Published April 3, 2012
By Patrick Hall, Julia Taylor and Tom Clark

Times readers and residents of the city of Trenton are painfully aware of the growing number of abandoned properties in their neighborhoods. What they may not know is that many people and organizations are working hard to try to turn the situation around.

Working with city leaders, Trenton community developers and civic organizations are developing ways to turn vacant spaces into vibrant places by holding property owners accountable and securing more community control over Trenton’s neighborhoods.

Tackling the many problem properties in the city requires a multipronged approach.

The first step is to begin using a law that Trenton already has on the books — one that has a proven track record in other urban communities in New Jersey: Trenton’s abandoned properties list ordinance.

Trenton passed the ordinance but hasn’t created the list. To take advantage of this opportunity, Trenton needs to appoint a public officer to create an official list of abandoned properties. Creating the list would give the city new tools for addressing vacant properties where the owner is not keeping the structure up to code.

Cities such as Newark that have taken this approach have found that, by creating an abandoned properties list, as many as one-fourth of the owners end up cleaning up their properties and putting them back to use on their own, without the city having to take further action or use its own resources.

Trenton needs to improve another ordinance already on the books: its vacant property registration ordinance.

Tightening up the ordinance, making sure all abandoned property owners register and charging them a reasonable registration fee would not only give the city greater ability to enforce its codes, it would also raise money to use for this purpose. Therefore, the city does not have to use scarce general-fund dollars to deal with these properties.

Trenton should also become more strategic in the way it disposes of properties it owns. Public auctions are not always the best way to raise money or get properties to be used in the most productive way. By pulling key properties from public auctions, particularly in key neighborhoods where revitalization is already under way, the city can get those properties back into use faster and encourage greater improvement to neighboring properties.

Demolition can be a valuable tool, but it must be done strategically. Since demolition is also costly, the city would benefit most from demolition in neighborhoods where revitalization efforts are already under way.

Efforts to encourage a community renaissance cannot fall solely on the shoulders of municipal officials. It’s a tremendous task that can only be successful if city leaders work in collaboration with other organizations dedicated to its renewal, such as the Trenton Historical Society, Beautiful Trenton, the Trenton Council of Civic Associations, Habitat for Humanity and the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, to name a few. Philanthropic organizations such as the Princeton Area Community Foundation are also investing in Trenton’s renewal through their support of the Network and a number of local organizations.

Nonprofit developers such as CityWorks and Isles can help spearhead efforts to revitalize Trenton’s neighborhoods. Isles, for example, is developing Roberto Clemente Park as well as community gardens and homes, involving youth in the process. Meanwhile, CityWorks has been working with the city of Trenton, through a HUD grant, to rehabilitate 10 vacant structures on Carteret Avenue for sale to homeowners. The East Trenton Collaborative (a partnership of five area nonprofits) has been operating in the East Trenton neighborhood for the past four years and is addressing abandoned properties through selective demolition, ownership of new in-fill homes (new homes that are built to fill in empty lots in neighborhoods where structures previously stood) and the rehabilitation of vacant properties for re-occupancy by city residents.

Trenton has many abandoned properties, but there is much we can do about it. The city’s civic and community organizations are ready, willing and able to work with municipal leaders to create a better Trenton.

Patrick Hall is a facilitator for Beautiful Trenton and a member of the Trenton Council of Civic Associations (tccatrenton.org).
Julia Taylor is managing director of planning and development for Isles Inc. (isles.org).
Tom Clark is executive director of CityWorks (cityworks.com). The organizations are a part of the Trenton Neighborhood Restoration Campaign.