A reader gave us the heads up about new Doors & Windows violations going up at 1524-30 Ridge Ave., in Francisville. The fact that these buildings are blighted is particularly notable, as they’re on one of the blocks of Ridge in this neighborhood that has more buildings than vacant land.

The buildings

Zoomed in violation

The buildings are owned by a gentleman named James Smith, of Sicklerville NJ. He purchased the buildings back in the 1990s, paying $40K for the 1526-30, and a mere $4K for 1524. Around 2007, he decided to stop paying property taxes on these properties, and owes over $50K in taxes for current and back property taxes. It’s unclear whether the upper floors are occupied, but the commercial spaces sure seem vacant.

Looking down Ridge

Hopefully, the violations will inspire the property owner to fix up the buildings which are clearly blighting the neighborhood. On the other hand, considering that there are multiple violations on the properties from earlier this year that haven’t been resolved, we’re not optimistic that this will happen. Not that this would be so bad either- after a few months of accruing Doors & Windows fines, the properties should get pushed to sheriff’s sale in short order. Why that hasn’t happened due to tax delinquency is frankly, beyond us.