OSWEGO, NY – In another legal victory for Mayor Billy Barlow’s administration, the New York State Supreme Court recently denied a complaint filed by out-of-town landlords alleging that the city of Oswego’s code enforcement actions violated their constitutional rights.
Supreme Court Justice Norman W. Seiter Jr. issued a four-page Decision and Judgment dated September 26, 2017, denying in all aspects a complaint filed by Marcel and Patricia Morrisseau, of Sterling, NY, and dismissing their claims with prejudice.
The landlords, who owns multiple rental properties in the city of Oswego, were denied rental permits by the city of Oswego because they fell behind in paying their property taxes.
The properties have also been the subject of multiple code violations and complaints from tenants and neighbors.
In his ruling, Judge Seiter determined that the Oswego City Code “substantially advances legitimate governmental interests. Timely tax collection and enforcement promotes effective and reliable governmental administration.”
The court ruling went on to add the city ordinance “further operates to deter property owners from neglecting their responsibilities as landlords, thereby compromising the safety of city residents. The court finds that these legitimate governmental interests are advanced by the City Code at issue and as a result this court finds [the Code] to be constitutional.”
Mayor Barlow praised the court ruling.
“This is an overwhelming affirmation of the hard work and effort put in by the Code Enforcement Department this past year and I am very happy with this result. Let this be a resounding message to any slumlords out there that the city of Oswego will no longer tolerate you taking advantage of our residents. We are cleaning up our neighborhoods house by house and your kind is not welcome anymore,” Barlow said.
“We’ve worked hard to establish a code enforcement office and process that holds landlords accountable and we’ve made it clear that this administration will do whatever it takes to make landlords obey the law, come into compliance, treat their tenants fairly and respect the surrounding neighbors. My administration will continue to apply pressure to city landlords in our pursuit to enhance the quality of life for all city residents,” the mayor added.
The recent court ruling is the second successful court ruling for the Barlow administration.
Previously, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division sided with the city of Oswego over its ownership of the former Cahill building, clearing the way for further redevelopment as part of the city’s award-winning Downtown Revitalization Initiative.
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As Fulton City Councilor, this will be one of my most important responsibilities. This is a great victory for the people. We must take action against landlords that “neglect their responsibilities as landlords, thereby compromising the safety of city residents.”
Just for some landlords not all, There should be inspected on rental places every year cost to the landlord they should pay for mowing the lawn and trash remove for the amount of money they ask for should be in clued in rent would help keep trash out of the street. There a lot of wear on a house if you were in for a few years pipes leak wall crack, doors crack, etc. If there no one to inspected the place for things that need to repair Landlord wants you to pay for it when you move out. Need to take action against neglect of their rental properties.