Mount Vernon, NY Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 106-1 defines an "unsafe building" broadly to include structures that lean past the middle third of their base, show 33% or more damage to supporting members (or 50% to nonsupporting walls), are overloaded, were damaged by fire or wind, are so dilapidated or unsanitary they are unfit for habitation, lack adequate light, air, sanitation or fire egress, or have parts that could fall and injure the public. Section 106-3 declares every such building a public nuisance to be repaired, vacated or demolished. Section 106-4 requires the Commissioner to inspect public, commercial and multiple-dwelling buildings semiannually, plus any building a complaint identifies as possibly unsafe, and to serve the owner written notice describing the defects and ordering repair, alteration, vacation or demolition within 30 days; that notice is also filed with the Westchester County Clerk, where it operates like a notice of pendency effective for one year, and a placard warning that removal is unlawful must be posted on the building.

Section 106-2 sets the standards the Commissioner follows: repair if reasonably feasible, vacate if occupancy is dangerous, and demolish if the building is 50% or more damaged, cannot be brought into compliance, or is a fire hazard. If the owner does not comply within five days after the order period, Section 106-4I lets the Commissioner have the building repaired, vacated or demolished directly, with costs charged against the land as a municipal lien, added to the tax roll, or recovered in a lawsuit. Section 106-5 allows immediate emergency repair, vacation or demolition where there is imminent danger to life, and Sections 106-9 and 106-10 require the Fire and Police Departments to report suspected unsafe buildings to the Commissioner within 24 hours of discovery.