State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr., (I, D, WF, WE-Sag Harbor) today announced that East End municipalities will be receiving nearly $775,000 from New York State to address the problem of vacant properties and zombie homes. $12.6 million in grants, ranging from $52,500 to $350,000, were awarded to 76 Towns, Cities and Villages across the State under the Zombie Remediation and Prevention Initiative, funded through the Office of the Attorney General’s $3.2 billion settlement agreement with Morgan Stanley. The Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a national community development intermediary that specializes in affordable housing, economic development, and community revitalization, is overseeing the initiative; selected the grantees; and will be providing technical assistance to the funded municipalities as they implement their plans. The money will address housing vacancy and blight by bolstering municipalities’ capacity for housing code enforcement, for tracking and monitoring vacant properties, and for legal enforcement capacity to ensure banks and mortgage companies comply with local and state law. All the funded proposals include a prevention component, to connect at-risk homeowners to services so they can avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. Municipalities with populations of at least 5,000 residents and at least 100 vacant and abandoned properties were invited to apply for the funds through a competitive application process. Funding decisions were based on the following criteria: the number of abandoned properties within the municipality; the proportion of such properties compared to the overall size of the municipality; its level of general economic distress; and its demonstrated interest in addressing the problem of housing vacancy and blight. In total, 108 municipalities were invited to apply for funding; 76 submitted proposals; and all were awarded grants. GRANT RECIPIENTS Town of Brookhaven - $350,000
Town of Riverhead - $100,000
Town of Southampton - $175,000
Village of Mastic Beach - $149,628.48