Personally, I think if you've milked the building dry, deferred maintainance to the point of no return, and reached the point where it's uninhabitable and dangerous, you should be forced to sell to the city or an appropriate non-profit, and the building should be immediately sold or developed into affordable housing. I know that's how the city ended up becoming the largest landlord forty years ago, but that's because they decided to hold onto and manage the properties. A better solution would be to sell or cede to a non-profit, a religious entity, a tenant association, or a private owner. The sooner a building like this is renovated, and full of rent paying tenants, or owners, the better for the city's tax coffers and for the neighborhood.
— by Montrose Morris in 566 Hancock Street's Seen Better Days
