Homeless NYC: Turning vacant properties into permanent housing

Breaking the numbers down even further, close to 24,000 of those living in shelters are children. Research shows that children who fall victim to homelessness are more likely to have problems in school, trouble with the criminal justice system and face health problems.

Two major breakthroughs in city government aim to ease the burden of the city’s longstanding homeless problem to get people off the street.

This week, Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled the city’s plan to help not-for-profit developers acquire and rehab residential “cluster site” buildings, currently used to house homeless families, and convert them into permanent affordable housing. Eminent domain will be used to acquire the buildings if negotiations fail to buy them.

Over the past 17 years, New York City has used the cluster site program to provide shelter for homeless families, a practice that the de Blasio Administration committed to ending last February.

“Our city’s homelessness crisis wasn’t created overnight, and it won’t be solved overnight. It requires us to come up with creative and bold new strategies to help those on the street and those in need of shelter and affordable permanent housing,” said de Blasio. “This initiative will transform dozens of dilapidated temporary apartments into quality, permanently affordable homes. The effort is a clear sign that we will go to any length necessary to help our neighbors get back on their feet.”