Quite the story in the Gazette today.  First the story says that out of the 148 tax foreclosures in 2012, only 20 houses remain to be sold.   ROFL.    Gee, if only about 265 houses in the city sold, that obviously means the sale of houses not on the foreclosure list is just not happening, given the hundreds upon hundreds of houses that are for sale.

So, 148 foreclosures in 2012 according to this story as told by the city.   Now figure, the city has been increasing taxes on the homeowners and forcing homeowners to pay the taxes of the filthy rich, super wealthy, downtown property owners. and the number of houses that were foreclosed on in the "latest round" (I guess the story means this year, 2014) is 215.

In two years time there has been a 50% INCREASE in foreclosures -- remember, that is because the financially struggling homeowners CANNOT afford to pay their own taxes PLUS the taxes of the downtown millionaires !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EVIDENCE that the wild spending on downtown is NOT HELPING THE CITY AT ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!    
---  Massive REDUCTION in the city tax base!!!!!!!!!
--  a 50% INCREASE in foreclosures in only two years !!!!!!!!!!!


Aside from those piece of EVIDENCE of how downtown is causing failure in the rest of the city, there is one piece of information that IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to be mentioned here.

The city was supposed to have some "property committee" to review all these requests in order to PREVENT houses from being bought by absentee landlords.

In this story there is a house at 744 Hamilton Street.   It was built only in 1995, and by 2003 was in foreclosure.   In 2005 it was bought for $6,000.   And it went to foreclosure AGAIN by 2012!!!!!!

A side note-- DV claims the old houses are obsolete and should be demolished.  Gee, this house was only built in 1995 and it was apparently in pitiful condition.   It was purchased this year for a paltry $5,000 and the owner is referenced in the story as spending $40,000 to "fix it up."   WHY would a house LESS THAN 20 YEARS OLD need massive repair.  By the way, it is a ONE FAMILY house.  There are HUNDREDS of houses in the city, older and far more beautiful needing no work at all (other than maybe someone's preference on paint color, maybe change in light fixtures for an owner's personal taste, etc.) but DV claims all these magnificent old houses are obsolete and need to be torn down.   Oh, by the way, DV REFUSED to respond and post in the thread about all the old houses.

Back on the story of this 744 Hamilton St and the mayor's so called "property committee."   Well, guess who bought 744 Hamilton St and while buying it for $5,000 and putting $40,000 into it, and obviously having to pay taxes, and the owner now says the asking price is down to $55,000 and he needs to sell in order to have the money to start dong another house.

Guess who it is ????????    NONE OTHER THAN CRIMINAL PETER DELLA RATTA, sleeze ball, a democrat of course, who used to be a city councilman !!!!!!!!!!!!

Quoted Text

A few familiar names on foreclosure list
Included are those who had brushes with the law and community leaders
By Lauren Stanforth
Published 11:23 p.m., Monday, June 4, 2012


SCHENECTADY — A convicted building contractor, a former city councilman and the president of a Hamilton Hill neighborhood association are among hundreds of property owners who are facing foreclosure under a massive court action undertaken by the city.


Schenectady has published a list on its website and also displayed it on the city's cable access channels, detailing who owns the 693 properties that the city has moved to foreclose on for unpaid taxes that started at the latest in 2009.

In past years, the city routinely foreclosed on tax-delinquent properties. But that stopped between 2004 and 2010 when the city sold its liens to American Tax Funding, giving foreclosure rights to that Florida-based company. Now that the city is once again in charge of its own collecting, Schenectady is trying rein in owners who have remained in arrears, said Mayor Gary McCarthy.

The list includes people who have had brushes with the law, as well as community leaders.

David White, who was convicted in December of failing to pay almost $82,000 to subcontractors on a home building project in Glenville, owes $30,593 for a property on Banker Avenue, an amount that includes interest and penalties. White is now serving one to three years in state prison.

Also listed is Fred Lee, who is president of the New Hamilton Hill Neighborhood Association and serves on a domestic violence panel at the YWCA. He and his wife, Darlene, a past chairwoman of the city's Republican committee, owe $41,134 on three properties, including their home on Stanley Street.

"We share the pain of a lot of the residents of the city of Schenectady on the issue of taxes," Lee said Monday, declining further comment.

Former City Councilman Peter Della Ratta, who resigned in 2006 after he admitted in court to hitting another man, owes $23,731 for a Robinson Street address. A rental property owner, Della Ratta was also reportedly behind in taxes in 2004.

An adjacent lot with ties to Liberty Dental Lab on Guilderland Avenue, which is run by Mohonasen school board member Gary Spadaro and his father, is listed as owing $20,615 in back taxes.

Landlord Andrew Wisoff, who unsuccessfully sued the city in protest of its rental certificate policies, owes about $150,000 on nine properties, according to the foreclosure list.

And the tables are turned for Optimum Realty Corp., a collection company that American Tax Funding sold Schenectady's liens to. Optimum apparently took two properties through foreclosure, one on Green Street and another on Carrie Street, and hasn't paid $59,540 in city taxes on them........................>>>>.....................>>>>........................Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/loca.....83.php#ixzz1wuiKtkRH

Naturally, Della Ratta is one of the city's political cronies.

So since he was convicted of a crime AND a TAX DEADBEAT, I believe the THIEF mayor owes the financially struggling homeowners in the city WHY the city allowed Della Ratta to buy a house!