Hanging their heads
Pennsylvania city uses website to shame owners of blighted properties.
Reading, Pa., property owners who neglect their homes may feel no shame under ordinary circumstances. So, city officials are submitting them to some online humbling, according to the Associated Press. On Aug. 2, Reading Mayor Tom McMahon announced a new online “Wall of Shame” that features blighted properties.
The property owners’ names are posted along with pictures and addresses. McMahon told the media that he is serving notice to property owners who fail to take action on eyesore properties. Ten properties already are facing designation as blighted, which could lead to their demolition. Fifty other properties are listed on the site, and McMahon says the city is targeting them for blighted status.