NYC To Count Neglected Buildings

Finding housing in New York City is a difficult task. Locating a property within one's budget can be especially hard in one of the most expensive cities in the country. For those with literally no budget â€" the thousands in the city’s homeless population -- the challenge is practically insurmountable. As shelters fill beyond capacity, the city has planned a full-scale building count this weekend that hopes to identify all of Manhattan's abandoned or neglected buildings and create a pool of possible sites for affordable housing.

"The count comes at a time when the city has sold off all but 2,000 of the 100,000 units of derelict property it once controlled. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer hopes his count will help locate new sites for affordable housing. 'It’s about being able to go to the owner and say, ‘Hey, this is your situation and these are the programs and incentives that are available to you,’' he said. If the land is publicly owned, his office will contact the appropriate government agency. Stringer expressed hope that similar tallies may be undertaken in other neighborhoods and boroughs."

"Other cities, including Boston and St. Louis, have undertaken similar counts with a goal of reducing blight and encouraging the development of affordable housing. Boston does an annual street-by-street count of abandoned properties that covers most of the city. When housing agency staffers find buildings that qualify, they post the addresses online to urge neglectful owners to either use the buildings or sell them. Since 2000, the number of abandoned buildings in the city has dropped by 43 percent."