Broken windows have been cleared out and boarded up at a long-vacant Jeannette building that has been the subject of 11 building code citations since 2013.

Fire Chief Bill Frye said he got a search warrant last month so firefighters and public works crews could go into the former bank building at Clay Avenue and Fourth Street to remove the hazards. Some of the broken glass already fell onto the sidewalk and street below, causing safety concerns, he said.

“This has been an ongoing code enforcement issue since the owner bought the property,” Frye said. “He just doesn’t respond to us at all.”

The former PNC Bank branch was purchased in 2008 for $50,000 by Sterling Properties 400 LLC in New York City, according to county records. Frye said the company is connected to Village Views Realty, which has offices in New York City and Stroudsburg, Pa., according to its website.

Sterling Properties has been cited seven times between 2013 and 2019 by Jeannette code enforcement officers for property maintenance violations, failure to get an occupancy inspection and permit and failure to register with the city as a vacant property, according to online court records. Mike Ionescu — who is listed on Village Views Realty’s website as a real estate salesperson and broker — has been cited by code enforcement four times between 2017 and 2019 for similar infractions. Frye said a warrant has been issued for Ionescu’s arrest, but extradition is not possible for nontraffic citations.

The company owes more than $10,000 in fines, according to Frye.

Ionescu could not be reached Wednesday.

The building is listed for sale at $160,000. The listing has a photograph of the building’s exterior before any of the windows were broken. More recent photos of about seven broken windows were included in a notice of violation sent to Sterling Properties 400 in October.

The windows have steel frames that are corroding and the freeze/thaw cycle has caused them to expand and contract, resulting in some of the glass breaking, Frye said. The property will be liened for about $1,200 to recoup costs related to the abatement.

“We had to take action on it, even at the city’s expense,” he said.

There has been buyer interest in the building, but Frye said the price is too high. The bank was on the first floor and upper levels held doctors offices and a Masonic Lodge. The situation is frustrating, he said.

“I just hope that they’re willing to come work with us,” he said.

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