Vacancy Reversal: Legislation Seeks to Ban Warehousing

By Alex Kane
From the April 25, 2008 issue

Twenty four thousand — that’s how many potential apartments Picture the Homeless found last year when it canvassed all the empty buildings and lots in Manhattan.

Now, Picture the Homeless, a grassroots advocacy group led by homeless and formerly homeless people, is heading a citywide coalition that is campaigning to secure legislation that would ban the practice of landlords’ emptying otherwise usable buildings for future financial advantage.

The legislation, introduced on Jan. 19 on the steps of City Hall, was drafted in tandem with City Council member Tony Avella, a Queens Democrat who is running for Mayor in 2009.

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