Land Bank Community Revitalization Initiative (Land Bank CRI)

Since 2013, The New York State Attorney General has committed more than $30 million through the Land Bank Community Revitalization Initiative (Land Bank CRI), with funding secured through settlements with the nation's largest banks over misconduct that contributed to the housing crisis. This funding supports legally designated Land Banks, formed under the New York State Land Bank Act of 2011, to protect homeowners and neighborhoods across the state by acquiring vacant, blighted homes and transforming them into community assets.

Land Bank Report

The Land Bank Report produced by the A.G.’s office in November of 2016 finds that the $30+ million invested in the state’s land banks since 2013 has resulted in substantial benefits for homeowners and communities. In the past three years alone, 10 land banks have:

• Reclaimed 1,995 properties from abandonment;
• Returned 701 properties to the market and put them back in productive use;
• Demolished 409 unstable structures.

By stabilizing, renovating, or demolishing formerly blighted properties, the New York State land banks are saving an estimated $19 million in property value for surrounding homes, according to estimates by the A.G.’s office. This estimation is based on the average housing density and property values for the counties covered by each land bank, and on a study of property value loss for homes within 500 feet of blighted properties.

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  $30+ million in New York Attorney General investment.
  1,995 properties reclaimed from abandonment.
  701 properties returned to the market and back in productive use.
  409 unstable structures demoloshed or in process.
  

What is a Land Bank?

Land banks are nonprofit entities that work in cooperation with government to revitalize communities by bringing blighted, abandoned, and tax delinquent properties back to productive use.

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The Land Bank Property Life Cycle:
When a property becomes vacant or blighted, a land bank acquires the property.
Then two paths emerge.
Path 1:
Land bank rehabilitates the property if possible, then the Land bank sells the property for affordable homeownership or rental.
Path 2:
Land bank demolishes property if necessary, then Land bank restores property to productive use.
  

Land Bank CRI Funding: 2013 - 2016

Between 2013 and 2016, the land banks currently funded through the Land Bank CRI are:

Newly Formed Land Banks

Since the last round of Land Bank CRI funds were awarded, 8 new land banks were created. This brings the total number of land banks in NY State to 18 as of November 2016.

• Allegany County Land Bank Corporation
• Cattaraugus County Land Bank Corporation
• Chemung County Property Development Corporation
• Finger Lakes Regional Land Bank Corporation
• Greater Mohawk Valley Land Bank Corporation
• Nassau County Land Bank Corporation
• Oswego County Land Bank Corporation
• Steuben County Land Bank Corporation

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Additional Funding for Land Banks

Additional funding for land banks is now being offered through a competitive Request for Applications (RFA). Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) are administering the RFA.