New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
On Monday, April 9th at 10 am at “Gifts to Give”, 21 Cove Street, New Bedford, Mayor Jon Mitchell will formally launch The Mayor’s Task Force on Neighborhood Quality.
Joined by key neighborhood groups, elected officials, multiple law enforcement agencies, and ten city department heads and their staffs, the Mayor will lead a 30-minute roundtable discussion followed by a 20-minute walking tour of the nearby Ruth Street neighborhood.
The purpose of the multi-agency Task Force is to counter the dramatic deterioration several neighborhoods have experienced in recent years. For too long the health, safety, and quality of life of residents have been threatened by uncooperative absentee landlords who have flouted local ordinances and neglected their properties.
The Task Force aims to address the situation through:
- Concentrated code enforcement in the most troubled neighborhoods;
- Using a range of civil and criminal judicial processes to put an end to “business as usual” and bring repeat violators to justice;
- Better coordination among city departments;
- Adopting “best practices” that have proven effective in cities facing similar challenges;
- Setting up new accountability mechanisms so that city resources are directly appropriately.
