After years of Covid-related delays, the Niagara Falls City Council has moved to approve the sale of the first 50 of almost 200 vacant lots auctioned to the public in an online bidding process in February.
The council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the sales.
In a memo to the council members, Mayor Robert Restaino said the properties were acquired by the city over the years through in-rem tax foreclosures. The mayor added that the properties had been deemed “surplus property,” making them eligible to be auctioned off.
Closings on the properties are due to take place within the next 30 days. The bids on the lots ranged from a high of $14,700 for 461 Seventh St. to a low of $320 for 1146 Garden Ave.
Bids that ranged in the $10,000 to $14,000 range tended to go for lots in the city’s South End Short Term Rental (STR) zone.
Council Member Brian Archie (D) asked about the number of sales to out-of-town bidders.
“It seems like in five years we’ll be chasing those people down for (unpaid property) taxes or code violations,” he said.
Acting City Corporation Counsel Thomas DeBoy said the auction process had to be open to anyone.
There’s no way to exclude (out-of-towners) from a public auction,” DeBoy said. “Because (New York) state wants the city to sell the properties at the highest possible price and they would frown on limiting (bidders).”
DeBoy said State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli would also likely object to any limitations on otherwise qualified bidders solely based on where they live.
Council member Donta Myles asked if the city could establish a program that would assist local residents in bidding on and acquiring the vacant lots. DeBoy said that was possible, but would require further investigation.