Challenging reports that his agency fuels the blight it is supposed to fight, Housing Commissioner Daniel P. Henson III asserts that owners are at fault for letting their properties crumble -- not the city for stepping in with repairs and demolitions.
In his most detailed reply to a Sun series describing a seemingly haphazard housing enforcement effort, Henson outlined his agency's actions in dozens of cases. In essence, he said, the newspaper inaccurately aimed blame for the city's sagging housing stock at his agency's door.
His reply, released yesterday, offered no apologies for the city's actions -- but defended its attempts to shore up properties where possible and demolish them where necessary.
Time and again, Henson wrote, property owners brought upon themselves the shoddy conditions -- and skyrocketing city bills for repair or demolition work.
He cited people such as Ruth Peete, who inherited two houses on Walbrook Avenue in the early 1980s but saw them slip into disrepair as her rental income vanished.
The city razed the homes in 1994, then billed Peete $58,000. Peete, paralyzed by a stroke, now lives in a West Baltimore nursing home, unable to pay.
"Why should the city be seen at fault for 'a series of problem tenants' who apparently damaged the properties?" Henson wrote. "The owner apparently had no experience or finances to manage or maintain the properties."
He also mentioned Nigel Perkins, a college student in 1982 when he bought a North Bond Street house at auction. Struggling to pay tuition and unable to afford a renovation, Perkins told city inspectors: "You can have your house back."
Perkins' bill for the $12,000 demolition has ballooned to more than $100,000, including interest, penalties and unpaid taxes.
Henson wrote: "Owners without the financial wherewithal for renovations cannot simply purchase and hold indefinitely a vacant property that is a health and safety problem, nor can they simply 'give back' to the city a property they purchased."
In a third case, Henson cited properties on South Franklintown Road. The owner of record, Florence L. Wilkinson, died 11 years ago -- but is still being pursued by the city in legal actions seeking $100,000 for a weed-choked lot and boarded up house.
Wrote Henson: "These properties fell into extreme disrepair and were demolished under an emergency status. Owner of record and heirs are still responsible for city liens."
