Mineola, NY – Fed up with the large number of vacant and dilapidated houses that have become a familiar fixture in communities like Roosevelt and other areas in the county, Legislator Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead) is asking residents to assist him in making a list of all these properties so that the owners can be called upon to maintain the houses as the law requires.

“We should be fining these violators and drive blight out of our neighborhoods,” he said.

While no law prevents a property owner from leaving a house vacant, it does require that a vacant house be maintained. According to Legislator Abrahams, there are a high number of vacant and abandoned homes in areas like Roosevelt.

“It has recently come to my attention that the number of vacant houses has grown increasingly large, especially on the eastern side of Roosevelt,” said Legislator Abrahams. “These houses create a deteriorating affect on a community and become a magnet for criminal activity and mischief”, added Abrahams. “Many residents also worry that their tax dollars are being utilized to pay for property that is otherwise left vacant or unused.”

Property owners who refuse to maintain the exterior of their property are subject to punitive measures and fines, imposed by the corresponding township or village in which they reside.

Legislator Abrahams has been diligently working to inventory and identify all vacant houses in his district, while personally tracking down the owners of these abandoned structures, but he needs help.

He is looking for community members to be a part of a “Drive the Blight From the Neighborhood” task force and he is asking residents to call him at 516-571-6201 or email Kevan.Abrahams@mail.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies to identify any of these properties. If a house is for sale, Legislator Abrahams will be urging the owner or institution to aggressively market the property, rather than let it languish abandoned in a community.

Abrahams plans to spearhead a cooperative effort with Town of Hempstead, villages officials, and various community organizations, such as the Long Island Housing Partnership, to implement more stringent code violations, increase code enforcement of these properties and to execute a revampment project to rid the district of all of these unsightly vacant houses.

“The physical appearance and interior conditions of these houses pose significant environmental and safety threats and need to be demolished or restored immediately,” stated Abrahams.