Hempstead, NY Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

When the Building Inspector finds a structure meets this definition, § 86-27C requires written notice to the owner, agent or person in control, served the same way as a stop order under § 86-17, stating the specific defects and giving a stated time either to complete repairs or to demolish and remove the structure. If the danger is immediate, § 86-27D adds that the notice must also order the building vacated at once and bars reoccupancy until repairs are inspected and approved; the Building Inspector posts a notice at every entrance declaring the building unsafe, and removing that notice without written permission, or entering except to repair or demolish, is unlawful.

Where the owner cannot be found or refuses to comply, § 86-27E directs the Town Attorney to bring a court action to compel compliance. In a true emergency involving imminent danger to life or health, § 86-27F lets the Building Inspector immediately vacate and secure the structure, enter the property and abutting land, erect barricades, and even close a public or private way, all at whatever cost is necessary; § 86-27G then charges those costs back to the property owner, collectible as provided by law.

2 to remedy an unsafe condition at a foreclosure property. This chapter's unsafe-building process works alongside Chapter 90, Dangerous Buildings and Structures, which the Town Code cross-references directly.