Quote from Picture The Homeless Site

"This morning, homeless people and community allies took over a vacant building in El Barrio/East Harlem. The target was a beautiful two-story building at the corner of Madison Avenue and 116th that has been vacant for decades.

Upon seizing control of the property, the occupiers determined that the building was structurally unsound, with a roof cave-in and significant floor damage, and that it was not safe to remain inside the building (earlier attempts to gain entrance to the building to assess the conditions had resulted in immediate unwanted police attention). The takeover crew left the building to join a crowd of hundreds of supporters who had braved the rain to hold a solidarity rally outside.

While we're sad that the occupation of the building could not be sustained, the sorry state of this beautiful building is just more proof that the City needs to prioritize development of vacant property into housing for low-income folks. A building like this would make an amazing community center, something El Barrio sorely needs."