The office of Neighborhood Preservation, Special Projects, and the Mayor’s Office of Council Concerns (MOCC) 2021 accomplishments serve to fulfill Mayor Tony Vauss’s Safe and Clean vision, which translates to a better quality of life for the residents of Irvington.

Neighborhood Preservation’s 2021 vacant property survey found 558 vacant properties (432 structures, 126 lots)—a 25% decrease from 2020 that shows both home buyers and investors see Irvington’s viability as a place to live and do business. Additionally, $63,100.00 were collected in vacant property registration fees. The fees serve as an incentive for owners to get their properties occupied to eliminate the potential for illegal dumping and vandalism.
In the Mayor’s work to control rodent/vermin habitation, Special Projects helped in the purchase and took delivery of 7,000 trash receptacles with lids, which are earmarked for distribution to one and 2 family homeowners. Trash receptacles with lids are the most potent weapon to control pests. In other words, if you fail to put household garbage in receptacles, you are feeding the rodents and helping them multiply.

In 2021, Mayor Vauss created the Mayor’s Office of Council Concerns (MOCC). Now, as the centerpiece to the Township’s Code Enforcement (in conjunction with the Housing Department), each Irvington councilperson has a code enforcement officer to address the concerns of their constituents. As such, in less than a year, MOCC has issued over 800- property maintenance summonses.

Because Irvington is thriving with a high rate of property transfers and building (new and renovations), the 2022 goals of Neighborhood Preservation, Special Projects, and the MOCC are to increase issuance of summonses for failure to obtain certificates of occupancy (C of O) for the structures, certificates of habitability (C of H) for the rental units, and building without permits. Selling property, renting units, and building without these documents mean the Township has not inspected the property as safe for habitation.

Finally, property with an accumulation of litter, garbage, junk, storing unregistered/inoperable vehicles, and overgrown vegetation contribute to blight. Blight depreciates property values, create slum-like conditions, and undermines quality of life. Neighborhood Preservation, Special Projects, and MOCC are committed to eliminating blight in our community so Irvington business and residential properties are safe and clean for commerce and living.