Neighborhood Legal Support Of Kansas City

THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL SUPPORT (NLS) MISSION IS TO PROVIDE LEGAL ASSISTANCE AND OTHER SUPPORT TO EMPOWER URBAN CORE NEIGHBORHOODS TO GROW STRONGER.

FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS, NEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL SUPPORT OF KANSAS CITY HAS RUN A FOCUSED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN THE LYKINS NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE HISTORIC NORTHEAST DISTRICT OF KANSAS CITY. WE HAVE ORGANIZED OVER 40 PROJECT PARTNERS TO BRING A WIDE ARRAY OF RESOURCES TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO REMEDIATE BLIGHT. WORKING WITH RESIDENTS, POLICE, CITY CODES INSPECTORS AND NUMEROUS OTHER PARTNERS, WE IDENTIFY BLIGHTED AND ABANDONED HOMES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. WE THEN BRING LITIGATION TO EITHER REQUIRE THE EXISTING OWNERS OF THE PROPERTIES TO CONVERT THEM INTO GOOD QUALITY HOMES OR TO HAVE A REHABBER SELECTED BY THE NEIGHBORHOOD DO SO. THE ENTIRE PROCESS IS FOCUSED ON EMPOWERMENT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS. THE RESIDENTS, FOR EXAMPLE, CHOSE THE FOCUS AREA AND DECIDE WHICH REHABBERS WILL BE AWARDED WHICH PROPERTIES TO DEVELOP. NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS MAKE ALL MAJOR PROJECT DECISIONS. WE SEE OUR ROLE AS EMPOWERING NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS, TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE, TO IMPLEMENT THEIR VISION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. THE PROJECT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL. SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROJECT TO DATE, WE HAVE ACQUIRED OVER 50 BLIGHTED PROPERTIES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR PARTICIPATING REHABBERS AND BUILDERS; WE HAVE LITIGATION PENDING TO ACQUIRE 40 ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES; WE HAVE AGREEMENTS WITH 16 ADDITIONAL PROPERTY OWNERS TO REHAB THEIR PROPERTIES THEMSELVES; AND WE HAVE AN OPTION AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY THAT ALLOWS THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO PURCHASE 19 ADDITIONAL VACANT PROPERTIES THAT WERE FORMERLY OWNED BY THE LAND BANK. ALL TOLD THERE ARE OVER 140 PROPERTIES IN THE PROJECT. DUE TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT, WE HAVE HAD TO EXPAND OUR FOCUS AREA TWICE. NOW THE FOCUS AREA INCLUDES THE ENTIRE LYKINS NEIGHBORHOOD, AND, AS OF THE END OF NOVEMBER 2022, WE HAD LITIGATION PENDING TO ACQUIRE ALL REMAINING BLIGHTED AND ABANDONED HOUSES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. INDEED, WE NOW HAVE A BOUNTY PROGRAM IN WHICH IF ANY NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT CAN FIND A PROPERTY IN LYKINS THAT IS BLIGHTED AND ABANDONED AND NOT PART OF THE PROJECT, WE WILL PAY THEM $100. OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THE REMAINING BLIGHTED AND ABANDONED HOUSES COMPLETELY REHABBED BY THE END OF 2025. VIOLENT CRIME IN LYKINS IS DOWN BY MORE THAN 20% IN THE LAST THREE YEARS. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE NUMEROUS CAUSES OF THIS, WE BELIEVE THAT THE SUBSTANTIAL REDUCTION OF BLIGHT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS ONE OF THE PRIMARY CAUSES; AND, IN 2020, THE AMERICAN PLANNERS ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZED THE LYKINS FOCUSED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AS THE OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PLANNING INITIATIVE FOR 2020 FOR THE STATE OF MISSOURI.