Letters to the Editor: Zombie homes, local beaches

Helping to rebuild, recover

To the Editor:

I was glad to read your article “‘Zombie’ houses a concern in Bay Park” in last week’s paper, especially since I’ve worked hard during and after Hurricane Sandy.

More than 4,300 of these zombie homes exist throughout Long Island, and it’s especially a concern to me and the many homeowners in the South Shore communities that I represent, and with other Councilman Anthony Santino, to help these homeowners recover.

Thanks to our efforts, more than $2 million in Sandy claims have been awarded to homeowners by insurance companies and New York Rising, even after neighbors filing those claims had been denied them.

My office also helped non-constituents living in places from Island Park and Long Beach to Inwood, Lido Beach and Point Lookout with one goal: to get them the assistance they need, and to get Sandy-impacted families back home. This was particularly important after many were met with a lack of responsiveness from both Albany and Washington. I work for the benefit of all the residents of the South Shore. If every elected official worked diligently to help neighbors rebuild and recover, many residents might find themselves in a different situation.

However, I do want to clarify something in your article. The Democratic-led Assembly has not yet passed the Abandoned Property Neighborhood Relief Act of 2015. In fact, that legislative proposal didn’t even make it out of committee. I know that many neighbors would find much relief in this being passed, and I call on all my Assembly colleagues to fight with me to get it passed in committee and onto the Assembly floor for an up-or-down vote. As the only member of the Assembly Insurance and Banking Committees from Nassau County’s South Shore, I’ve worked across the aisle to bring about necessary reforms that helped homeowners who were being treated unfairly by the banks and the insurance companies.