Non-Profit Struggling with 24 Vacant Buildings, No Buyers

Inside the housing crisis is an agency buckling under the weight of 24 empty properties in the New York City area.

One of the 24 properties Neighborhood Housing Services have completely gut-renovated and now cannot sell in the housing crisis that has rendered much of their target market unable to obtain bank loans. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

NEW YORK—Inside the housing crisis is an agency buckling under the weight of 24 empty properties in the New York City area.

Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) has recently gut-renovated the properties in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens, as part of their mission to bring affordable housing and responsible lending to these neighborhoods.

“Our traditional audience and people who know us are usually first time buyers, small business owners, and immigrants,” said Sarah Gerecke, CEO of NHS. Banks are calling for larger deposits and the housing market is in a glut. “Our target market has lost its financing and they don’t have 30-35 percent down payment,” she said.

NHS, a non-profit organization, has just been granted permission to sell on the open market—a last resort for the team, who have always sold to locals and owners who will reside in the building.

“The equity we’ve built up is going down the drain … We don’t want these sitting vacant,” Gerecke said.