How Mayor Dan Rivera manipulates the Inspectional Services Department
By Dalia Diaz
Recently the list of abatements from the Assessor’s office in Lawrence was made public. Although there were several questions on that list, the one that blew my mind was the property at 173-175 Haverhill St. owned by District B City Councilor Estela Reyes, with a gift of $1,242.59 from all of us taxpayers.
When she first bought it, the administration told her that the best she could do is raze it. She even proposed at some point that the city should do it but nothing happened; the building continued to endanger the students and staff at the Oliver School next door and all the city could do was secure the windows even after part of the roof fell. Councilor Reyes kept the property for three years before Rumbo published that she was not paying property taxes on that building so the City Treasurer gave her a payment plan in November of 2018.
As luck would have it, Reyes applied for abatement on two of her properties and the second one received $521.21. The ladies at the city assessor’s office explained the system they use and how the board decides if the reasons of the request warrant the reductions granted.
By the way, Councilor at-Large Ana Levy also had her taxes reduced by $437.76. According to her, the City increased her taxes for putting a new roof, which never happened. Being a city councilor and getting a break on their taxes has the appearance of impropriety.
That’s a little rundown of how the city is run and some of the things we may believe at times to be unfair. Now, let me compare that situation with what James Patrick O’Donohue is going through.
He has been in the process of building a house in South Lawrence but the work has been interrupted for several reasons; his son died, they have had health reasons and last year the gas explosions took a toll on his patience and his wife’s.
“This did not have to be but we do not always have full control over our own lives,” he told me. “April 19, 2019, the city’s building inspector David Houle taped a ‘Stop Work Order’ to the front door of the property at 30 Rowe Street. He did not list the reasons for issuing a Stop Work Order as required by 780 CMR, Section 115.2.”
“Last Saturday, April 27th, David Houle, who has not yet passed the State’s Examinations to be a Local Building Inspector, after proceeding with conduct that was contrary to the legal requirements of the State Building Code 780 CMR, he revoked the original Building Permit,”
Even though the structure has suffered being exposed to the elements and the roof has not been completed, Mr. O’Donoghue brought an architect and a contractor to attest as to the conditions saying that the house can be saved.
During a meeting at Mr. Houle’s office, another newly hired inspector David Palumbo started shouting at Mr. and Mrs. O’Donoghue threatening that he was going to get the City Attorney that works in the Mayor’s Office to file a warrant against them to have the building taken down. The unprofessional and abusive behavior of these inspectors must be disciplined.
Notice that he said ‘the City Attorney that works in the Mayor’s Office.’ Is Mayor Rivera using his Chief of Staff Eileen O’Connor Bernal as his personal attorney to do his dirty work?
It is known that the Inspectional Services Department is in need of revision of its regulations and apparently they are now using threats. According to Mr. O’Donoghue, Mr. Houle said that the city will not allow rebuilding. “I was shocked that David Houle would intimidate me by using Mayor Dan Rivera’s name claiming that they meet several times a week and that Dan wants it taken down,” O’Donoghue assured me. “I am tired of being bullied,” he added.
Houle also criticized Commissioner Peter Blanchette blaming him for allowing that project to go on.
Is the Mayor of the City of Lawrence using the Inspectional Services Department to get back at people that he perceives to be his political enemies? Is this why Mayor Dan Rivera had to get Peter Blanchette out of his way? This sounds to me like a violation of the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations.)
