely as us renters! I truly hope this triggers investigation into other properties this party may own!
CRACK DOWN ON SLUMLORDS!!
Todd Anderson
2:57 pm on Monday, January 30, 2012
It is a shame that this beautiful old school building ended up in the hands of a slumlord, but having it condemned is what's best for everyone.
Michele,
If you see what you believe are unsafe conditions, or code violations with rental properties, or see that landlords are not getting occupancies permits each time they get new tenants, you should report it to the borough.
The borough has been more aggressively enforcing it's codes in an efforts to improve the housing and living conditions in Swissvale, so please help them make our community a better place to live.
William McCloskey
11:15 am on Monday, January 30, 2012
Certainly the landlord seems to be at fault, but didn't these tenants complain? And if they did, did nobody at the borough listen to them before this came to pass? This building sits right out in the open and you can see it falling apart from the front door of the senior center.
MARLENE SMITH
3:44 pm on Monday, January 30, 2012
I was so happy years ago that to see my old grade school (unlike my high school)saved from the wrecking ball. Turning it into housing seemed such a good use of a prime location. Now I am saddened to learn the landlord has let it fall into such awful condition.
Todd Anderson
5:00 pm on Monday, January 30, 2012
Marlene,
It is sad to see this wonderful building fall into such disrepair, but I believe that for the time being, this is best for the neighborhood.
I have been seeing some positive things happening in this neighborhood, and I think it's in the early stages of improving. I believe that within the next 5-10 years, there will be more demand for this section of Swissvale, and we'll be seeing many positive changes in the coming years.
So I think this building has a very realistic change of being restored sometime in the future.
CK
1:29 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Honestly, as a very nearby homeowner, I have had issues with some of the tenants in this building - the police have been called countless times for disputes, and on many more occasions, the disputes ended before the cops arrived. I do feel badly for some of the residents who were kind and apparently stuck in a bad situation, but I will actually be glad to see this building empty of its less respectable tenants.