Cincinnati CityBeat : 02/25/2004 : Blight of the Week

Photo By Jymi Bolden

1700 Hughes St.

Address: 1700 Hughes St., Over-the-Rhine

Value: $7,700

Owner: Willie J. Hosley

Year Built: Unknown

Comments: Repair orders for this building from the city of Cincinnati Department of Building and Inspections date back to April 2001, when seven complaints were filed in three days that the property was vacant and people were trespassing via the fire escape. Former owner Satya Ramineni failed to comply with orders to properly barricade the building from trespassers. In 2002, Ramineni sold the four-story brick building to Willie J. Hosley for $6,000. Since that time Hosley has made no changes to the property either, according to Ed Cunningham, supervisor of the Department of Building and Inspections.

"What happened was he responded to our notice to barricade the building," Cunningham says. "Last September he applied for and paid $300 for the vacant building maintenance license. But he hasn't made any changes and he can't get the license before he makes any changes."

Cunningham says a criminal complaint hasn't been filed yet but the case is being reviewed for possible legal action. The owner was unavailable for comment.

BLIGHT OF THE WEEK is an effort to highlight the problem of abandoned buildings -- and who's responsible for them.

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