SEATTLE - City leaders are expected to make a dramatic move on Friday to end a decades-old problem in the Roosevelt neighborhood.
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes will formally announce his plan to seize control of multiple properties owned by Hugh Sisley, near Northeast 65th Street.
Sisley, called a slumlord by Holmes' office, has been accused for years of violating city codes, and using legal and bully tactics to maintain control of the string of derelict buildings.
KING 5 has been reporting for years on complaints from tenants, who accused Sisley of allowing his buildings to become bug infested, with little or no running water. On Thursday, a pair of tenants showed that their property had become overrun with bedbugs and roaches.
The city has also argued the buildings pose a public health and safety risk. And the owner's been fined more than $3 million to date. According to multiple people associated with the announcement, that fine is how Holmes intends to stake his claim.
KING 5 learned that Holmes, Mayor Ed Murray, and city council members will announce a plan to demolish buildings and create a public park in their place.
Sisley's attorney was unaware of the planned announcement. But neighborhood leaders, who have complained of the eyesore for years, were thrilled to hear the pending news.
"That would fit in really well with our neighborhood right now," said Colin Bransfield. "If this space becomes a park, I look forward to taking my kids here someday."
