Jeannette leaders battling blight with new plan

Jean Zippi has lived in her Jeannette home for 75 years. Her father built it, she grew up in it and then she moved back in as an adult.

But over the past 20 years, the house across the street from her has become an eyesore.

“I look at that every day,” the Scott Avenue resident said. "People just don't care. It's ruining a nice city,”

Unfortunately, it’s a common problem. Jeannette has been dealing with blight for years, but local leaders are now taking new initiatives to revive the city.

"There's a lot of houses that have to be torn down. They're a mess. People just don't take care of them,” Angelo Manolis said.

Broken and boarded-up windows can be found on nearly every block, which is why Jeannette officials are trying to tackle the problem from within by creating a blight task force encompassing city leaders, police and firefighters.

"We're going to assess the blight within the community, identifying corridors that have extended blight or issues and identifying properties that stand out more than others,” Jeannette city manager Michael Nestico said.

Nestico said the City Council is expected to pass a “quality of life” ordinance next week, where the battle against blight can be enforced by tickets.

"It inhibits the housing market, it inhibits development, It hurts our tax base. Sometimes blight will drive individuals from out of town or coming into town,” he said.

City leaders have already started demolition with city dollars. Stay with Channel 11 News and WPXI.com for continuing coverage.

Cox Media Group