Stringer finds vacancies where they said there were none.

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer this week released the results of Manhattan's first ever survey of vacant properties finding that there is a significant number of vacancies in the borough representing potential for thousands of new affordable housing units.

According to Stringer, the survey results demonstrate that if the City, developers and local communities work together, major steps can be taken to address the affordable housing shortage gripping much of the borough.

"The affordability crisis in this city is worsening by the day and if we don't act now to turn much of our limited space into affordable housing, we will lose the diversity of this city for generations to come," said the Borough President.

"These results show that, contrary to popular belief, there are thousands of properties lying vacant in this borough. Now the task is to find out why and to do everything we can to make them productive properties."

Stringer announced the results in front of a vacant lot on 125th Street in the heart of Central Harlem. He was joined by leaders from Picture the Homeless, a grassroots organization that partnered with the Borough President's office to complete the count, and by other housing advocates.

According to the survey, 2,228 properties in Manhattan appear to be vacant or have vacancies; 1,723 of the properties contain built structures, and 505 are empty lots.

Enough developable space exists on these vacant lots and enough residential units exist in these vacant buildings to create nearly 24,000.

50% of the vacant properties uncovered are privately owned.

74% of vacant residential buildings and 71% of all vacant lots are located above 96th Street. $104.8 million in property taxes is lost annually because vacant lots above 110th Street are taxed as Class 1 residential properties.

Surveying cities for vacant buildings and lots is a proven method for returning underutilized properties to viable and productive use. Similar inventories have taken place in major municipalities including Boston, Albany and St. Louis. In Boston, the number of abandoned buildings declined by two-thirds, from 1,044 properties to just 350, after the city instituted a vigorous program, including an annual abandoned building survey.

"In New York today we have a booming real estate market and a terrible shortage of affordable housing," said Stringer. "Yet there are still perverse incentives in place that encourage speculators to hold vacant property rather than build. That may serve some private interests, but it sure doesn't serve the public interest. We've got to change the system."

Stringer said that rather than dealing with buildings on an individual basis, New York needs a citywide policy for monitoring these properties and encouraging owners to return them to productive use. He unveiled a series of proposals that included a systematic survey of vacant and abandoned properties; a registration and fee program and; new tax policy to motivate development of vacant property.