Councilman Imbroto and Supervisor Saladino install polycarbonate on a zombie home.

Town Removes Eyesore Plywood & Replaces with Clear Polycarbonate

In continuing their pledge to protect and preserve our quality of life in the Town of Oyster Bay, Supervisor Joseph Saladino, together with Quality of Life Taskforce co-chairs Councilman Louis Imbroto and Town Clerk James Altadonna Jr., today further demonstrated their commitment to combatting zombie homes in local communities.

“Last month, the Town Board unanimously approved a new law to combat ‘zombie’ homes, which strengthened our authority to cleanup these properties,” Supervisor Saladino said. “The Town of Oyster Bay is removing unsightly plywood from homes throughout our communities and installing new polycarbonate window coverings.  Together, we will take back our neighborhoods from absentee landlords.”

The Town’s ‘zombie’ home legislation strengthens the Town’s authority to: fine property owners and lending institutions in violation of Town Code; recoup costs associated with Town maintenance of vacant properties; and ban the use of plywood in covering residential windows and doors. The new Code further strengthens the Town’s ability to address adverse conditions often brought on by ‘zombie’ homes, by establishing a mandated trust account to which the foreclosing entity must deposit $25,000 to cover any potential costs the Town could incur from maintaining the property.

“We strengthened the law to address quality of life concerns caused by dilapidated and vacant homes in our neighborhoods,” Councilman Imbroto added. “We are removing blights from our communities by banning the use of plywood on windows and doors.”

Town Clerk Altadonna added, “We are proud to work with citizens and civic associations to identify both residential and commercial properties that are impacting the quality of our communities. Together, we are taking back our neighborhoods by addressing code violations and cleaning up dilapidated and abandoned properties.”