New York City has announced plans to use $24 million in federal financing to repair and resell more than 100 foreclosed homes in the city.
"The city will use the money to take control of foreclosed properties owned by lenders that have failed to be sold at auction. The city has already overseen the purchase of the first four empty homes - two on Staten Island, one in the Bronx and one in Queens - and renovations are scheduled to begin by this spring."
"The efforts by the city illustrate the impact that foreclosures are having on the city's neighborhoods and, in some ways, echo its response to the housing crisis of the late 1970s and early '80s. Back then, in an attempt to revitalize neighborhoods left decimated by abandoned properties, the city under Mayor Edward I. Koch began taking over the ownership and management of buildings whose owners fell behind on their property taxes."
"Under the new program, the city will not take ownership of the properties, but instead will subsidize their rehabilitation through a third party, a nonprofit group called the Restored Homes Housing Development Fund Corporation. The group will purchase a majority of the 115 properties, hold title to the properties during the rehabilitation and then sell them at prices affordable to families making roughly $80,000 to $90,000 a year. Restored Homes is already doing similar work, buying, renovating and reselling foreclosed homes that the federal government had owned."
FULL STORY: To Avert Blight, City Will Repair and Resell Vacant Homes

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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