Mayor Barlow announces results of 10-day Code Enforcement Blitz
Mayor Barlow announces results of IO-day Code Enforcement Blitz
City of Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow announced today the results of the ten-day code enforcement "blitz" from May 7th to May 17th in the first and third wards in the City of Oswego. The blitz was designed to prevent stockpiling and junk accumulation in front of rental properties as students moved out at the end of the college semester and citizens started their Spring cleaning routine. Mayor Barlow issued a letter to all landlords in the first and third wards asking them to be proactive and make arrangements for their tenants to dispose of any garbage, furniture or debris without it being in public space for an extended period of time. Mayor Barlow, along with 1 st ward Councilor Susan McBrearty, 3rd Ward Councilor Kevin Hill, the City of Oswego Code Enforcement Department and the Oswego City Police Department partnered to focus resources and patrols in the designated area, including weekend patrols.
The ten-day blitz resulted in 162 non-complaint properties being brought into compliance immediately during the ten-day span, most of which involved used furniture and excessive garbage being placed in public space. Properties in violation were given two hours to remedy the issue before a ticket would be issued. The 162 violations this year is a major increase compared to the 64 violations from the 2017 code enforcement blitz.
"Our proactive code enforcement blitz was extremely effective and our proactive approach to preventing additional violations and our strategy to bring the violators into immediate compliance worked as we saw little stockpiling and visible debris during this timeframe," said Mayor Barlow. "1' d like to thank our City of Oswego Code Enforcement department and the Oswego City Police Department for their collaboration and focus during the ten-day blitz and we will continue to improve our code enforcement efforts as I remain as committed as ever to cracking down on negligent landlords and addressing blight in our neighborhoods," Barlow said.
"The Code Enforcement Blitz for the "moving out" period was a resounding success this year. I would like to thank the DPW, Code Enforcement and the Oswego City Police Department for their rapid response to violations and our SUNY Oswego students and families for moving out in a manner respectful of your neighbors and our city. Another school year has passed and we bid
farewell to many of our SUNY Oswego students. Congratulations to our graduating seniors, I hope you enjoyed your stay here in Oswego," said Susan McBrearty, First Ward Councilor in the City of Oswego. "The First Ward looked very good throughout the process and I received no complaints from residents. The city of Oswego will continue to work towards ending neighborhood blight and holding negligent landlords accountable."
Third Ward Councilor Kevin Hill participated in the code enforcement blitz and
commended Mayor Barlow, the Code Enforcement Department and the Oswego Police Department for the focus in the third ward. "This innovative and proactive approach was exactly what our city needed to mitigate the detrimental impact on the quality of life of our neighborhoods that would inevitably occur during the college move-out period. We have the landlords' attention, and in speaking with constituents and traveling the Ward, it was a hands down success. I look forward to continuing to work with the administration to do everything in our power to protect and restore our neighborhoods by providing the resources necessary to accomplish this," Hill said.
Mayor Barlow also thanked all City residents who called in non-complaint properties and encouraged Oswego homeowners to call the Oswego City Code Enforcement Department with any building and property code complaints at 315-342-8265 throughout the Summer months.
