NY law allows land banks to address blight

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a new law allowing for creation of municipal land banks, which take control of problem properties and then redevelop or dispose of them.

The measure is meant as a strategic tool for cities like Buffalo where vacant properties outpace the private market's ability to deal with them.

Cuomo notes many upstate municipalities have an overabundance of vacant properties due to population losses, saying this should give cities and counties a new tool for rebuilding.

Former Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, who sponsored the bill, says other states have seen the value of doing this to convert dilapidated properties.