Number Of Vacant Homes On The Rise On Long Island
MASTIC BEACH, NY (WCBS 880) - Home vacancies are a problem across Long Island, from Oyster Bay to Huntington, to Smithtown and Mastic Beach.
WCBS 880's Sophia Hall In Suffolk County
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Currently, there are almost 40,000 vacant homes or apartments on the island.
One street that has been especially hard hit is Lynbrook Road in Mastic Beach, where it seems like every other home is vacant.
Andrew Gangoff lives between two of the boarded up, abandoned homes.
"One house over here is burned out and that guy doesn't have insurance. So, he's probably never going to fix that," he told WCBS 880 reporter Sophia Hall. "This one, there was a family dispute for 20 years. He finally sold it to another guy who bought it for taxes, I believe. He tried to rebuild it, but there's nothing left to rebuild. There's no real foundation. It's just dry cement blocks stacked up."
Gangoff fears some of these homes have become a haven for drug dealers.
"I'd like to have it torn, but then again, if you tear it down, what are they going to put there?" he said.
Experts said the vacancy rate jumped from 2.4 percent to 4 percent, which reflects the fallout from the recession.
What do you think about all the home vacancies? Sound off below in our comments section...
