Greenburgh Files 128 Property Foreclosures

Greenburgh has filed a petition with the state Supreme Court to foreclose on 128 properties that are delinquent on taxes from the years prior to - and including - 2010, Town Supervisor Paul Feiner announced.

The town had considered filing 131 foreclosures but were able to whittle it down to 128 after making arrangements with some property owners.

Combined, the 128 properties owe $11,269,675.91 in back taxes. Of those 128, 50 are residences (including apartments), 13 are commercial properties and 65 are vacant. In 2013, the total number of delinquent properties was 479, but hundreds of those either paid off their arrears or made arrangements to do so, according to Feiner.

He urges those on the list to do the same thing to avoid completely losing their property. The court set a final redemption date of Oct. 16, 2015, after which the town can takeover the property and sell it.

“I feel bad that we have to foreclose on 128 properties,” Feiner said in a statement. “But, am pleased that many of the 479 properties that were originally on the list have avoided foreclosure. They took advantage of the offers to help. I am hopeful that many of the 128 property owners still on the foreclosure list will also avoid foreclosure.”

In fact, Feiner was contacted in late June by Veronica Raphael, Director of Foreclosure Prevention for Westchester Residential Opportunities, offering to assist property owners. White Plains-based WRO can loan up to $40,000 to homeowners who are delinquent on mortgage payments or back taxes.

“We encourage the homeowners to complete our application, copy financial documents and make an appointment to go over these items before completing the application,” Raphael wrote to Feiner. “Feel free to have homeowners call us to answer any questions. The application process takes 45 days so they must act fast!”