Great article on hallwatch.org on getting rid of blight and the grassroots movement that fought politics, corruption, and excuses to do it:

Blighted Property to Be Sold to Developers at Last
By Vern Anastasio voteanastasio@aol.com Wednesday, 08/17/05 (1124328363834)
After 5 years, Bella Vista's Biggest Blight to Become Condos!

The huge blighted property located at 639 Catharine street -- the property that helped launch Bella Vista's Anti-Blight committee (and a run for public office), will finally be sold at the end of this month and redeveloped as five luxury condos starting September 1st.

"This is a great day in Bella Vista", civic association officer Carolyn Verdi said when news came of the pending sale, "so many people have worked so very hard on this project for so very long. Credit goes to the people in the immediate neighborhood like Mitch Golding who kept up the fight!"

Five years ago, the Bella Vista United Civic Association created an Anti-blight Committee with one goal in mind --to rid the neighborhood of its 120 boarded-up properties. The first property the committee tackled was Bella Vista's largest blighted property --639 Catharine Street, a mammoth of deteriorating brick covered in weeds and graffiti. Though most of the other blighted properties have since been redeveloped, 639 Catharine remained an elusive eldorado. But not anymore.

The Anti-Blight committee, first headed by civic association member Mitchell Golding (who lives next door to the hulking property) and then Bella Vista board member Vern Anastasio, posted signs on the property identifying the owner, sent letters to the owner, engaged various city departments to issue various violations, threatened condemnation through eminent domain, interviewed various developers, worked through City Council and ultimately pushed until the owner decided to sell the property. The new owners, a group of investors that include Hugh Bareiss and John Weckerly, plan to convert the property into five luxury condominiums. The developers met with the local residents on July 12th and a letter of support was sent to the city's Zoning Board of Adjusters on July 19th.

For Anastasio, the redevelopment of 639 Catharine street has added significance. Not only did this property help kick-start the neighborhood anti-blight program, but, according to him, it was also at the center of his decision to enter politics. Anastasio reminisced, "the district councilman had contacted me regarding our group's efforts to fix this building and told me he'd help us by having it condemned; but he wanted us to endorse the plan of a group of developers that included his son. Because there would be many contractors competing to develop this property, that posed an ethical problem for me and that's when I knew I wanted to run for office and clean up the system."

While the "system" has yet to be cleaned up, it looks like Bella Vista's biggest blighted property will meet a better fate.

if it's the one I'm thinking of, thank God. The price was ludicrous. maybe he came down, otherwise, hello expensive condos!

__________________
"You down wit OPM?"
Fumo: "Yeah, you know me!"

I just don't get why politicians and bureaucrats seem to cause blight in their use of nepotism and lack of oversight.

I've never seen a city that runs itself like a third world nation that is in America. Why don't we see a revolt?