The Vacancy Law Revisited

In September, the City of Hudson adopted a law, Local Law No. 7 of 2018, which requires the owners of vacant buildings to register those buildings with the code enforcement office and pay an annual fee every year the building remains vacant--$1,000 for the first year, increasing by $1,000 each year to $5,000 for the fifth year and every year thereafter. It was believed the law would discourage people from warehousing property and encourage them to rehab buildings and get the housing units back on the market.

Gossips learned recently that, three months later, only one vacant building has so far been registered. That is because the language of the law puts the burden of reporting vacant buildings on residents. The following is quoted from the law (italics added by Gossips): "The Code Enforcement Officer may identify vacant buildings through its routine inspection process as well as through notification by residents, neighborhood associations and other community groups that a building may be eligible for inclusion on the registry."

So, if there's a vacant building in your neighborhood that is worrisome and annoying, you should report the address to the code enforcement office: hudsonceo@cityofhudson.org. 
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