Jackson Jambalaya

The Wall Street Journal reported on a Baltimore blogger's efforts to clean up her city by embarrassing wayward landlords:

A Baltimore woman's five-year campaign to pressure landlords to repair blighted buildings has attracted fans and imitators in other cities, the ire of some property owners, and now for the first time, a pair of lawsuits.

Since early 2009, Carol Ott has run a website called Baltimore Slumlord Watch. On an almost daily basis, she posts photographs of boarded-up or dilapidated buildings and the names and addresses of owners she identifies through public records.

Last month, Ms. Ott was sued for her role in a recent project in which artists painted murals on 17 vacant buildings in the city. Two civil lawsuits filed in state court in Baltimore allege the work was an act of vandalism at two properties and seek $5,000 to restore the buildings to their prior condition.

"To trespass on property and vandalize property is just anarchy," said Brian Spern, a lawyer who filed the lawsuits on behalf the owners, two trusts whose investors he declined to identify. "Labeling someone a 'slumlord'—name-calling—is not in the best interest of anyone," he added.

Ms. Ott, 45 years old, said she advised artists as they looked for buildings to target and provided property-owner information, which was posted next to the finished artwork. She said she didn't trespass and plans to fight the lawsuits and keep blogging.

Her use of the word "slumlord," an epithet normally reserved for owners who permit substandard living conditions, is intentionally volatile, Ms. Ott said. " 'Negligent Property Owner Watch' doesn't have the same ring," she said.

A court date is scheduled for March 5. Ms. Ott is the only named defendant.

The lawsuit illustrates tensions that can arise between urban landowners and citizen watchdogs as cities across the U.S., including many that were once industrial centers but have shed jobs and residents for decades, wrestle over what to do with vacant properties.....

City officials in Baltimore estimate it has 16,000 vacant buildings. In Philadelphia, there are an estimated 40,000 vacant houses, commercial buildings and lots. A 2010 study by the center found that more than one in five addresses in Detroit; Flint, Mich.; and Gary, Ind., were vacant.

The hollowed-out buildings drag down surrounding property values and can invite problems from drug dealing to prostitution. Sites can become stash houses for stolen goods.

Two years ago, Linda Henry, 62, who works part time cleaning offices, started a Facebook page titled Slumlord Watch of Columbus, Ohio. She said she was inspired by Ms. Ott's site.

"When the weather is permissible, I take pictures of nasty houses and post who the owner is," she said. "The properties get so torn up." She said she hasn't been threatened with a lawsuit.

Real-estate investor Stephen Arrivello said he was also inspired by Ms. Ott's site to create Abandoned Philadelphia, a site that he uses in part to drum up business. He allows others to post about vacant properties that can become leads for his business... Rest of article

Not a bad idea. There is one Belhaven landlord. First name starts with a "C". Druggies frequented the house. Two prostitutes resided in the home. Cars frequently stopped for only a few minutes. Police visited the house several times. Think the landlord did anything? Nope. Perhaps his property and face should have been pictured. Its a thought. Too often the landlords are not held accountable for what goes on in their homes.  Funny. If they made a racist joke on the air, they would be run out of town.  If they allowed a bunch of hookers and drug dealers to move in and corrupt the neighborhood, it would not be considered fair to shame and ostracize them.  Too bad.