CityRealty Insider > Square Feet: Vacant Lots

Square Feet: Vacant Lots

FEBRUARY 18, 2010

Where some see a vacant lot, others see possibility.

Vacant lots aren’t something we come across too often in New York City–if we happen to stroll past one, we assume it’s waiting to be to be covered with a new condo or boutique hotel. But there are plenty of not-so-wide open spaces between buildings in the five boroughs. The office of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer released a report on vacant lots in 2007, and an organization called Picture the Homeless published this map in the same year as part of a project addressing homelessness. Common Ground NYC keeps track of vacant property as well. City Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito has even introduced a bill that would require the city to count vacant property in an annual census.

Some enterprising groups have invested sweat equity in vacant city land to (temporarily) install everything from gardens to art to a golf course and a tree nursery. If you’re looking for a spot of available land to build your dream house, look for a Class V (zoned for residential use) lot. One such lot recently up for sale was billed as “the most spectacular vacant lot in Manhattan.” But the creativity prize may go to the enterprising Brooklyn family who built this dreamy modern house (via Dwell) on a sliver of vacant land between brownstones in pricey Fort Greene.

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