CITY WANTS DOWNTOWN LANDLORD TO REMOVE ANTI-DRUG SIGNS

BINGHAMTON -- Signs proclaiming a drug den in downtown Binghamton are
working -- traffic is down and the neighborhood is quieter. But they're
still coming down.

The city wants Stephen Menz to remove two signs he put up at a property he
owns at 163 Susquehanna St. Officials had not been able to contact Menz by
Friday, but Mayor Richard A. Bucci said he plans to give Menz 48 hours from
whenever they do contact him. The signs were still posted Saturday afternoon.

"This guy has a legitimate problem to solve. The sign issue has been
secondary," Bucci said.

"The property should not be turned into an eyesore," city spokesman Rich
David said.

But the signs were working, Menz said last week. Perhaps it was the shame
inflicted on drug customers; perhaps it was the increased police presence
since he put the signs up Monday. Maybe it was the media coverage, which
has stretched beyond Binghamton to nationwide outlets.

"The neighbors said there's been much less activity, although there's still
some," Menz said. "Let's crank up the lights even more."

Even if the signs, which were put up without a permit, do violate city
code, Bucci appreciates Menz's goal, using the same spotlight analogy.
"When you shine a spotlight on a rat, it runs," he said.

The signs follow drug activity at the property, and Menz's difficulty in
evicting the tenant in the apartment.

Two people were arrested and charged in March following a police search of
the property. Timothy Bryant, 17, and Cain Mazyck, 18, both of Brooklyn,
were each charged with third-degree possession of a controlled substance, a
felony. The tenant was never arrested or charged.

Menz would like to evict his tenant now, but he can't. Under state law, he
must first give 30 days notice, then begin proceedings, which require a
court hearing, then eviction by a sheriff's deputy. Expect the process to
take 45 days, maybe 60. Perhaps even more.

Much of Menz's difficulty is his own fault, he admits. He doesn't have a
signed lease with the tenant, which would spell out both landlord and
tenant rights.

Victor Salcedo with the Landlord's Forum and city officials have told Menz
that he could, and should, incorporate stricter language that would allow
him to evict a tenant quickly should illegal activity occur on the premises.

"I accept that responsibility," Menz said. But his experience can be an
object lesson to landlords across the Triple Cities. "I'm not alone in
having that kind of lease."

But he doesn't want the issue to end there. Yes, his mistake is his
responsibility. But right now, the entire neighborhood is paying the price.
"I've got to do something. I'm a landlord and I have no power here," Menz
said. "Why can't tenants have responsibility?"

The city, Bucci said, is taking its own action, noting that the downtown
residential neighborhood has seen increased police patrols and other
efforts as part of the city's Weed and Seed program. "That whole area is a
target for a full-court press," he said.

Still, Menz has two goals. The first, of course, is to get his apartment
back. The second is to change the law so that even landlords with a weak
lease can evict a tenant if the landlord has proof of illegal activity.

He has met with Bucci and council member Theresa Palleschi, R-7th District.
And while the city will to help to what degree it can, it has its limits.

Eviction proceedings, Bucci noted, are set by state law. "This one is
really out of our bailiwick," he said. "We don't have the tools, and
neither does the city," Menz said.

But if the organized effort will progress slowly, the grass-roots effort
will remain, and Menz's neighbors demonstrate it. Around the corner from
his property, a pair of neat signs on 8 1/2- by 11-inch paper grace a front
porch:"No stopping. No standing. No sitting. Stay off our porch."