[RP TownTalk] Broken window -- Does it make a difference whose window?

Wed Oct 19 18:03:03 UTC 2011

Don't get me started on that subject, Nina.  The house next door to us was
literally destroyed by the County's infrastructure failure (storm drain
collapse).  Eight years later and two failed attempts to fix the storm
drain, the County still won't take responsibility for the loss of the
neighbors' only asset.  (The owners are a mother and son who both are on
Social Security disability and can't work.)

Neither the City Administrator, the Mayor, nor even the County Executive's
office (!) have been able to get the County agency to do the right thing.
 (They are hiding behind a statute of limitations after they denied the
initial claim -- although the owner was not mentally competent to pursue a
legal action at the time.)  So the house sits vacant with an "unfit for
human habitation" sticker on it and I don't know where the homeowners are --
last I knew they were staying with friends.

It would be comical were it not so tragic, but the latest explanation for
why the agency won't fix or pay for the damage: It was, they allege, caused
by "weather-related flooding."  Well, I suppose that's true in a sense --
every time it rained, all of the run-off for a good chunk of the lower part
of town was deposited right in their house, since the storm drain had
collapsed and remained unrepaired for eight years, which undermined the
foundation and destroyed the house's mechanicals and its finished basement.

The words that one sympathetic County official used were "arrogant, corrupt
and incompetent bureaucracy."  I can't add anything to that assessment.

Chris

On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 12:53 PM, Nina Faye <ns_faye at yahoo.com> wrote:

> The County Code Dept. does not necessarily treat "professionals" any better
> than the average citizen.  The Hyattsville Code Enforcement Dept. spent
> months trying to get the proper permits from the County to tear down a
> collapsed house at the corner of Queens Chapel and Queensbury Rd.   It was
> actually the County's responsibility, but they did not have the time or
> inclination to take care of it.  Our City personnel were sent in endless
> circles with changing requirements for months.  The Hyattsville Code
> Enforcement Advisory Committee members were shocked at the lack of
> professional courtesy and professionalism in general by the County people
> that we heard about in status reports.
>
> --- On *Wed, 10/19/11, Chris Currie <crcurrie at gmail.com>* wrote:
>
>
> From: Chris Currie <crcurrie at gmail.com>
> Subject: [RP TownTalk] Broken window -- Does it make a difference whose
> window?
> To: "towntalk" <towntalk at riverdale-park.org>
> Date: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 10:48 AM
>
> Sue raises an interesting point that I've long ruminated upon.  I can't
> speak to Riverdale Park, but in Hyattsville and in every level of County
> code and permitting agency I've ever dealt with, it's been my experience
> that it makes a big difference whether the issue in question involves how
> you make a living or it's simply where you live.  Landlords, contractors,
> commercial property owners nearly always get cut more slack in dealing with
> code enforcement or permit review staff than do residents/homeowners.
>
> I don't think it's because "money talks" -- or, at least, because cash is
> being slipped under the table.  I've never had any evidence that any money
> is changing hands illictly.
>
> Here are my own theories as to why this might be the case:
>
> 1.  Government personnel feel commercial entities have more at stake than
> homeowners, and thus are more willing to be flexible with them.
>
> 2.  There is a certain rapport of professionals dealing with professionals
> that you don't have when the other party is a private homeowner.
>
> 3.  Often the government personnel at one time worked for commercial
> enterprises in the same field (e.g., for construction firms), so there's a
> natural sympathy for the challenges they face.
>
> 4.  Typically, government personnel have to deal with the commercial
> players over and over, whereas the residential interaction is often a
> one-off transaction.  Thus, there is a natural tendency to want to maintain
> a good working relationship -- and that leads to more flexibility.
>
> 5.  Commercial parties can bite back harder than homeowners can -- whether
> through lawsuits (or stonewalling in the courts), involving an elected
> official who receives their campaign contributions, or simply by raising a
> ruckus in interpersonal interactions (homeowners are usually more afraid and
> intimidated by government enforcers).
>
> Does anyone else have other explanations, or perhaps challenge my premise?
>
> Chris Currie
> Hyattsville
>
>
>
>
> Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:33:24 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Sue Collins <wheadle at yahoo.com<http://us.mc1620.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=wheadle@yahoo.com>
> >
> To: Vernon Archer <varcher at gmail.com<http://us.mc1620.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=varcher@gmail.com>>,
> Sarah Wayland
>        <sarah.wayland at gmail.com<http://us.mc1620.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=sarah.wayland@gmail.com>
> >
> Cc: "towntalk at riverdale-park.org<http://us.mc1620.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=towntalk@riverdale-park.org>"
> <towntalk at riverdale-park.org<http://us.mc1620.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=towntalk@riverdale-park.org>
> >
> Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Broken window - when will it be fixed?
> Message-ID:
>        <1318955604.71596.YahooMailNeo at web112613.mail.gq1.yahoo.com<http://us.mc1620.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=1318955604.71596.YahooMailNeo@web112613.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
> >
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Very interesting; but I have to wonder if, for?instance, a private home
> owner in town who'd have windows broken out for such a long time would be
> cut any slack, and if they would be able to get away?with making the repairs
> when and if they got around to it??
> ?
> Bad enough a developer has for all intents and purposes bought up all of
> the town center and apparently wants to keep the properties vacant for all
> time; the LEAST they could do is keep the outside of the buildings
> presentable.?
> ?
> Oh well, money talks and the rest of us can.... walk.?
>
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