NY Rising to auction 51 Sandy-damaged properties May 11

State officials said Monday they would conduct the third sell-off of Sandy-damaged Long Island properties in May, with bids starting as low as $51,000.

As many as 22 homes in Suffolk and 29 in Nassau with pre-storm values between $220,000 and $1.1 million are up for auction May 11 at the Hyatt Regency Long Island in Hauppauge, said state officials from NY Rising, the agency that administers the program allowing homeowners to sell their storm-damaged properties to the state for resale.

“Through the NY Rising Acquisition Program, we can offer properties at a fraction of their pre-storm value, while instituting measures to improve the resiliency of the State,” Lisa Bova-Hiatt, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, said in a news release announcing the sale.

“During our first two auctions on Long Island, we have seen the enormous popularity and success of these undertakings,” she added. “We are excited that the latest rounds of auctions will build momentum for New York’s housing recovery process, while advancing ongoing efforts to build back in a stronger and reimagined way.”

Two previous auctions held in May and November last year yielded $46 million from the sale of 300 properties. The money is reinvested in the program, designed to provide relief and help communities rebuild after the Oct. 29, 2012, storm that caused about $500 million in damage on Long Island alone. Officials said virtually all of those properties have sold, with only 10 remaining in the final stages of transactions.

The Long Island auction will be held a day after 62 New York City properties will be auctioned at the Hilton Garden Inn on Staten Island, the first sell-off of New York City properties.

The lots include single- and two-family homes and land parcels. Their pre-storm values range from $136,000 to $565,000 and 55 are located in Staten Island, six in Queens and one in Brooklyn. Two upstate properties, in Port Jervis and Stony Point, also will be sold.

SEE PHOTOSSandy's destruction

The lowest starting bid is $14,650.

Manhattan-based Paramount Realty will conduct the auctions. Potential bidders may inspect the properties during open houses between April 5 and April 8 and from April 11 to April 13 and may purchase due diligence information at the firm’s website, prusa.com.