SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Syracuse is full of eyesores on the community, driving the property values down and causing problems for the neighborhood. Lots of them are owned by out-of-town owners who have been ignoring many requests from the city to fix code violations and pay overdue taxes. So the properties sit, unattended, collecting dust and falling apart.
“They just, they just let anybody move in, they’re slumlords, that’s how it works,” said Anthony Perolla, a local resident. “I mean they don’t care about nothing, they don’t fix anything up. They don’t do anything.”
The greater Syracuse Land Bank is on a mission to fix these issues. Serving as the middle man between prospective buyers and sellers since 2012, the land bank is looking to clear out vacant houses and lots and allow them to be reused by someone who needs them.
“Well it’s really fulfilling to see something that has been a total eyesore, and a negative impact on the neighborhood for many, many, years, even before the foreclosure, returned to a local person who can make it into something beautiful, save an old historic building.” Said Katelyn Wright, executive director of the land bank.
Since their creation, the land bank is responsible for:
-Reselling 834 properties
-Generating $26.4 million in private investment for the city and,
-Recuperating $1.4 million a year in property taxes.
