Valley Cottage residents are demanding that an eyesore in their town be torn down, but Clarkstown Building Department officials say their hands are tied.

Residents say the dilapidated vacant building at 560 Mountainview Ave. is dangerous because it has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and a place where teenagers go to have sex, drink and do drugs.

Neighbors say the owner of the building erected it several years ago and began constructing seven new luxury condominiums, but eventually work on the project stopped. The property is currently in foreclosure proceedings.

Clarkstown's building inspector said in a statement that "the law prohibits the town from demolishing buildings on private property unless they are structurally unsafe."