Borough could be liable for NYC, Philly homeowners’ neglect in collapse
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Fencing surrounds two abandoned homes which partially collapsed and damaged an occupied home on West Lloyd Street.
SHENANDOAH – Shenandoah Borough could be held liable for the damage to an occupied home after fire-damaged properties partially collapsed last week, after six years of neglect and abandonment by prior owners from Queens and Philadelphia.
The matter was discussed at Monday’s borough council meeting.
The borough purchased 210-212 West Lloyd Street in June to have the property demolished by the Schuylkill County Demolition Program.
Before council could approve submitting the applications to the county, both partially collapsed and began pulling 208 West Lloyd, occupied by Joe Mitchell Jr. and family, down with it.
“We just got ownership of the property two weeks ago to tear it down,” Tony Sajone, borough manager, said. “In the meantime, it started coming down.”
Mary Catherine Berresford, Shenandoah, asked if the borough would be liable for the damage to the neighboring property.
Solicitor Jim Amato suggested the borough submit an insurance claim.
“They’re probably going to put an insurance claim in, and they might come after us,” Sajone said. “That’s just bad luck, because we didn’t get it done in time.”
“We just had the bad luck of taking ownership [at a bad time],” Sajone added.
Just days prior, Sajone and an engineer from Alfred Benesch and Co. were in the homes days before the collapse to prepare the bid specifications for the demolition project.
“We were in there Wednesday. If we would’ve been in there Thursday, we would’ve been in the obituaries Friday because of the way it collapsed,” Sajone said. “[The engineer] was in the basement, taking pictures and everything to make sure he could get as much information.”
Mayor Andrew J. Szczyglak declared an emergency, Sajone said, allowing the borough and county to conduct an emergency demolition. Kass Contracting, Shenandoah, is handling the project.
In the meantime, Mitchell and family, are staying elsewhere.
Shenandoah acquired the two properties midway through June at repository sale for demolition. The two properties were damaged by fire in November of 2014.
According to the Schuylkill County Parcel Locator, Shenandoah acquired 210 West Lloyd on June 17 and 212 West Lloyd on June 22.
Both properties were sold a year after the fire to residents of New York City and Philadelphia respectively.
Before the borough’s acquisition, 210 was owned by Matthew Woosly, of 1547 Bambrey Street, in Philadelphia’s Grays Ferry section. He purchased the home on Dec. 8, 2015, from John J. Wicker, 3804 Dresher Road, Bensalem, for $100.
According to imagery from Google Streetview, 1547 Bambrey Street, Woosly’s most recent address provided to Schuylkill County, was boarded up and posted No Trespassing, with a sign noting the property was cleaned and sealed by the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections.
212 was previously owned by Zahra Monireh Nezamzadeh, 123-12 Jamaica Avenue, in the Richmond Hill section of Queens, New York. They purchased the property on Nov. 19, 2015 from Marek Karski, 57 Cheswich Ct, Bedminster, NJ, for $500.
123-12 Jamaica Avenue is a print, pack, and ship center that offers mailbox rental.
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