Yonkers, NY Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

City Code § 56-76 grounds the article in the City's General City Law powers to remove or repair any building, structure or staging that endangers public health, safety or welfare. Under § 56-77, the Commissioner must inspect any building, staging or structure reported as unsafe, file a written report with the Commissioner of Planning and Development and the Commissioner of Public Works, and enter any unsafe or dangerous building on a docket of unsafe buildings kept by the Department. Section 56-78 sets the substantive standard: any building or part of one that is a danger to life and safety from structural instability, fire, explosion or other hazard, in the judgment of the three Commissioners, must be taken down, demolished, removed or made safe and secure.

Section 56-79 governs the process: the Commissioners issue a written order describing the property, the unsafe condition, and the deadline to begin and complete repair or removal, and the order sets a hearing date the owner must attend. The order must be served by registered or certified mail to the owner, mortgagee and lienholders of record, posted conspicuously on the premises, and mailed to known tenants. If the owner fails or refuses to cure the condition after the hearing, or fails to attend, § 56-79C(7) empowers the Commissioner to have the City perform the repair, removal or other cure and then assess the costs and expenses against the land, collectible the same way as other City charges. An owner may instead certify assent to the order in writing before the hearing date under § 56-79D, short-circuiting the formal hearing process.