Give derelict-property owners 90 days to act

THE EDITOR: Ninety days. Issue a notice that gives owners of abandoned properties 90 days to act, and not a day more!

Give them this notice to take the required action, failing which, the regional corporations must be empowered to take action in their stead.

The scourge that these abandoned properties represent has been an unwelcome feature of every street, neighbourhood and electoral district in this country for far too long. And it is time to act in a decisive and organised manner, to put it to a long-overdue end.

So issue notices giving property owners 90 days to bring their properties to some semblance of order, and let us as a nation finally breathe a sigh of relief when those overgrown lots are finally cut. and these abandoned structures either secured or struck down.

As things stand, these properties are not only eyesores, they encourage squatters and criminal activity, they are an affront to one's personal safety, and can present a public health issue through a proliferation of pests and vermin.

Beyond the temporary respite of having these lots cleared, I strongly urge that whatever the expense incurred, it should be passed along, without delay, to the owners.

Passed along, kept on account, and attracting a rate of interest that is compounded until such a time when the only fair and expedient solution for the debt is to seize the offending property and sell it to the highest bidder, or the lot is put to use by the corporation (there never seem to be enough parking lots, community garden plots and playgrounds around for the public to utilise and enjoy.)

Alternatively, corporations can develop gentrification programmes – as municipal authorities have done elsewhere in the world – where for a fraction of the market value, abandoned properties can be partnered with the right economic or social opportunities that encourage members of the public to re-engage with neglected neighbourhoods.

This could be as simple as converting a large office building to a residential complex, or an extracurricular school (dance, drama or music for example).

Downtown Port of Spain becomes a virtual ghost town after 5 pm. Wouldn't it be remarkable if instead of that paradigm, citizens were encouraged by the lure of education and entertainment to make the streets a regular destination during that unloved part of the day? What a welcome change that would make! Don't you agree?

GEORGE ELIAS

Cascade