Local 'Zombie Homes' Will Be Renovated to House Homeless Vets

Photo: Community leaders at the site of a “zombie home” in Dix Hills.

Decaying and abandoned foreclosure properties known as “zombie homes” will be transformed into suitable housing for homeless veterans, local politicians announced outside a “zombie home” in Dix Hills on Tuesday.

This legislation, a 3-year pilot program, will provide grants to Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations to purchase and renovate zombie homes to give homeless veterans a chance to become homeowners.

“Zombie homes aren’t only eyesores in our neighborhood, they are actively reducing the value of our homes that we have worked so hard to maintain,” Gina Raio Bitsimis, Dix Hills homeowner and zombie home neighbor, said in a press release. “My family and I will welcome these brave men and women into our neighborhood with open arms and look forward to the increase of both our quality of life and the value of our property.”

This federal legislation expands on the “Housing Our Homeless Heroes Act,” which made it possible for tax-defaulted Suffolk County properties to house homeless veterans and their families.

“This legislation will help ensure that our military heroes have a place to call home while turning blighted properties into houses fit for heroes,” said Legislator Steve Stern, who authored the “Housing Our Homeless Heroes Act” last year.

There are more than 2,500 homeless veterans in New York State and an estimated 49,933 homeless veterans in the United States, according to a 2014 Department of Housing and Urban Development report.

Rep. Steve Israel, who introduced this legislation said, “My legislation will not only put a roof over our heroes’ heads, it will also transform unsightly zombie homes into renovated properties that will revitalize housing markets in many of our Long Island communities.”

There were 2,084 zombie homes in Suffolk County and 1,960 in Nassau County in 2014, according to a 2104 Newsday study. The study also found that “zombie homes” have cost Long Island at least $295 million in depreciated home values, while Long Island municipalities spent at least $3.2 million to clean, maintain and board up these properties in 2013.

“Passing the Housing Our Heroes Act would be a win-win for Long Island veterans and residents,” Frank Amalfitano, Director of United Veterans Beacon House, said in a press release. “Placing homeless veterans in these homes will give them the opportunity and foundation they need to become independent successful members of our community.”

Image via Office of Steve Stern