When people in Newark NJ made a stink about abandoned homes that were being looted by scrappers and used for drug dealing/using, the city said they would go after the negligent owners...then admitted that they had already seized the homes for tax liens. THEY were the owners.
A year or two ago there was a push to sell the lots for minimal amounts, but you basically had to “re-colonize” Newark if you bought one. You had a certain amount of time to construct a home on it, then had to live there for a certain amount of time as well (similar to some HUD home requirements). All the people lined up to buy them looked like they already lived in Newark; they couldn’t draw in any real money (suckers).
The airline I used to work for would layover crews at a little town outside of Newark and I was surprised it was so bustling and quaint. Can’t remember the name...this was mid-1990s.