City putting the homeless problem onto the taxpayers says property owner

A North Bay property owner is incensed that the City has issued a compliance order, forcing him to clean up his property that is being used by the homeless.

North Bay lawyer Joe Sinicrope and his wife Pauline own the property at the corner of Third Ave. and Ferguson St., across the road from the Lutheran Church.

He's battling City Hall, after being ordered to clean up a homeless campsite.

Sinicrope says he's frequently at the property cleaning it up, but the City's order came without warning, and despite repeated attempts to get answers from city officials, he's been left holding the bag.

"My wife and I were passing by the vacant property a couple of weeks ago and we noticed there was a lot of junk and stuff so a day or so later we came back. Some of it was missing but the bulk of it was still here. So we picked it up and put it in our truck and health with it."

Sinicrope says yesterday he received a compliance order in his mailbox from the City.

"No call, no nothing, telling me there are mattresses and junk and pallets here on my property."

Sinicope immediately called the City. 

"They didn't call me back. The guy that wrote it up is Ron Melnyck (By-Law Enforcement Manager). I called again this morning and again couldn't get through to him. Called the mayor's office and asked what was going on. I call a call back from Melnyck about five minutes later and he tells me that there's all kinds of junk here"

Sinicrope returned to his property to find a homeless camp there.

"There's a curtain and tent that's been created, so what am I supposed to do, throw whoever's living here off? Where is this person supposed to go? There's a huge mess of stuff, so I call Melnyck back and say 'I want this compliance order rescinded',' we'll deal with this in one way or another. I said you're putting the homelessness problem on the taxpayers.'"

Sinicrope says this is a homelessness problem, not a messy property problem.

"It's a slap in the face to the taxpayers of this city to be putting this on our shoulders."

He says it keeps happening, noting he cleaned the site up two weeks ago, and now because the City won't take responsibility, he's faced with doing it again. He wants action from the City.

"It's been in the news for some time now. They don't seem to be doing anything. Two weeks ago the stuff that was here must belong to some homeless person. There were two or three suitcases full of clothing, there was an old couch, that's the kind of stuff we had ti dispose of. We cleaned it up without a compliance order and 10 days later I get a compliance order."

Sinicrope is clearly frustrated and wants the compliance order rescinded immediately.

"The City should be dealing with this, helping whoever this person is that's living there instead of just dumping it on me saying 'you have to clean this up. You have to call the police and get rid of them,' but then where does this person go? Does he go to another vacant area of the city and it starts all over again?

"It seems, as usual, that's what these politicians do. They don't do anything. They get elected, then do nothing."

BayToday reached out to Mayor Al McDonald for comment on Sinicrope's complaints but received no response.

See related: City Hall's homeless tent city ordered dismantled