A new deal between private landlords and city officials gives Sandy victims priority placement for roughly 2,500 vacant units across the city, the Wall Street Journal reported. This deal comes in an effort to alleviate a housing crisis that the storm, which made landfall in late October, created.
Negotiations for the deal — details on the length of leases and what would make tenants qualify — lasted nearly a month. Some city landlords have agreed to let tenants break their leases without penalty.
The listings will go live this week on Urban Edge, a site for no-fee listings. There will be a list of apartments coming online, spanning from the South Bronx to the Financial District, and they’ll be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Ron Moelis, CEO of L+M Development Partners, for example, will open roughly 170 apartments in his buildings in the South Bronx and Northern Manhattan. He’s in the process of renovating a Far Rockaway property that could house more out-of-home Sandy victims in the coming months. [WSJ] — Zachary Kussin