2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 15 - Urban Renewal › 504-A - Abandoned Dwellings and Mortgage Foreclosures in Nassau, Suffolk or Westchester County.

§  504-a.  Abandoned  dwellings  and  mortgage foreclosures in Nassau,
  Suffolk or Westchester county. 1. Following site  designation,  pursuant
  to section five hundred four of this article, a municipality or an urban
  renewal   or   community   development  agency  in  Nassau,  Suffolk  or
  Westchester county may certify a one, two or three  family  dwelling  as
  abandoned.  Upon such certification, an action to foreclose any mortgage
  on such dwelling may be commenced by. Process in such  action  shall  be
  served  pursuant to subdivision four upon natural persons who are record
  owners.
2. Said certification of abandonment may be made if such  municipality
  or  agency  finds  that:  (a) all or a part of the subject property lies
  within an area that has been designated by the governing body as in need
  of urban renewal, pursuant to such section five hundred  four;  (b)  the
  subject property has been vacant for sixty consecutive days; and, (c) in
  the  opinion  of  the  certifying  municipality  or  agency  the subject
  property has become a danger to life, public  health  or  public  safety
  and/or  has,  because of its physical condition and appearance, caused a
  blighting influence to surrounding properties and is adversely affecting
  neighborhood property values.
3. Said  premises  shall  be  deemed  vacant  within  the  meaning  of
  paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section if three or more of the
  following  conditions  exist: (a) termination of service by the lighting
  company,  which  termination  has  lasted  for  fifteen  days;  or   (b)
  termination  of  telephone  service  by  the  telephone  company,  which
  termination has lasted for fifteen days; or (c) failure to maintain  the
  premises  in  reasonably  good  repair;  or  (d)  information  from  the
  neighbors that the premises have been vacant for sixty days or more;  or
  (e)  accumulation  of  mail  at the premises; or (f) blatant evidence of
  vandalism; or (g) lack of furnishings inside the premises.
4. Upon said certification of abandonment, the certifying municipality
  or agency may file or record in the office of the clerk of  each  county
  in which all or a part of the subject property is situated, without fee,
  a  certification containing such findings and the facts upon which it is
  based, describing the property and providing that an action to foreclose
  any mortgage on said property, may be commenced by filing of the summons
  and verified complaint with  personal  service  to  be  made  either  as
  provided in subdivisions one through four of section three hundred eight
  of the civil practice law and rules, or, with respect to natural persons
  who  are record owners, by publishing, without the necessity for a court
  order, of a copy of the summons together with notice to the defendant, a
  brief statement of the nature of the action and the relief  sought,  the
  sum  of  money for which judgment may be taken in case of default, and a
  brief description of the property,  at  least  once  in  each  of  three
  successive  weeks  in  a  newspaper  in  the English language of general
  circulation in the municipality wherein all or a part  of  the  property
  lies  and by mailing a copy of the summons and verified complaint to the
  last known address of the  record  owner  or  owners  of  the  premises,
  certified  mail,  return  receipt requested and by tacking a copy of the
  summons and verified complaint, to  the  front  door  of  the  premises.
  Service  shall  be  deemed  complete  twenty days after the last date of
  publication, date of mailing or date of posting, whichever occurs last.
5. All other parties to the lawsuit, other than record  owners,  shall
  be  served with the summons and verified complaint as presently provided
  in the CPLR.