Judge rebuffs conservatorship bid for vacant Garfield house

By Joe Reuben, Bulletin Contributor
A boarded-up, single-family home at 5149 Hillcrest St. that has sat vacant for over a decade now appears likely to remain in that condition indefinitely, following a ruling by Common Pleas Court Judge Alan Hertzberg.
Hertzberg was acting in a response to a petition filed over three years ago by Rising Tide Partners, Inc. that sought to have the court appoint the Garfield-based non-profit as a conservator for the property. Under Pennsylvania’s conservatorship law, Rising Tide would have become the caretaker of the house until such time that its owner, Sandra Hall, chose to either fix it up or sell it. A hearing on the matter was finally held last month.

A judge rejected an effort to appoint a conservator to care for a boarded up, vacant home on Hillcrest Street.

But an attorney retained by Hall managed to elicit from Taylor Williams, Rising Tide staff member, that the house in question has not necessarily posed a nuisance to the neighbors on Hillcrest Street, nor has it been targeted for citations by the city for any hazardous or unsightly conditions. Williams told the court that the house found its way onto a list of vacant properties that has been developed in partnership with the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, and that Rising Tide meets regularly with community members who are part of an oversight committee that reviews which properties to add to it.
In response to questioning from Hall’s attorney, Williams said that Rising Tide’s purpose in seeking conservatorship of vacant properties is to try and salvage them before they run the risk of being demolished.
“We want to recycle such properties as potential housing for families who are seeking affordably-priced places in the city to purchase or rent,” Williams stated. “There are several thousand working-class households in the city who are struggling to find a place to live, and several thousand homes that are sitting vacant. We have long felt there is a match to be made there.”
Rick Swartz, executive director of the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, also testified at the hearing. He told the court that his organization’s collaboration with Rising Tide Partners is borne out of a desire to keep more boarded-up homes in the neighborhood from being demolished.
“Since 1960, Garfield has lost over 400 single-family homes to the wrecking ball. In every case, the property had been left empty so long that it deteriorated to the point where salvaging it became impossible”, Swartz testified. “The house at 5149 Hillcrest probably doesn’t deserve to be demolished now, but if left as is, there’s a very good chance that it will. That would not only be a loss for Ms. Hall, it would be a loss for the community as a whole,” he added.