SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Schenectady County Legislature approved a title transfer this week that will allow the Capital Region Land Bank to clean up a “zombie” property at 1019 Van Antwerp Road in Niskayuna.

“The Land Bank now has title to one of the worst zombie properties in Niskayuna,” said Richard Ruzzo, Land Bank Chair and a member of the Schenectady County Legislature. “Now we will clean up this property, eliminating blight and putting this property back on the tax rolls.”

The house at 1019 Van Antwerp is abandoned, and neighbors have complained about its condition to Town and County officials. The County took action as soon as possible to foreclose and earlier this week approved transfer of title to the Land Bank. The Land Bank also cleaned up the exterior of the property prior to foreclosure as an interim measure to deal with overgrown grass and fallen trees that negatively impacted the neighborhood.

The Land Bank will secure the blighted property and complete the appropriate due diligence necessary to determine if the structure can be renovated or if it must be demolished. The property will be listed for sale with the goal of returning it to the tax rolls.

The Capital Region Land Bank recently demolished a long vacant zombie property in Rotterdam Junction and has successfully tackled dozens of similar properties around Schenectady County.

The Land Bank is administered by Metroplex as part of Schenectady County’s unified economic development team.