Man Returns Home to Find His House Had Vanished

A Long Island man returned home from a long trip to find all his possessions and his home completely vanished.

Philip Williams, 69, flew to Florida in December 2014 to escape the cold winter and undergo a knee operation.But when he came back to his West Hempstead homestead in August, all that was left was a grass-covered lot.

“You don’t expect to leave and get surgery and come back to find everything gone. I’m outraged. They shouldn’t be able to do that. This was preventable. It’s unjust and a tremendous disservice to me,” Williams, who is now suing the town, he told CBS News.

Local officials say they made the decision to demolish the home in May after receiving numerous complaints from neighbors that the house, built in 1920, was in extreme disrepair.The town claims it sent him letters in October and November, but Williams says he never received anything.

“Hempstead Town followed all proper procedures with regard to property owner notification relating to proceedings. The structure posed a danger to the public and was taken down in accordance with the law,” said town spokeswoman Susan Trenkle-Pokalsky.

Siegel’s lawyer disagrees.

“They went too far — this house should not have been demolished, and they went too fast. They had all the signs to know that someone was living here,” said Bradley Siegel.