Local Foreclosures Being Surveyed by Central Islip Civic Council

June 26th, 2009

The local foreclosures for sale are being surveyed by Central Islip Civic Council. Members are going around knocking from door to door. They are coming across empty houses with all evident signs – side gates kept ajar and tall grass. Annette Bernard gives the report to her colleague, Nancy Manfredonia, waiting in the car. The two of them on an average check on 50 houses.

The Central Islip Civic Council is in the forefront in the battle against the foreclosure crisis. Dozens of volunteers have been making the rounds either on foot or in cars to track the housing conditions. As part of the schedule of work “block volunteers” are distributing fliers and making the people know that free help in housing matters is available for the asking. Another part of the work deals with limiting the havoc wrought on empty houses. Properties that look abandoned are regularly checked. This is followed by worrying the bank-owner or its agency to see to the maintenance.

Manfredonia, the executive director of this non-profit body said, “We have to do it ourselves. It’s just unsettling because you’ll drive by two or three homes where the homeowners are obviously taking great care of their homes . . . and then the next house is a mess.” In Central Islip there are 6,000 residential houses and of these about 150 are defaulting or already in foreclosure.

The epicentre of the foreclosure is Lowell Avenue. In this locality there are about 100 boarded up abandoned houses accounting for half of all the empty units in Central Islip. New ones are joining in continuously as per the findings of the civic authorities.

The civic volunteer group runs on grants. Each month the Community Development Corporation of Long Island organizes help sessions for the homeowners at the headquarters of the group – a heritage building of 1880. Eileen Anderson of CDC said, “My staff can’t go door to door for all of Long Island, so it does take community groups such as Central Islip’s civic to do that kind of legwork.”

In Central Islip the memory of the 1970’s has not faded. The downturn of the economy caused the downsizing of the state psychiatric hospital. At that time 200 foreclosures took place. The deserted localities like Carelton Park were taken over by drug peddlers and prostitutes. Gang shooting became a common occurrence. Finally the empty house had to be renovated and made habitable again. New family units sprung up replacing Carleton Park.