Letter: Gov't has failed some communities
This St. James home is one of 150 Long Island properties going on auction after being damaged or abandoned post-superstorm Sandy. Credit: Paramount Realty USA
Has government failed the Long Island homeowner in the foreclosure crisis ["Nassau eyes plan to fight the blight," News, April 6]?
The concentration of foreclosures in Brentwood, North Bay Shore and Central Islip results in a diminution of property values in these communities. Consequently, the remaining property owners pay a higher portion of property taxes.
After superstorm Sandy, town governments all over Long Island petitioned the state and federal governments to offer affected homeowners tax relief to make rebuilding easier.
It's time that government also considers homeowners who live near "zombie" houses that have been abandoned by their former homeowners, and which the banks don't know how to dispose of. In 2009 I predicted the consequences of the mortgage crisis and economic crisis that followed.
Government should hold hearings on Long Island to permit the members of the public to vent their feelings. These hearings should be conducted by the state attorney general's office, the State Senate and Assembly, and the supervisors of the towns affected.
I urge communities to fight back, because government has failed them.
Joseph Fritz, Brentwood
Editor's note: The writer is a community activist and former political candidate.
