VENTNOR – The city building department’s files on 207, 205 and
203 N. Sacramento Avenue are half-a-foot thick combined, full of
code violations and court summonses going back years – along with
terse responses from the properties’ out-of-state landlord.

The two-story houses along the bay block were cited for
everything from loose steps to broken windows to trash-strewn lawns
and sidewalks – and for several months last winter, the family
living in 205 went without heat and was forced to use a stove, all
while the gas company wasn’t notified for months.

“My family has lived here since 1925,” said neighbor Nelson
Riley. “The owners used to live in the houses, but when they turned
it over to real estate people, they didn’t care who they put in
here. One person bought them all and let them go to trash.”

There were reports of people breaking into the vacant properties
to party, as well as squatters living there semi-permanently – in
addition to a number of arrests and incidents reported in the area,
including what the police described as a “riot scene” on June 3,
when a 17-year-old allegedly kicked out the window of a police car
and spit at an officer.

Neighbors said the problem was exacerbated in the spring and
summer by changes and uncertainty in the police department –
including the threat of six officers being laid off – that some
said led to fewer patrols of the area and fewer follow-ups. Police
Capt. Michael Miller said that officers always responded to every
call, though he did say that the usual bike patrols were
discontinued due to budgetary reasons.

The situation finally came to a head in mid-November, when the
three properties were declared unsafe and were boarded up by the
city – three properties that were valued at between $258,000 and
$275,000, less than a block from the scenic bayfront and just a few
blocks away from second homes valued in the millions.

“We are serious about cleaning up the areas that need to be
cleaned up,” said Ventnor Mayor Theresa Kelly. “The code
enforcement officer discussed this with me, I sent him over there,
and we decided that all three houses would be boarded up. At that
point, there was just one family living there, and obviously they
couldn’t stay there because of the conditions.”

Among the unsafe conditions listed at 205 alone that led to the
houses being boarded up, according to the city, were a lack of
electricity, unattended dog litter “throughout” the building,
“unsecured access being gained” to the vacant building, and
“rubbish throughout”, making the house “uninhabitable.”

This came after a series of violations that have piled up since
2007. Several led to court cases against Terry Silva, whose Keli
Inc. property management group, based in Marcus Hook, Pa., owned
the three properties.

“We’re serious about that,” Kelly said. “If you’re going to get
violations and not do anything about it, we will take you to court
and you will be fined. Those kind of things wouldn’t happen in any
other community and we certainly don’t want them here.”

Silva, who Kelly said was a Pennsylvania attorney – and who did
not respond to repeated messages asking for comment – often
responded to violations with letters in which she blamed tenants,
the city or utility companies for the situation at the houses.

“As to 205 N. Sacramento,” Silva wrote in 2007, “you ask me to
paint around all windows. I believe all my windows are capped. If
there are any windows to which you are referring specifically that
are not capped, I would be pleased to address that. … In 203, my
tenant’s air conditioning is running in her bedroom and there is
water on the ground from condensation (and) from the rains we have
been having. Other than that, I see now ‘standing’ water.
…Probably most of my questions could be answered if you had a
moment to telephone me concerning your inspection reports.”

After numerous summonses for 207 not having any heat last
winter, contractor Harry Davidson sent Silva a letter stating that
“I called you twice to tell you about this (leaking valve) and no
one answered the phone,” adding that while the problem was with
South Jersey Gas’s valve, “This was the first time they were out
here.”

In February, she said in a letter that the city’s “groundless
citations” should be heard in court but due to an accident and
injury she couldn’t attend.

Both neighbors and officials cited Silva’s status as an
unreachable, out-of-state landlord as one of the reasons the
situation was allowed to deteriorate.

At the state level, meanwhile, New Jersey Department of
Community Affairs spokeswoman Lisa Ryan said that state regulations
do not differentiate between “in-state” and “out-of-state”
landlords for any particular code requirement.

“These regulations apply equally or universally to all landlords
whether they reside within or without the state of New Jersey,” she
said in an e-mail. “Although not code required, we will ask
out-of-state corporations applying for a license to submit a copy
of a New Jersey Certificate of Authority as well as the formation
documents from their home state.”

Overall, she said, “We have not discerned any particular
performance pattern regarding out-of-state landlords.”

While several North Sacramento neighbors did not want to speak
on record, Chelon Vasquez and Nelson Riley said there have long
been problems with the three houses.

“That house, that house and that house,” said Chelon Vasquez, a
Ventnor native, pointing to the buildings across the street from
Nelson Riley’s family home. “It was all turmoil – drugs, parties in
there. I think it was disgusting for Ventnor, but I’m glad it’s all
gone. … I came back to see what happened to Ventnor, and I was
appalled.”

The number of incidents on the block over the course of the
summer has led to talk of a unique solution – placing cameras along
North Sacramento and some other streets, continually keeping an eye
on everything and everyone.

“There has been support to do that,” said Commissioner John
Piatt of the idea of cameras in some neighborhoods.

Mayor Kelly, meanwhile, said she hasn’t discussed that
possibility, while Commissioner Stephen Weintrob said, “I’m not
sure I want to put them out in any residential area in the city.
It’s very discriminatory and not in the best interests of
residents.”

“There’s only so much we can do,” Weintrob said. “(Both) legally
and morally.”