A longstanding eyesore in the Village of Hempstead was demolished Monday after sitting vacant for years on Linden Avenue.

Nearby residents say zombie homes in the area are a magnet for squatters and it's bringing down property values in the area.

Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Jr. was joined by community leaders for the demolition of the dilapidated home.

"Safety is the major concern," Hobbs Jr. said. "No one wants to live next to an empty house that might potentially become a hazard and so we're addressing those issues."

William Watts has lived in the neighborhood for a majority of his life. He says he has seen people coming and going from the home often.

"People would go inside the homes - homeless people, people with drugs, that would be the hotspot," Watts says.

The village says they don't own the property but received a court order allowing them to demolish it.

The demolishing is 18 months in the making and is the first of dozens of condemned buildings that will be demolished under the village's approved revitalization plan.