A judge approved Scranton’s first blight-fighting conservatorship, which will acquire and rehabilitate a condemned home at 25 New York St.
The Scranton Redevelopment Authority filed a petition Dec. 30 in Lackawanna County Court for the SRA to be designated as the conservator of the vacant house that has been condemned since 2023. As the first conservatorship petition pursued by the city, it uses a state conservatorship law that gives municipalities a condemnation avenue in the court system as a tool to fight blight.
During a hearing March 4, Lackawanna County Judge Mark Powell heard the city’s petition and an argument against it from a bank holding two mortgages on the house. Wells Fargo, which is a senior lien holder of two mortgages on the house, argued against a conservatorship because it would push the liens down in priority and negatively affect the bank. The property owner, John McHale, is not in mortgage default, and once Wells Fargo learned of the city’s conservatorship petition, the bank took steps to secure and maintain the property, bank attorney Mario Hanyon had said during the March 4 hearing.
McHale did not attend the hearing. SRA Solicitor Samantha Hazen detailed the agency’s “exhaustive efforts” to notify McHale of the conservatorship petition, including posting notices directly on the New York Street house, sending certified mail to other addresses for McHale that came back as undeliverable, and twice sending a representative to an address in Throop for McHale, where both were unsuccessful in serving notice on him in person.
In an order issued Wednesday, Powell ruled the property is “blighted and abandoned” under parameters of conservatorship law and the SRA met the requirements to be appointed as conservator.
“The Court further finds that the owner has failed to take reasonable steps to remedy the conditions of blight and that the appointment of a conservator is necessary to abate the nuisance conditions and bring the property into compliance with applicable codes,” Powell ruled.
The order appoints the SRA as conservator and authorizes it to take possession and control of the property and take all reasonable actions necessary to remedy the blight. The SRA now can enter into contracts for repairs, collect rent and manage the property. Wells Fargo also will maintain a lien against the property. Upon completion of a rehabilitation plan, the SRA can further petition the court to sell the property.
“We’re excited to test drive this new blight-fighting tool here in Scranton,” SRA Executive Director Andrew Cutillo said. “Now that we have legal possession of the property, we’re prepared to conduct a full inspection as soon as possible. We’ll use that inspection report to prepare a ‘final plan’ for abatement, as required by the state law.”
The plan must include a cost estimate, a financing plan and either a description of the work to be done for the rehabilitation of the building or, if rehabilitation is not feasible, a proposal for the closing, sealing or demolition of the building, according to the law.
Under the 2026 city of Scranton budget approved by Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and Scranton City Council, the SRA has the financing to front the costs of the project, Cutillo said.
A condemnned house at 25 New York St. in Scranton on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
A condemnned house at 25 New York St. in Scranton on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
A condemnned house at 25 New York St. in Scranton on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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A condemnned house at 25 New York St. in Scranton on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)