Landlord wants city to pay for house fix

LYNN – Once rundown and in dire need of repair, a three-family home at 192-194 Eutaw Ave. is in the process of being restored to its former state.But the road to rehab wasn’t all that easy.In 2006, City Councilors voted to demolish the ramshackle residence after several failed attempts to have its owner, Alfred Razzaboni, clean up the property.Razzaboni, a former Lynn schoolteacher, agreed to repair the building shortly thereafter. But, now that work is near completion, he said he wants to be reimbursed for both his time and efforts.An exact amount is still up in the air according to Razzaboni, who said he is still paying legal fees from the process.”I’m not an attorney, but I want to be paid for my involvement,” he said. “It’s all politics, and I’m not upset over this, but I feel as if I was unjustly called to spend money.”Vacant and boarded up for several years, Ward 2 City Councilor William Trahant previously labeled the home a nuisance to neighbors and a safety hazard.Knowing that he had to clean the home or it would be torn down, Razzaboni said he redid all of the electrical, plumbing and heating ducts, and replaced all of the windows to spruce it up.”Everything is all brand new and I did it at my leisure,” he said. “I also have people interested in renting it out now. The home was checked out and he (Trahant) seemed pleased with it.”Trahant agreed that the improvements were enough to withdraw the order for demolition, but said the home was only fixed up after the city threatened to tear it down.”We just wanted to get his attention and held the court dates over his head,” he said. “It’s a nice building and we never wanted to actually demolish it.”In reference to Razzaboni’s attempt to be reimbursed, Trahant said he doubts that will happen.”That’s his problem,” he said. “He was ignoring us and we were trying to get him motivated, so I don’t see him recouping any money from us.”Assistant City Solicitor James Lamanna said he doesn’t believe Razzaboni’s complaint has any legal basis.”I think this will just eventually go away and get dismissed from court,” he said. “He (Razzaboni) didn’t think that he had to correct the home, so because of his efforts and inconvenience, he is looking for money, but there is no merit to his claim.”Razzaboni however, said he feels the City Council didn’t look into all of the facts and that Trahant didn’t do his homework.”I’m sure that I’m going to prevail,” he said. “The house was vacant for eight-to-10 years, but that was my choice and it was all boarded up. It’s my property and I was working on it piecemeal over the last 15 years.”