For years, we’ve railed against the gate-keeping power known as “councilmanic prerogative.”
Hapco Philadelphia has watched district city councilmembers refuse to release vacant, city-owned parcels that are prime locations to build low-to-moderate-income rental housing. And the result is a dramatic decline in affordable housing in Philadelphia.
And those vacant parcels and the dilapidated buildings on many of them add to the growing inventory of city-owned blight.