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Hempstead town to fight zombie homes

Supervisor announces legislation to hold banks accountable

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With a long-vacant North Wantagh home serving as the backdrop, Hempstead Town Supervisor Anthony Santino announced on May 20 new legislation to deal with zombie houses.

The Hempstead town board held a public hearing on May 24 on the new law, which will require lenders to pay an upfront fee on foreclosed homes. Any time a home goes into foreclosure, Santino said, the bank, lender or mortgage company would have to pay the town a $25,000 security fee. It would be used for any town maintenance of the property, such as cutting grass and weeds, securing doors and windows, cleaning graffiti and removing debris.

“$25,000 should cover most of the customary upkeep,” Santino said, adding that the law would apply to homes already in foreclosure as well as those seized by banks in the future.

Santino and fellow town board members Gary Hudes, Erin King Sweeney and Anthony D’Esposito stood in front of 60 Twisting Lane on May 20, a Levitt home that neighbors estimate has been vacant for at least eight years.

The asbestos siding has been removed, and the home is being prepared for demolition, after the town board last month accepted the Building Department’s recommendation that it is unsafe. Santino estimates that there are about 2,000 zombie homes in Nassau County, and said municipalities on Long Island spend about $3 million per year on upkeep of these properties.

“It’s time for banks to put people ahead of profits and be better neighbors,” he said. “We’ll be working to protect communities from the blight of homes that have been abandoned.”

Santino said the hope is that the $25,000 security fee would give banks incentive not only to maintain foreclosed properties on their own, but to move quickly to get the homes sold and turned over to new owners. He also explained that with this fee, taxpayers will not have to foot the bill upfront. Presently, when the town does upkeep on a vacant home, it is added to the property’s tax bill, and the tab is often not paid for many years.

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