INC NEWS - question regarding city agencies

[bragin at nc.rr.com]

Just to follow up - while i was typing up the original message, i heard back from the Inspections Department that they were going to forward my concerns back to NIS.

So, all three of the potentially relevant agencies have now informed me that this issue does not fall under their jurisdiction.

Barry Ragin
1706 Shawnee St.
---- bragin at nc.rr.com wrote: 

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Hi all - there is a rental property on my block that has raised some questions. After having to evict his last tenants, the owner has allowed the property to sit unoccupied since October 2006. Fair enough. It's his property, and if that's what he wants to do with it i suppose he can.

The question is, about 6-8 weeks ago, he hired a contractor to do some exterior work. The contractor has busted up the driveway, removed the front porch, and opened up some gaping holes in the brickwork just above the foundation. 

And not returned for 6 weeks. I've left a message with the contractor trying to find out what his plans are for finishing the project, but it has not yet been returned. I've also emailed the directors of Neighborhood Improvement Services, City and County Planning, and City and County Inspections, trying to determine which if any city agency would have jurisdiction in not allowing this property to sit in a state of disrepair for much longer. I've heard back from Planning and NIS that this is not their responsibility, but have not yet heard back from Inspections. 

I was wondering if the collective wisdom of this group would be able to suggest an answer to the questions, first, which agency is the appropriate one to contact, and second, what other courses of action are available. Our previous attempts to dialog with the property manager and property owner (who lives in Massachusetts) have not yielded any results.

I'm attaching photos of the house in its current condition. In case they don't go through, you can view them here:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v181/bragin/neighborhood/1700Shawnee1.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v181/bragin/neighborhood/1700Shawnee2.jpg

Barry Ragin
1706 Shawnee St.