The Real Estate Board of New York is offering 34 apartments to house residents displaced by the explosion in East Harlem last week that leveled two buildings and killed at least eight people .
Real estate executives plan to coordinate with the New York State Association for Affordable Housing to provide temporary and long-term housing for residents who were put out of their homes by the blast.
The board’s move is seen by some as a show of support for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration, Crain’s reported.
“We will continue to work with the city to provide a longer-term solution for those who were impacted, and hope that our partnership with Mayor de Blasio will help ease recovery efforts for all those affected,” REBNY President Steven Spinola said in a statement to Crain’s.
The collaboration could also be the beginning of a broader conversation regarding the state of the city’s deteriorating infrastructure. Recent studies found that much of NYC’s infrastructure is in dire need of repair. [Crain’s] — Angela Hunt