Campaign against ‘negligent’ landlords will continue

April 30, 2019 at 8:56p.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

More than 100 people gathered Tuesday night to see one of the city’s largest landlords held accountable for money he owes the city and to determine which landlord they’d target next.

Though the landlord — Mark R. King, who owned more than 150 properties at the beginning of the year — never showed up to the meeting, the Alliance for Congregational Transformation of Our Neighborhoods and its supporters still celebrated.

On April 17, King signed a “community agreement” with ACTION demanding he fulfill eight conditions to keep the group from further pressuring him. He was scheduled to make a public appearance to accept the agreement, but he did not show.

King agreed to register his properties with the city, address five properties with active code violations, demolish 12 of his blighted properties, pay back his debts to the city, respond to all his outstanding maintenance requests within 30 days and all subsequent requests within 30 days of their filing, cease to purchase any property in the city until all the previous conditions are met and to regularly meet with a group of community leaders to show his progress on the agreement.

According to ACTION leaders, King has begun to address each of the eight points, including a settlement he reached with the city on April 19 agreeing to pay back $262,000 of the $647,821 he owed.

King also agreed to pay the city $12,500 to mow the grass on dozens of his properties.