State Senator Zellnor Myrie on the Democratic mayoral Discussion board on the Black Agenda held at Medgar Evers School on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
Picture by Kevin Williams
On Monday, the State Senate handed laws sponsored by Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Central Brooklyn) requiring banks or different lienholders of an deserted house to appropriate harmful situations that threaten native well being and security.
If the situations aren’t repaired inside a set timeframe, the invoice authorizes Housing Preservation Improvement (HPD) or different housing departments to grab the property.
“New York Metropolis faces a housing disaster, and we have to be sure that uncared for, deserted properties are repaired and in the end come again on line in a well timed and secure method,” mentioned Myrie, who represents the twentieth Senate District in Brooklyn. “This invoice would strengthen our current instruments for correcting harmful situations at deserted, vacant properties and require lienholders to truly make wanted repairs, or threat having the property seized by HPD.
“I’m grateful to my Senate colleagues for passing this invoice to protect housing inventory throughout New York,” added Myrie, a candidate for Mayor of the Metropolis of New York, whose grandmother hailed from Jamaica.
He mentioned present regulation permits native authorities to grab deserted, vacant dwellings whose situations pose a well being and security threat.
Nevertheless, Myrie mentioned banks and lienholders could stop the seizure by getting into into an settlement with the federal government to make the repairs, despite the fact that honoring this settlement isn’t required.
Myrie mentioned his measure would authorize fits to acquire the property title if the situations aren’t corrected inside ninety days.
As of 2022, it was estimated there have been as many as 2,000 such “zombie properties” in New York Metropolis, with Brooklyn accounting for 40 % of this complete, Myrie mentioned.
