Community Corner
What Can Be Done About Bed-Stuy's Vacant Buildings?
Bed-Stuy has the highest density of vacant buildings and lots, the result of the real estate crash and landlords who sit on a property waiting for the highest bidder.
The door to the Lefferts Hotel, at the corner of Lefferts Place and Classon Avenue, has been chained up for over a year, joining numerous other vacant buildings in Bed-Stuy that residents say are not only an eyesore, but are decreasing property values, according to a report in the Brooklyn Ink.
Accordng to the Ink, Bed-Stuy “has the highest density per square mile of vacant property buildings and lots” in the city, said Kendall Jackman, who is helping to put together a city-wide land-use study with her group, Picture The Homeless.
Some of these vacant buildings are foreclosed homes without buyers, but some are the result of greedy landlords who “warehouse,” or sit on the building until a buyer comes around with a good price.
Find out what's happening in Bed-Stuywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“They don’t make any money just having it there,” real estate agent Rosetta Allen told the Ink. “They are hoping that the value goes up, but the problem is that when it goes up, there will not be any buyers” because people will would have found other places.”
Last month, Patch reported on the introduction of Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2, a , foreclosed properties.
Find out what's happening in Bed-Stuywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Families who are eligible may receive up to $80,000 in forgivable loans to first-time homeowners who agree to participate in a series of counseling workshops and live in the neighborhood for at least 15 years.
The aim of the program is to stabilize neighborhoods by keeping long-term residents, and help first-time homeowners get their footing.
According to the Ink’s report, Jackman also believes that these vacant properties can become housing for the homeless, eliminating the need for a dedicated shelter.
