City councilmember Brad Lander just released an  interactive map of vacant, stalled or abandoned development sites the 39th City Council district, which includes Carroll Gardens , Cobble Hill, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park , and Kensington.

The map is available online at the Stalled Development website, where community members are encouraged to help track the status of the sites.

Says Lander: “We need to make these sites into assets for the community. These developments cause real hazards for their neighbors—fences falling down on sidewalks, loose construction debris that can become deadly in high winds, and unsecured sites that are dangerous for children and an invitation to squatting.”

Lander, who’s entire careers has been devoted to affordable housing at the Fifth Avenue Committee and the Pratt Center for Community Development, wants to develop policy initiatives that would keep these sites safe, address the hazards and nuisances to neighbors.

Here in his own words is his three-point plan:

1.    Impose a surcharge on vacant properties (including stalled development sites) that have a severe blighting effect on their surroundings;

2.    Strengthen the city’s ability to compel property owners to perform emergency repairs, complete them when the property owner is unable to, and to convert the cost of repairs into liens that are more easily foreclosable;

3.    Discourage speculation on troubled apartment buildings by changing state law to limit foreclosure auctions of multiple dwellings to responsible, credible bidders.