By Jon Schuppe
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The thousands of vacant new condominium units in the city should be turned into affordable housing instead of standing empty, according to a local housing advocacy group.
The group issued a report on building vacancies focusing on six neighborhoods, including three in Manhattan: Harlem, the West Village/Chelsea and the Lower East Side.
Canvassing the streets, researchers for Right to the City-NYC identified 264 condo buildings that were partially or completely vacant. Dozens more were under construction, stalled, or in foreclosure. More than 100 projects owe the city back taxes totaling $3.8 million, the group said.
The report recommends a series of measures to make the empty condos available to low-income residents. The suggestions included a blend of incentives and penalties for private developers, “substantial public subsidies” and changes to city tax policies.
“New York City shouldn’t stand for vacant housing when so many people in those same communities are in need of a place to live,” Right to the City researcher David Dodge said in a press release announcing the study May 11.
In Harlem, the group found 77 buildings, including more than 1,000 vacant units in properties where construction had been completed. On the Lower East Side, they identified 90 buildings and more than 1,100 units. And in the West Village and Chelsea, there were 48 buildings and 715 units at completed projects.
The research was conducted over three months in 2009. About 150 people walked neighborhoods and identified condo buildings that were partially or completely vacant, and then gathered the necessary information about those properties.
