Town needs help
While politicians in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., hone their fiddling skills, New Castle burns. Since the beginning of the year, arsonists have torched more than 50 homes in the Lawrence County city, most of them in the East End. Although it might be an extreme case, New Castle’s problem is similar to many other older, industrial and mining towns across Pennsylvania. They have too many housing units coupled with stagnant or declining populations.
One problem with many of these dwellings is that they don’t have the features that today’s buyers are looking for – integral garages, large closets, multiple bathrooms, family rooms, big yards, etc.
As a result, these properties have little or no market value.
This problem is compounded by the fact the populations of New Castle, Lawrence County and southwestern Pennsylvania aren’t growing. Therefore, demand for older homes, many in need of major updating, is weak or non-existent.
New Castle is home to 24,400 people. That’s less than half it had at its peak, yet it basically still has the same number of dwellings.
As a result, the law of supply and demand is tipped overwhelmingly to the supply side.
The absence of land-use policies that restrict suburban and exurban sprawl is another factor. In Pennsylvania, developers, contractors and buyers have little or no incentive to re-invest in outdated housing in older communities.
These municipalities also need help in streamlining the condemnation process so these threats to public safety don’t sit in legal limbo for years. (As far as the property rights of the owners of these dwellings are concerned, what about the property rights of the people who live next door to these eyesores and those who own homes on the same street?)
Their budgets can’t handle the stress of cleaning up this problem.
They don’t have the financial resources to pay for demolition, which runs around $4,000 a house. (New Castle was declared financially distressed in 2007.)
Municipalities like New Castle need help managing decline, and that can only come at the state and federal levels. Sadly, the politicians in Harrisburg and Washington aren’t willing to come through on the scale that is needed.
Don’t listen to their words. Watch what they do.
Their lack of action speak volumes about their priorities.