City not helping with drug dealing street

[Aqil Dharamsey]

Hello fellow BP landlords. I have a multi family In Rochester NY. 3 months ago city did an under cover drug bust and arrested a tenant from my building. Following that incident, I got a letter from the city stating they had assessed 36 points on my house and that could shut the house down anytime the basically wanted. Fast forward last week - got the tenants evicted and basically got the building almost empty now and restarting the filling process. The dealers had gone but are not back and in front of the building again. I am not able to rent the units because the prospective tenants are scared to even get out of their cars. Police and LT are not looking to help. The commissioner is to busy to return calls! I am wondering if I should sue the city for lack of police power. I am out of months of rent not to mention the bad rap I am getting from tenants looking for units. Any advice here? Has anyone gone through this miserable situation? Any connection in the city I can call on. ( I have exhausted every connection I had ) HELP, Aqil

[Al Williamson]

@Aqil Dharamsey sorry to hear about your situation. I know it all too well.

I started in the same boat but have been able to turn things around. I have written many blog posts about it here on BP and a book as well.

You should also check out BP Podcast #8.

I've got a ton of suggestions that actually are battle tested (I'm not talking theory). Here's a data dump:

1 - You, personally, need to take full responsibility for the situation and for everything that goes down on the block. This is an extreme view but it gets results.

2 - If you're bold enough to pass Step 1, then go about making sure your property is the cleanest, more groomed, litter-free property on Earth. You can either pick up the trash yourself or outsource the task - just get it done. And don't get tired of maintaining an orderly looking property. This is a battle of wills.

3 - Be respectful of those dealers on the street. Don't become their friends, but don't discount them. Give them more respect than they deserve BEFORE they deserve it.

4 - Upgrade your night lighting. Your place needs to look different at night. Light it up. Send the clue that there is no hiding.

5 - Connect with neighbors and local neighborhood watch groups. You are not alone and you want to connect with other like minded people to keep your spirits high.

6 - After you've done the above, and have a little street cred, you should connect with the neighbor's mayoral figure. Find out the one person who is respected and law abiding. Then empower that person. Help them bring more order to the block.

Anyway - that's how you can get started. Again I have a book's worth of info and lots of free articles here on BP to help you. Tons on my home blog as well.

There is hope and there's a path to successful.

Best to you!