Property owners guilty of violating city codes

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, November 19, 2003

[11/19/03]The owners of two properties targeted for cleanup by the city have been given two weeks to take action or face possible fines in Vicksburg Community Court.

Ernest McBride, who owns property at 3001 Pittman Ave., and local businessman Robert Rosenthal, who owns the former Carr Central Junior High on Cherry Street, were each found guilty of violating city codes by Judge Mack Varner. City Prosecutor Bobby Robinson said both could be in court again on Dec. 2 if they do not clean up the properties.

City Building Inspection Department administrator Victor Gray-Lewis said the city took action in court against the two owners because of the dilapidated conditions of both structures.

Email newsletter signup

Sign up for The Vicksburg Post's free newsletters

Check which newsletters you would like to receive
  • Vicksburg News: Sent daily at 5 am
  • Vicksburg Sports: Sent daily at 10 am
  • Vicksburg Living: Sent on 15th of each month

“It’s in the hands of the court right now,” Gray-Lewis said.

The home where McBride had lived was granted a reprieve from demolition in February by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen after neighbors said they’d fix it up, but since then, repair efforts have stopped. Gray-Lewis said it was not clear exactly when that work ended.

Nothing has been done since midsummer and the house is still uninhabitable, according to Gray-Lewis. A large pile of debris cleaned out from the house has also sat outside near the street for months.

The South Washington Area Neighborhood Association had been given permission by the city board to fix up the shotgun house overlooking the Mississippi River. McBride’s home was condemned last year after inspectors said it had had no utilities, including water or sewer, since 1982.

Problems with the structure include holes in the roof, termites, rotten wood on the front porch and damage to the floor.

Separately, city officials are looking at what action to take at the former Carr Central building, where broken windows, leaking roofs and rotting floors and walls have left the 79-year-old building with an uncertain future.

Officials say they would like to see the property, listed as a state landmark, rehabilitated, but no one has come forward with the financial backing needed for the project. Rosenthal, who bought the building from the city five years ago, has applied for tax credits to convert it into elderly housing, but has been turned down for funding every year since.

Current legal action will require him to clean up overgrown kudzu on the property or face fines up to $1,000. A citation has also been issued to Rosenthal for failing to seal the structure.

Under the contract, Rosenthal paid $105,000 for the school, but the city could buy it back for $45,000 if nothing was done in a year. City officials have been reluctant to take back the property because of the amount of work that is needed, and because of the amount of asbestos in the building.