Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas says he is on a mission to clean up the city and tear down so-called "zombie homes," which he describes as a safety hazard.
On Sunday, demolition crews tore down one of the zombie homes, located on Park Avenue.
Thomas says he is going after all possible funding and resources from the state and federal government to deal with the blight of zombie homes.
News 12 has been told that there are more than 50 zombie homes scattered around Mount Vernon.
Tony and Vicki Caluzzio, who live near Park Avenue, say they are all too familiar with the zombie homes that are caught between life and death.
They say their son tried to buy one to fix it up, but when faced with paying thousands of dollars in back taxes owed on the house, he and his wife moved out of Mount Vernon.