Town Blocks Sale Of Flood-Prone, Nearly Uninhabitable Home; Says It Can't Afford R/E Tax Revenue Loss If State Converts Premises To Public Green Space

In Hillsdale, New Jersey, The Record reports:

• The borough is refusing to allow a homeowner to sell a property that chronically floods to the state for public green space. Rosanne Vaccaro was accepted into a state program that buys properties in flood-prone areas, but she needs the borough's approval to complete the transaction. Mayor Max Arnowitz is blocking the deal, arguing that the borough can't afford to lose precious tax revenue.

• Vaccaro pays almost $7,000 in annual property taxes on the home, which is valued at $355,000. After Hurricane Floyd hit in 1999, she said the house — located near the Pascack Brook — became nearly uninhabitable.

• She has petitioned her state legislators, who have contacted Arnowitz on her behalf, but he refuses to budge. "It is amazing that I am still expected to pay property taxes on a house that is uninhabitable and give good money to a community that doesn't value me as a citizen," said Vaccaro, who moved to London six months ago after getting married. "Frankly, I feel persecuted, but for what I am not sure."

For more, see Hillsdale blocks home from being sold into flood program.