Compiled by Linda Collins
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — An estimated 150 people turned out for a press conference and rally at Albee Square in Downtown Brooklyn Tuesday to ask the city to consider converting thousands of vacant condos in an estimated 601 buildings citywide into affordable housing units.

In a survey of nine community districts across the city by Right to the City-NYC (RTTC), a coalition of city community organizations, 601 vacant condominium buildings were identified, including 126 buildings in Community District 2 in Downtown Brooklyn and 108 in Community District 4 in Bushwick.

Citing the new data released yesterday by RTTC, elected officials called on Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to convert vacant condos into permanently affordable housing for very low-income people.

Those speaking at the rally —including Council Members Melissa Mark Viverito, Letitia James and Maria del Carmen Arroyo and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries — noted the importance and timeliness of the research and the need for bold government action to convert vacant condos in the city.

Said Jeffries, “The luxury condominium steamroller has threatened to overrun low-income and working families all throughout New York City. This survey helps to document the extent of the problem and provides a foundation for the government to develop an aggressive policy that will transform vacant, market-rate units into affordable homes.�

Citing efforts by the council and the HPD, which have already allocated $20 million to convert some condos into moderate-income housing through the Housing Asset Renewal program (HARP), speakers said that “while HARP is a good start, the program, in its current form, will be insufficient to ease the housing crisis facing low-income New Yorkers.�

They asked the mayor, Quinn and the HPD to reform HARP by ensuring that the units converted through this program are permanently affordable to very low-income people.

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