Housing Sweep Begins Today

GREENSBORO -- Landlords who own an estimated 700 rundown houses and apartments across the city were given fair warning Friday: Bring your buildings up to code or face criminal charges.

Greensboro's code enforcement manager announced a massive inspections sweep Friday that begins today and is expected to last for three months.

The 172 criminal charges filed against landlord Bill Agapion last week were merely the tip of the iceberg, said Walter Simmons, Greensboro's code enforcement manager. Boosted, in part, by an increase in personnel, city inspectors will work six days a week to confirm hundreds of buildings across the city are not meeting fire and building codes.

Inspectors will then seek charges against owners of buildings in violation through the city's new environmental court, said Simmons, referring to a criminal court set up largely for those who refuse to repair homes.

"These cases will be stacked up like planes coming down the runway."

Simmons declined to name many properties slated for inspection, saying he did not want landlords implementing oppressive rules against their tenants to quickly get buildings up to code. He did, however, name the target of the city's next round of inspections: a red-brick apartment complex owned by Agapion at 211 N. Cedar St, which will be inspected today.

The Cedar Street apartments, which are just west of downtown, have been flagged several times during the past decade for fire hazard violations, according to city records. One fire inspector wrote the following warning after inspecting the apartments in 1993: "Units that respond to this address should be prepared for unsafe conditions." The apartments have also been flagged for building code violations, Simmons said.

A man who said he was affiliated with the Cedar Street apartments refused to let tenants talk to a reporter Friday and ordered the reporter and a photographer to leave the property.

In announcing the inspections sweep Friday, city officials said they will target landowners who have been warned repeatedly to fix properties. Danny Nall, superintendent of local ordinance enforcement, said he hopes the criminal charges will have a ripple effect, goading other owners into making repairs.

"People will see this and say, 'I want to get into compliance,'" Nall said.

At the same time the city is prosecuting negligent landowners, it will begin condemnation procedures at vacant or near-vacant properties that are not up to code, Simmons said.

"The ones that are half-vacant are the ones we are going to take to the housing commission" for condemnation procedures, Simmons said.

City officials want to avoid displacing tenants who live in buildings not up to code, Simmons said. Many of those tenants cannot afford to pay rent at most other Greensboro apartments.

The city's latest major attempt to bring buildings up to code began when Agapion, a local attorney and owner of Agapion Realty, was charged last week with failing to meet minimum safety standards at three of his apartment complexes. After Agapion's arrest, several of his tenants immediately praised the city's actions.

"When we first moved in, water was coming in from another apartment," said Ron Jarrell, who lives at Agapion's Floyd Street apartments with his wife and daughter. "I was having to clean human feces from outside my closet door."

Agapion said almost all of his apartments are up to code. His trial is set for Feb. 27.

City officials say they are starting a major offensive against negligent landlords because they only recently acquired technology that let them do their jobs more efficiently and gave them enough time to tackle such a project.

The city also recently gained enough staff members to make a large crackdown -- complete with Saturday work shifts -- possible, Simmons said.

Another catalyst for action was the establishment of the environmental court. Before the court was established late last year, code violations could get lost amid already packed criminal calendars, Simmons said.

Advocates for tenants living in low-rent housing were glad to hear Friday that the city would focus on more landlords than just Agapion. Beth McKee-Huger, director of the Greensboro Housing Coalition, said she was "thrilled" to hear that the city will take wide-ranging action.

"We have to make sure (property owners) are going to fix things up," she said. "If there is a possibility of jail time, I'm hoping that will give them incentive."

Contact Phillip Reese at 373-7021 or preese@news-record.com

While everyone would be in favor of getting slumlords to get their properties up to code, this 'sweep' will also target PRIVATE RESIDENCE OWNERS too!!!

I saw the local FOX affiliate's coverage of this story, and they interviewed a Greensboro housing inspector.

He confirmed that they WOULD also be targeting private residence owners.

When asked what types of violations they would be looking for, he said things like 'rotted wood, missing window panes, and any other code violations we see.'

It has been my experience dealing with the persnickety inspectors here in Davidson county, that they can find something wrong with your place, if they look long enough, and check the code book. Of course, since it is the ~~collectivist~~ benevolent government, we KNOW they wouldn't abuse their enforcement of the building code, in order to raise a lot of revenue from writing citations

And did anybody else get a bone chilling shiver when they saw the words: "Another catalyst for action was the establishment of the environmental court. Before the court was established late last year, code violations could get lost amid already packed criminal calendars, Simmons said." I know I sure trembled when I saw that. But not from fear...

I think the private homes that are going to be targeted are the ones that are rented via HUD section 8.

As far as the main culprit, Bill Apigon, I hope he gets jail time. This man is routinely fined by the city for violations of the housing code. I have seen the slum holes he rents out, often to the poorest of the Moung and Viet community.

4 years ago I sent a letter to the housing dept along with pictures of an algae filled, foamy and scummy pond that had developed in front of 6 apartments he owned. The pond was festering with mosquitos and filled the entire yard area of the apartments. There was no response for over a month. I sent the city another letter telling them I was sending the original letter and photos to the news station as the city had failed in its ability to enforce health standards. The probelm was fixed within the week.

I am EXTREMELY familiar with that neighborhood....his apartments are a Blight on the entire area...they should be repaired or TORN DOWN. That landlord is a pi$$-poor excuse for a businessman!

Greensboro is a nice city....it does not need CRIMINAL landlords!!

IF the city had done the right things ALL ALONG....and took care of this CRIMINAL LANDLORD, years ago....then, he would have been out of business and there would have been no need to CRACK DOWN ALL OF A SUDDEN!!

The powers that be have slooped-off their responsibilities and I am telling you....those properties are not just eyesores...they are HEALTH HAZARDS and fire traps!

Just because some people are poor and pay low rents doesn't mean a landlord can subject them to health and safety hazards ....if a landlord collects rent ...then, the tenants are ENTITLED to safe...maybe NOT beautiful, BUT SAFE APARTMENTS!

If a landlord cannot do the work...then, DO NOT RENT THEM....tear 'em down! Plant trees on the lots.

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