The ‘Notice’ Starts A Sad Process

Today, there is another alternative which can help rejuvenate old housing stock — the property can be put into what is called a “Land Bank.” Sometimes this enables a potential buyer in purchasing and restoring a house. It also might enable a non-profit organization, like Habitat for Humanity, come in, take ownership and make needed restoration and repairs. If the County gives property to the Land Bank, County taxpayers eat all of the back taxes.

What the whole issues highlights is that property taxes, especially in a State like New York, are high. They are a major revenue source for both local governments and school districts. When somebody fails to pay them, that underlying cost doesn’t go away. It just gets shifted to everyone else already paying their own property taxes.

To read more the full commentary click HERE

Governors Motor Inn has a buyer at $150K

Governors Motor Inn — once a swank gathering spot but a boarded-up eyesore since a fire in 2010 — has a buyer at last. The Albany County Land Bank announced this week that it has reached an agreement with the owners and operators of Store Away Self Storage to purchase the building on Western Avenue near Carman Road for $150,000. 

The buyer plans to open a self-storage building there, to include indoor temperature-controlled units as well as drive-up units, said Adam Zaranko, the land bank’s executive director. 

To read the full article via the Altamont Enterprise click HERE

An eyesore finally gets demolished in Schenectady

The broken-down apartment building at 16 Jefferson St. was demolished by the Capital Region Land Bank on Monday, ridding Schenectady's East Front Street neighborhood of a major nuisance. 

Vacant for years, covered with vines, with piles of garbage piling up in the back of the property, the building was a good example of the dispiriting blight that afflicts almost every neighborhood in the city of Schenectady. 

It was also, I learned, a good example of the challenges involved in addressing derelict properties. 

To read the full article via the Daily Gazette click HERE

Symposium seeks to beat back ‘zombies,’ grow sustainable housing

It sounds like a scene from a scary Halloween movie: Neighborhoods are plagued by abandoned, dangerously dilapidated houses that threaten safety, attract crime and sap community spirit. 

In fact, so-called “zombie homes” – often left vacant and unmaintained during prolonged foreclosure proceedings – are a serious problem that drew experts from academia, government and nonprofit organizations to Cornell Oct. 23-24 for a symposium focused on revitalizing afflicted communities across New York state.

To read the full article via the Cornell Chronicle click HERE

Banking on Recovery - Land banking is a creative tool to convert abandoned and vacant properties into affordable housing.

New York State’s economy is being attacked by “zombies.” So begins testimony submitted by the New York Land Bank Association at the 2019 Joint Legislative Hearing on Economic Development. “They can be found in just about every community in New York State, hiding in plain sight among occupied buildings and well-maintained lots, consuming municipal resources, depressing property values, reducing tax revenue, and harming surrounding residents.”

These zombies? Vacant properties.

To read the full article via the River Hudson Valley Newsroom click HERE

Rotterdam zombie property to be demolished

 long-abandoned "zombie" house in a Rotterdam neighborhood will be coming down, to be replaced by a house to be built by Habitat for Humanity of Schenectady County. Schenectady County, the Capital Region Land Bank, and Habitat are working together to coordinate the demolition and replacement of the house at 749 Cramer Ave., at the corner of Denver Street. It has been empty for many years and is subject to county seizure due to unpaid back taxes.

To read the full article via the Daily Gazette click HERE

Open houses on rehabbed Hornell property set for next week

The property was selected by the Steuben County Land Bank Corporation (SCLBC) as part of ongoing efforts to reclaim and rehabilitate abandoned properties. Renovations include a new porch roof, new flooring, walls, kitchen, half bath and windows, lighting and smoke detectors. Other improvements include updates to the home’s full bath and electrical systems. An independent corporation, the land bank was approved by the Steuben Legislature in late April 2017 with funds through the state settlements with the nation’s largest banks over misconduct that contributed to the housing crisis.

To read the full article via the Evening Tribune click HERE

Unanimous passage of 2020 Kingston city budget

The budget also provides $3 million in funding over two years for the city’s land bank. The new agency is charged with taking vacant properties held by the city for unpaid taxes, refurbishing them and marketing them to first time homebuyers. Money included in the spending plan will fund operations and pay to move the city’s Office of Economic and Community Development to a refurbished property on Franklin Street. Noble said the relocation was intended to place the office in the heart of the community it is designed to serve.

To read the full article via Hudson Valley 1 click HERE

Land bank considers Monticello Manor

MONTICELLO, NY — Monticello Manor was formerly a hospital and then it was operated as a adult nursing home when it was ordered closed by the New York State Department of Health. Because of the seriousness of the violation, the state ordered residents to be moved out of the facility within 24 hours.

The Sullivan County Land Bank will be holding a public meeting regarding the building on Monday, November 25th at 6:00 pm in the legislative hearing room.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss an application to the EPA Brownfield Cleanup Grant program for the Monticello Manor project and to address any public comments prior to the submittal of the grant application. A draft copy of the application, including an Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives will be available for review at the meeting.

To read the full article via the River Reporter click HERE

Kingston City Land Bank aims to acquire, resell tax-delinquent properties

KINGSTON, N.Y. — The Kingston City Land Bank will begin acquiring 36 city-owned properties with the goal of rehabilitating them and returning them to the city's tax rolls.

"Since we founded the Kingston City Land Bank almost exactly one year ago, we have been working diligently to get all the pieces in place, and I'm thrilled that we are able to move forward at this time," Mayor Steve Noble said in a press release Thursday. "Kingston urgently needs housing stock and this is an important step in the right direction to provide equitable housing in our community."

To read the full article via the Daily Freeman click HERE

Broome County Land Bank names new Executive Director

Binghamton, NY – The Broome County Land Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Executive Director.

Following a search and extensive interview process, the Board of Directors has named Jessica M. Nejeschleba of the City of Binghamton as the organization’s next Executive Director.

A native of Vestal and a graduate of Binghamton University’s Master of Public Administration program, Ms. Nejeschleba is currently the Deputy Clerk for the City of Binghamton.

To read the full article from Binghamton Homepage click HERE