In an effort to remove all the so-called 'zombie' homes in the Mount Vernon area, a vacated home at 136 Park Avenue that was burnt two years ago and is in immediate danger of collapsing, was demolished by the city council last Sunday.
Brian Conybeare of CBS New York reported that Mount Vernon Mayor, Richard Thomas, together with his children, were present during the demolition of the said property.
"This house poses an imminent threat to public safety and this is why were taking it down," said Thomas in his speech before the demolition. "This is something that we're not going to tolerate, if there are any zombie houses in this community, we will take them on we will take them down one at a time."
In a report from Lohud The Journal News, Ernie Garcia wrote that the house at 136 Park Avenue was inspected by the city building inspectors and has been determined to be tilted due to the wind and snow of the Jan. 23 blizzard.
"It's in the City Charter already that homeowners must take care of their property," added Thomas. "So we're going to enforce the rules already on the books, but for now, this home poses an imminent threat to public safety and this is why we're taking it down."
Residents of the neighborhood gathered up for the demolition.
"For property values and safety reasons too - you know, somebody could get hurt, it could collapse," said JeanMarie Sousa, a resident of Mount Vernon.
"This was a danger to all the people who live nearby," said Marcio Generoso. "The owners never come by and when it snows, nobody cleans up there."
According to CBS New York, a new study has shown that the Westchester area has 189 zombie homes and bank-owned foreclosed properties that cost neighbors an estimated $20 million in lost property values.