POUGHKEEPSIE – The City of Poughkeepsie will receive $200,000 from the state attorney general’s $9 million fund to combat zombie properties, those vacant or abandoned homes not maintained during long foreclosure proceedings.
Mayor Robert Rolison created an Anti-Blight Task Force in 2018 to address the issue. The city had slightly more than 600 blighted properties and that has fallen below 500.
“We are making a concerted, aggressive effort to address blight in the city,” said City Administrator Marc Nelson, who said this new grant will increase prior funding from Albany.
The grant funds new software, which is giving the city a much better picture related to those properties, including public safety calls, building inspector reports, public works cleanups, tax status and more. In the process, code enforcement procedures have been beefed up.
City officials said since adding two building code enforcement officers in the 2019 budget, the Poughkeepsie has made significant increases in the collection of fines for violations.
As a result, the city administration requested and received a mid-year budget amendment to provide an additional $100,000 to the Youth Activities and Opportunities Program. The awards assist local non-profits by providing funding to support clubs and leagues as well as various summer and educational program.
Also as a result of the anti-blight initiative, the city has taken ownership of the former YMCA building on Montgomery Street and has set a September 5 deadline for applicants to submit their ideas for new uses of the property.
