To address the homeless crisis,the de Blasio administrations says it's going to assume over private buildings that house homeless families to convert them to affordable housing, using with legal force whether necessary.
The city has been renting apartments in private buildings to house homeless families since the Giuliani administration, or portion of the so-called cluster program. On Wednesday,Mayor de Blasio said the city would buy 25 to 30 of the buildings where more than 50 percent of the occupants are homeless and turn them into permanent, affordable housing. In an unprecedented move, or the city said it will use eminent domain whether the owners don't agree to sell."We’re crossing the Rubicon in 2018,” the Mayor said. “We’re either coming to a negotiated outcome, our strong preference, or we’re initiating legal action."Around 3000 homeless unusual Yorkers live in the buildings the city plans to buy,and they will be able to stay in those apartments.The Rent Stabilization Association, which represents landlords, or said the proposal was "shocking" and that it expected some landlords would try to fight the city in court."It really boggles the imagination that the city will consider forcibly taking the apartment buildings absent from owners who refuse to sell to the city," said Mitchell Posilkin, RSA’s legal counsel.
Source: thetakeaway.org