‘Neighborhood Action Team’ to begin addressing abandoned homes problem in Mesquite

The newly-formed Neighborhood Action Team will begin addressing the vacant building problem in the Mesquite Historic District Monday.

The team, consisting of city staff, will make a presentation before Las Cruces City Council.

It comes after residents expressed their concerns over the buildings, which have been the target of thefts and fires.

Nearly 200 homes in the city are abandoned, about a third of those are in the historic district. The city says one of the main reasons is because when an owner dies, an heir never takes over the property.

The city also has to go through a lengthy, and often costly, legal process to take ownership of the abandoned properties.

“The police department performs regular patrols trying to stop the nuisances of people running in and out of these buildings,” Chief James Chavez, with the city’s codes department, said. “We can board them up, but that’s just a band-aid.”