Baltimore and NYC invest in CLTs

At the end of March, the Baltimore Department of Housing and Community Development awarded $2.25 million to three community land trusts, and the funds will support the creation of 26 new homes. This victory is the result of successful community organizing campaigns in the city that involved door to door outreach and pressuring public officials. Read more in the article about how rents are rising for the poor and dropping for the rich throughout the nation, and why CLTs are a tool to help close this gap.

There is also a growing CLT movement over in New York City. Over a dozen CLTs have been formed, but most have not yet acquired land. Advocates have organized the New York City Community Land Initiative and they are pushing for legislation that would enable CLTs to acquire properties more readily. This article describes more of their efforts, such as Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) and the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) that would give community groups and tenants the right to make a first offer on buildings.