April 4, 2019 New York, NY- The following statement is in response to the City closing on a deal to purchase 17 buildings from notorious landlords to convert them into affordable housing. Statement From David Giffen, Executive Director at Coalition for the Homeless: “Taking hundreds of apartments out of the hands of notorious slumlords and turning them into permanent, affordable housing for homeless New Yorkers is ultimately the right thing to do and will immediately provide much-needed housing to homeless families. The City must use every tool at its disposal to expand the supply of housing available and affordable to those without homes — converting cluster site units into affordable housing is one piece of the puzzle. But the Mayor must also invest in the production of new affordable, permanent housing for homeless New Yorkers through his Housing New York 2.0 plan — specifically by creating 24,000 new units for homeless New Yorkers.”
