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Rats. Trash. Graffiti. Gangs. Fires. Drugs. Squatters. These are just some of the reasons that NPA groups have been working to rid their neighborhoods of abandoned buildings.

Officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters will be on hand to take questions about what they are doing about FHA's 35,000 abandoned buildings in NPA neighborhoods and how to stop the lender and realtor scams that target FHA homebuyers.

The "Abandoned Building and FHA Workshop" will also feature victory stories from Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey on issues ranging from "No Trespassing" signs and foreclosure prevention to boarding up abandoned houses in Safe School Zones.

· Buffalo, NY - Eastside PRIDE won a commitment from the Mayor and HUD to create Safe School Zones, a 6-block ring around schools on Buffalo's Eastside where abandoned buildings owners will be held to more rigorous standards and all abandoned buildings must be securely boarded up at all time.

· Trenton, NY - In East Trenton, neighborhood leaders have developed a rigorous initiative that will eliminate substandard housing in East Trenton by 2010.

· Pittsburgh, PA - Local organizations have identified abandoned buildings as a key issue and are working to combat a private company that has purchased all the city tax liens, forcing anyone who wants to rehab an abandoned building to pay inflated prices to remove the lien.

· Syracuse, NY - After years of working to get HUD to take care of its abandoned buildings, buildings are now in pretty good shape. Now neighborhood leaders are working with HUD to develop an aggressive sales program to reduce the turn around time on these properties and make them available to neighborhood families.

· Chicago, IL - Groups in Chicago have had abandoned building victories on many fronts, including getting HUD to post No Trespassing signs so that police have the authority to arrest trespassers. Another Chicago group forced HUD to admit responsibility for an FHA real estate scam on the Westside and pay victims a settlement payment.