Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Skyline Apartments building has been declared an unfit place to live for the third time, according to Syracuse officials.
The unfit declaration only applies to the building’s common areas.
The building was declared unfit following a Monday inspection by code enforcement officials, city officials said. Inspectors found urine, blood, trash in common areas.
On Sunday, a 31-year-old woman was shot in an elevator in the apartment building at 753 James St. Her injuries are non-life threatening, according to police.
Earlier on Monday, Mayor Ben Walsh and Police Chief Kenton Buckner held a news conference about the shooting and crime at the building. While 911 calls to the building have decreased in the last year, the improvements have not been enough, Walsh said Monday.
Walsh said he believes the best fix for the apartment building’s issues would be for the building to get new owners. He said a sale is pending but did not have any other details about the sale.
The 364-unit apartment building has been troubled by crime, drugs and what tenants have said is mismanagement for several years. It is owned by Tim and Troy Green’s real estate company, Green National.
Last year, 93-year-old Connie Tuori was murdered in her apartment at Skyline. In the ensuing weeks, reports by Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard exposed the dangerous and unclean conditions within the building.
Code enforcement officials have checked the building for code violations about once each week in the last year because of resident complaints, city officials said.
Now, because of the unfit declaration, code enforcement officials will proactively check the property for code enforcement violations, officials said.
On Monday, Walsh and Buckner said the building has incrementally improved. It now has 24-7 private security and off-duty security from Syracuse police officers. Both are paid for by Green National.
Officers responded to about 81 police calls each month at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021, according to data obtained by Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.
That’s dropped to about 61 calls per month based on data from March 1, 2021 through Jan. 15, 2022 provided by Buckner.
The city has used code enforcement to try to make sure the Greens improve the property.
In the last year, officials have found 79 code violations in the building, though only 11 remain open. The building has twice been deemed unfit for human occupancy and then had enough improvements made to be deemed fit to be occupied.
“While the current owners have certainly shown improvement over the last year,” Walsh said, “I think the best outcome is to have a different owner at that property.”
More on Syracuse.com about the Skyline Apartments
Inside Tim Green’s Skyline Apartments: Murder, drugs and filth. Tenants, cops say enough is enough
Family IDs 93-year-old woman murdered in Skyline Apartments
Walsh says he’s exploring legal action against Skyline owners: ‘It’s public nuisance No. 1′
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