I THINK it was Detroit that literally bulldozed the houses off thousands of lots in areas of town that had become so crime ridden nobody would live there.
When that happened, no rent or mortgage payments were happening. When that happened foreclosure came. Now, the City found itself owning property that NO ONE on earth wanted. Then, and only then, did it dawn on the Democrats that CRIME policy mattered. NYC is up to the plate next!
Newark NJ has tried this scheme a couple of times over the last decade or so, whereby the city offers vacant property lots for sale in the city for $1. I remember the first time clearly, as people lined up around the block for them (apparently buying into the idea that they had no wealth to pass along because of white people?); many lots were purchased, and a year later the scheme was revisited. Most had been returned to the city, as the buyers realized they had to build on the lot within a few years - and they’d be transformed from rental-assisted gibsmedats to property tax payers.
Recently they tried again, and as I’ve heard nothing, I assume nobody bought any; it is a dead city, only on the map for its airport and train hub (which move people from one place outside Newark to another place outside Newark). The relatively tiny downtown basically shut down during COVID and never really recovered.
It is sad to watch the mayor posture and BS about how Newark could be the next Hoboken; buyers will wait until the cattle cars transport the current residents elsewhere before investing a penny there.