Zombies 2.0: $9 Million announced in grants for communities dealing with vacant and abandoned properties

New York State officials have announced “Zombies 2.0,” the expansion of a grant initiative to address the growing statewide issue of “zombie homes”-- vacant and abandoned homes that are not maintained during a prolonged foreclosure proceeding.

This program is intended to provide up to $9 million in grants to New York State municipalities to address housing vacancy and blight. The grants will provide funds to municipalities to increase housing code enforcement, track and monitor vacant properties, and bolster legal enforcement capacity to ensure property lenders comply with local and state law.

Grants are expected to be awarded in amounts ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 based on scale and severity.

Earlier grants under the Zombie Remediation and Prevention Initiative provided nearly $13 million in grants to local municipalities. The 2019 grant will allow previous recipients to continue their work or will give first-time grantees the opportunity to secure funding to support their property clean-up efforts.

Applications are due Friday, March 8, 2019. Awards are expected to be announced in April.

For more on the “Zombie property” initiative, click here.