Man comes home after 8 months to find Long Island home demolished
- 9 years ago
WEST HEMPSTEAD, NEW YORK — When Philip Williams headed to Florida in December 2014 for an operation, he fully expected to come back and find his Long Island home in one piece.
But when the 69-year-old veteran came home in August after eight months of recuperating in the hospital for knee surgery, his house was not where he left it. In its place was an empty lot covered in grass, reports the New York Post.
In May, the more than $400,000 home was demolished as part of the town's efforts to eradicate what they call zombie houses, according to the New York Daily News. Hempstead town officials say the house was a hazard, with neighbors complaining of leaks, broken windows, and trash all over, and claimed they followed proper procedure in demolishing the seemingly abandoned home, sending the owner registered letters as early as October.
CBS New York reports that Williams was in Florida at the time and denied receiving any such letters, not even having gotten one notifying him of a public hearing to decide the fate of his house in February. He says he could have been notified via phone but wasn't, and is suing the town for destroying his house when there was no foreclosure and the mortgage and taxes were all paid on time.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter
Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus
But when the 69-year-old veteran came home in August after eight months of recuperating in the hospital for knee surgery, his house was not where he left it. In its place was an empty lot covered in grass, reports the New York Post.
In May, the more than $400,000 home was demolished as part of the town's efforts to eradicate what they call zombie houses, according to the New York Daily News. Hempstead town officials say the house was a hazard, with neighbors complaining of leaks, broken windows, and trash all over, and claimed they followed proper procedure in demolishing the seemingly abandoned home, sending the owner registered letters as early as October.
CBS New York reports that Williams was in Florida at the time and denied receiving any such letters, not even having gotten one notifying him of a public hearing to decide the fate of his house in February. He says he could have been notified via phone but wasn't, and is suing the town for destroying his house when there was no foreclosure and the mortgage and taxes were all paid on time.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter
Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus