NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The blackened, nail-filled floorboards snap under the feet of the fire chief, Michael Vatter, as he enters the burned-out home at 322 Washington Street. The blaze that destroyed this house, which faces a popular playground, occurred months ago, but nothing has been done to tear the structure down.

The property is one of thousands of so-called zombie homes scattered throughout financially hard-hit areas of New York State, houses that have been abandoned by their owners before banks have finished foreclosing on them. In many cases, according to upstate politicians and fire officials, these homes have little value, and banks will take years to finish the paperwork. In the meantime, such properties fall apart, or burn down.

“If the banks don’t want the property we are screwed,” Mr. Vatter said. He said local homeless people call the bank-owned zombie houses abandominiums. Wells Fargo owns the Washington Street property; before the fire, it was a “drug-shooting gallery and flophouse” for local prostitutes, Mr. Vatter said.

On Monday, Eric T. Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, is expected to outline legislation that he hopes will force banks to take responsibility for zombie properties, providing some help to cities like Newburgh, where officials estimate 10 percent of all homes are in some stage of abandonment.