City officials: House ‘unfit’
A two-apartment home in at 149 Hall Ave., Washington, was declared unfit for human inhabitation by Washington County code enforcement Friday. The property is owned by Mark and Melissa Russo, who also own the building at 15 N Main St., Washington, that partially collapsed last week.
A two-apartment home in at 149 Hall Ave., Washington, was declared unfit for human inhabitation by Washington County code enforcement Friday. The property is owned by Mark and Melissa Russo, who also own the building at 15 N Main St., Washington, that partially collapsed last week.
City officials declared an apartment building in Washington “unfit for human inhabitation.”
It was the second time this week the city issued such a notice to a property belonging to the owners of the apartment building on North Main Street that collapsed last week.
City officials took the step Friday morning of declaring unlivable a building containing two apartments at 149 and 149 1/2 Hall Ave.
A notice posted next to the front door of the unit at 149 called the property “unfit for human inhabitation” for reasons including “foundation/outer wall unsafe,” “plumbing system hazard” and “interior structure unsafe,” among others.
Mark Russo of Washington – listed with his sister Melissa in property records as owning the building – didn’t return a request for comment Friday afternoon.
Mayor Scott Putnam said officials went to the property in response to a complaint lodged with the city.
Code enforcement Officer Ron McIntyre and building code official Jarrod D’Amico were unavailable for comment.
LeeAnn Group, 31, who lives on the first floor with her four children, who range in age from 1 to 6, said she doesn’t know who notified the city about the conditions at both her apartment and the second-floor dwelling.
“I don’t know if they’re doing every one,” she said Friday afternoon, referring to the extent of the city’s recent scrutiny of apartment complexes, as she held her curly-haired toddler. “I don’t know.”
Group also didn’t know where she’ll move within 36 hours of the notice, the time allotted to vacate the premises.
The Russos are also listed as owning the apartment complex at 350 Duncan Ave. – which city officials deemed uninhabitable Wednesday – and the apartment building at 15 N. Main St., which partially collapsed July 12 and left a woman trapped for more than nine hours.
“At this point, after the week we’ve had, we’re going to start looking at all properties,” Putnam said. “With what we saw this week, it’s a real eye-opener … with these blighted properties, and landlords that are charging rent for an unlivable condition.”