Greenburgh Considers Filing 131 Property Foreclosures

The Town of Greenburgh is considering foreclosing on 131 properties that owe a combined $11.4 million in unpaid back taxes, according to officials.

The Town Board will vote Wednesday night on whether to authorize foreclosure petitions to be filed in Supreme Court on June 30 for 131 parcels, a number that was whittled down from 479 properties that owed a combined $21.8 million in 2013.

“We anticipate that some of the property owners will be able to avoid foreclosure if they take action between now and mid-October when a Judge could turn the properties to the town,” said Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner in a statement. The taxes owed are for 2013 and before, not from 2014 and 2015.

The town “tried very hard to avoid this action,” according to Feiner, issuing property owners multiple warning letters over the past couple of years, and authorizing an amnesty on tax interest.

Officials met with many property owners, and introduced them to nonprofit organizations like Westchester Residential Opportunities, or offered payment plans to help get the property owners out of arrears. In a few cases, some property owners also sold their parcels or obtained reverse mortgages, according to Feiner.

If the foreclosure motions are granted and the taxes are not paid, the town will own the parcels by the middle of October. After that, the town will sell the parcels.

“I will be reaching out to the 131 properties on the foreclosure list again--encouraging them to take this seriously,” Feiner said. “And, I will offer to connect them to nonprofits that could be of help. There is still time to avoid losing everything and having the town take possession of their property. But--time is running out.”