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A steady rise in forclosed and abandoned properties is causing Boston to look at penalizing the owners who left them. The Boston Herald had recently reported that several formerly heavily occupied areas of the city had become a "virtual ghost town." The city is now negotiating to have condo units sold, some at close to 1/10 their value. In the meantime, the state Legislature wants to slap a new levy on homeowners as well as mortgage lenders and even mortgage servicers who leave properties abandoned and vacant for more than one year.

“It is a real scam and it’s happening in so many cities throughout America,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who was updated yesterday on efforts to revive the foreclosure-ravaged Hendry Street area in Dorchester during a revved-up meeting with 20 city officials in a new “war room” at City Hall. “All the predictions are that the worse is yet to come.”

Another measure that targets the banks and mortgage servicers that assume ownership of foreclosed properties also received unanimous approval from the City Council, said Hyde Park City Councilor Rob Consalvo, who sponsored the new ordinance.

The regulation would require all vacant and foreclosed residential properties to be registered with city inspectors and be maintained by a local management company, Consalvo said. Owners who didn’t comply would be fined $300.

Whether other cities follow in Boston's footsteps remains to be seen.