A horde of ‘zombie properties’ is terrorizing New York City and the ombudsman, Jumaane Williams, took advantage of Halloween to lead a coalition of activists and elected officials to fight them.
And it is that at a time when homelessness has New York in an affordability crisis and worsening homelessness, it is estimated that more than 88,000 rent-stabilized units are vacant in the Big Apple and fall under the category of ‘zombie properties’ that the Department of Housing Development and Preservation (HPD), on its website, defines as small unoccupied and rundown homes whose owners are behind on their mortgage payments.
During the event, it was reported that some landlords trying to circumvent rental regulations and other protections for tenants deliberately ‘store’ these units or abandon them so they fall into disrepair and end up in unsafe and uninhabitable conditions.
“We know there are tens of thousands of decaying and deteriorating ‘zombie units’ in our city despite a terrifying crisis of housing, homelessness and affordability in all five boroughs,” said Williams, who argued that instead of meeting with basic tenant protections, bad landlords are taking advantage of the system and ‘zombifying’ units.
“We cannot allow landlords to keep housing, a fundamental and basic human right, as a hostage for his own personal and political gain. We must pass laws to register vacancies, fine owners who have vacant apartments and explore options to acquire these units, before more ‘zombie properties’ further terrorize our streets”, added the Ombudsman.
In the demonstration, tenants of the building located at 331 E. of the street 14 spoke about the inhumane conditions that prevail as a result of the abandoned ‘zombie apartments’
As reported , about half of the units remain empty, full of garbage and accumulating pests. Roofs have collapsed and water damage is visible on the walls. The entire first floor is empty, and until the landlord put locks on the unoccupied units a few weeks ago, they were often full of squatters who regularly broke into the building.
“We are in the middle of a persistent housing crisis. More than 40% of families in the East Village and on the Lower East Side are rent-burdened and there is not enough affordable housing to meet the demand,” he warned. Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, who indicated that she is tired of landlords benefiting while working-class and rent-stabilized New Yorkers “suffer from precarious housing conditions.”
For her part, Sue Susman, of Stellar Tenants for Affordable Housing, argued that in response to rent protections, landlords have been keeping affordable apartments off the market.
“Landlords have ‘stockpiled’ between 61,000 Y 88,000 homes in a bet that Albany would weaken tenant protections, and with the assertion that the $6 average annual profit,450 of the owners in each individual rental in the stabilized apartments have not been enough to keep those units habitable,” Susman said. “End Affordable Apartment Storage! New Yorkers need all available rental housing.”