Thousands of dangerous properties are still hazards years after initial violation in Philadelphia

When Clifford Smith moved to Marston Street in North Philadelphia in the 1980s, it was a different scene than today.

"It was gorgeous. It was a nice neighborhood, family, you know, village," Smith said.

Throughout the decades, properties on his block have fallen into disrepair. Smith says older owners died and their children either left the properties vacant or sold them - sometimes to speculators who also left them vacant.

One of those homes has two city demolition notices posted on the door. In 2022, it was cited as imminently dangerous by the Philadelphia Department of License and Inspections.

According to Philly's building code, imminently dangerous structures need to be repaired or demolished due to the risk of collapse.

"The city was going to demolish it," Smith told NBC10. "But they never came around."

A spokesperson for L&I said the owners asked for more time to try to repair the house or demolish it themselves.

One of the owners told us she is weighing her options.

The Marston Street property is one example of similar sites in the city.

The NBC10 Investigators found 112 properties deemed to be imminently dangerous are still in disrepair more than one year after receiving the L&I violation. Some going back to 2020.

Thousands more properties that were cited as “unsafe” also have open violations, dating back to 2017.  

When L&I deems a property unsafe it means it is “dangerous to the life, health, property or safety of the public or the occupants of the structure,” according to Philly’s building code.  

A home on the 12000 block of Elmore Street in the city’s Northeast neighborhood was cited as unsafe in 2017 due to loose and missing bricks, according to L&I. 

“It's an eyesore and it's a danger,” said Bob Naylis who lives across the street from the unsafe property. 

The home failed 13 inspections after its initial citation -- and still appears as unsafe in city records. 

“I think it's going to take someone getting hurt, hopefully not killed, and then maybe the city will do something,” Naylis said.

Shortly after we spoke with Naylis, a nonprofit went to court to petition to become the conservator of the property to fix it and then potentially sell it. 

That move, according to the lawyer for the children of the deceased property owner, pushed the siblings to take action.  

“The court process forced the heirs to set aside their issues, and finally repair the house,” Don Nogowski said.   

That is something that L&I had not been able to do for years.

It’s unclear if the new administration will be able to get better compliance in those situations. 

Philly’s new Managing Director Adam Thiel says the Parker administration’s decision to split L&I into two departments is in part to focus on issues such as unsafe and imminently dangerous properties. He says they are looking to increase staffing in L&I but also the law department to address dangerous properties. 

“How to increase service, how to increase compliance,” he said. 

But even with increases in budget and staffing, he says they will still have limited resources. 

“Make sure that we're hitting the worst actors first,” he said. 

That’s what the Kenney administration previously did-- focused on the properties they considered to be most dangerous. 

And still, properties have lingered for years with active unsafe and imminently dangerous violations. 

In one case, we learned of a woman who is living in a Point Breeze property that was deemed imminently dangerous in January 2021. 

According to the code, it is unlawful to enter an imminently dangerous property-- unless it is to repair or demolish it. 

“Until we can provide great alternatives for people, which is another thing that we are absolutely doing, these are, it's a difficult space,” Thiel said. 

A staffer for Council President Kenyatta Johnson went to the woman’s home after we asked about her situation.

Johnson’s spokesman said he connected the woman with the office to see how they may be able to help. But he said that she wouldn't qualify for many of the city’s programs that help families repair their homes because she is not the deed holder of the property. Plus she has tax delinquency and the city has taken her to court over the imminently dangerous violations, all of which make her ineligible. 

Multiple attempts to reach the Point Breeze resident were unsuccessful. 

Parallel to the Parker administration’s splitting of L&I, the City Controller is investigating the agency. 

“We're looking into L&I’s enforcement of their codes,” Controller Christy Brady said. 

Brady said she did not know that imminently dangerous properties aren’t being immediately repaired or demolished – as mandated by the code.  

“Thank you for letting me know, because, you know, it's something that we'll take a look at, while we're [investigating] L&I,” she said. 

The controller’s audit will now include L&I’s enforcement of dangerous properties.