Abandoned property from evicted tenant Queens NY

[Andrea Georger]

Hello, 

My grandmother recently passed away.  She owned a duplex, which she resided in the bottom of. She had a nightmare tenant in the upstairs portion that took two years to evict.  He was finally evicted in January 2023.  When he left, he abandoned a pick up truck that did not pass inspection, a motorcycle, and some other things of low value.   My uncle is looking to sell the home now that my grandmother has passed. It will be difficult to sell with the abandoned truck, motorcycle and other junk. My uncle is under the impression that because they’re in New York City jurisdiction that they need to hold on to the truck and motorcycle for 7 years for him to have an opportunity to claim it or they will be sued. That seemed extreme to me, even for New York? Does anyone have experience with this?