Southold Town officials are grappling with how to deal with a pair of derelict “zombie” houses on New Suffolk Ave. in Mattituck that neighbors contend have become magnets for squatters and vandalism and are driving down property values in the neighborhood.
One of the homes was once a late 19th-century architectural treasure, according to neighbors, but has fallen into such disrepair it could be in danger of collapse. The owner of the other home, which has suffered a partial roof collapse, told town officials earlier this week that he is planning to sell the property.
Local historians Robert and Catherine Harper, who live nearby, said the rundown home at 580 New Suffolk Ave. is, or was, a stunning example of Queen Anne Victorian architecture, replete with stained-glass windows, ornate ceiling medallions and vintage features like a secret basement tunnel to James Creek for Prohibition-era liquor smuggling. Built in 1894 for a prominent Mattituck businessman, the stately home “reigned over the streetscape” in its prime, Ms. Harper said.
Ms. Harper told the Southold Town Board at a work session this week that property owner Luke Saban purchased the home in 2004 and rented it to a family until 2010, when the home was left vacant for five or six years. A second family that rented the home left after a year after becoming what she described as “spooked by squatters who had apparently grown accustomed to taking residence there.”
Ms. Harper went on to say that “a homeowner has not only the responsibility to his house, but also to his neighbors, and in this regard, Mr. Sabin has failed miserably in his absentee ownership.”
Mr. Saban did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Mr. Harper, an expert in Victorian architecture, told the board how he and his wife have spent more than three decades lovingly restoring their own nearby Victorian, and how frustrated they have grown watching the steady deterioration of the neighboring property.
“These are gems from the past, and each owner has a responsibility to carry that on,” he told the town board. “One break in that chain — one homeowner who does not respect that house — can break the chain, and then that house is gone. And it’s not just the house that suffers, it’s the neighborhood. It’s the feel of that street. It’s what brought us to Mattituck 36 years ago. The house can’t speak for itself,” he said, referring to 580 New Suffolk Ave., “but I can speak for the house.”
Derelict houses cause serious problems for communities by lowering nearby property values and contributing to neighborhood blight. Their abandoned, deteriorating appearance can discourage investment and make areas less attractive to homebuyers.
Beyond aesthetics, these abandoned houses create real public safety risks, sometimes becoming hotspots for vandalism, squatting, fires or criminal activity. They also often place a financial burden on local governments, which can be forced to step in to maintain the properties — mowing lawns, boarding up windows, and responding to emergencies — even though the houses remain privately owned. On top of that, such homes often fall into tax delinquency, cutting into municipal revenues and further straining local resources.
In the spring of 2023, Greenport Village under Mayor Kevin Stuessi took action to demolish abandoned houses in the village that posed safety risks to the community.
Assistant Town Attorney Benjamin Johnson told the board that the town has several options in dealing with derelict homes that pose safety hazards: demolish the structure, restore the structure, or board up the house and mitigate safety violations — billing the owner directly through property tax assessments. He said the town could also issue code violations.
Town Attorney Paul DeChance said that Mr. Saban had been issued a notice of violation but that town officials have been unsuccessful to date in making direct contact with him.
Supervisor Al Krupski said that “we welcome any partnership with the owner” but if the owner “refuse[s] to be a partner in the decision-making, it’s really going to be up to the town board to decide the next step.”
He suggested that the board initially take steps to make the property more safe and secure, bill the property owner and then “maybe they will be a better partner and cooperate with the town … but we need continued input from the community. If that’s the step we take — we’ve taken it in the past for different houses, and eventually the property is transferred to someone who is going to restore it and fix it up.”
Reeve Ave. resident Tara Cubie, an architectural historian and urban planner who previously served on the Southold Historical Commission, said she has evaluated hundreds of structures over two decades for National Registry of Historic Places eligibility, and “this house is clearly historic and contributes significantly to the character and historic fabric of the neighborhood.”
Ms. Cubie said 580 New Suffolk Ave. is in “considerably better condition than many of the structures that I’ve seen successfully sold and restored.
She said the neighborhood has “strong potential for designation as a historic district in Mattituck” and “strongly encourage[d] the town to actively pursue measures that will allow for the care and preservation of this significant property.”
The owner of another home at 1120 New Suffolk Ave. that neighbors say has been falling apart for years, told the town board he is selling the property because he can’t afford it’s upkeep, especially after part of the front porch roof collapsed.
Property owner Robert Brenner said he would work with town officials to mitigate safety issues on the property, which also include squatters and vandalism, while he prepared to sell it.
Mr. Brenner said the property fell into disrepair while he was spending his time in Rockville Center caring for an elderly relative, but Mr. DeChance countered that town officials have been pressing him to better and more safely maintain the property for a long time.
Mr. Krupski said that the board would seek guidance from the town building dept. to see “how far we’re going to have to go just to make it safe, so that it’s safe for the community.”
Mr. DeChance counseled the board to leave the public hearing on 1120 New Suffolk Ave. open so that Mr. Brenner can work with building dept. representatives to shore up the safety issues immediately, and return before the board in May with a potential closing date for the sale of the property.
Mr. Harper said earlier in the meeting that he and his wife had identified at least six derelict houses in Mattituck alone.
