Could Land Banks be the Solution to the City's Affordable Housing Crisis?

New York City Comptroller, Scott Stringer, says New York is wasting an opportunity to build permanent affordable housing on the city's vacant lots.

Right now affordable housing is only given to residents for a maximum of thirty or so years. Stringer believes this is unfair to young families who work hard to establish their role in the local community, only to be evicted when their time runs out. So Stringer's proposed a solution. He wants to implement city run "land banks" which would take control of vacant lots and keep the terms of affordable housing in the city's hands.

"Establishing one in New York City would allow the city to achieve what we need, permanent affordability for the New Yorker's who need it most," Stringer says.

If the comptroller's plan is a success, he hopes to create roughly 50,000 permanent affordable housing units.