[ [link removed] ]Add your name to urge your elected officials to pass legislation to
transform empty office spaces into affordable housing!

Dear MoveOn member,

The Biden administration just announced a multi-agency effort to encourage
states and cities to convert empty office buildings into housing
units.^1 This is a huge investment in a creative and sustainable solution
to our housing crisis—but we need local elected officials to seize the
opportunity and support the moment. 

Every day, millions of individuals and families in our country struggle to
find quality housing that they can afford, often sacrificing over half of
their wages to keep a roof over their heads, while others experience
housing instability and houselessness. Meanwhile, a staggering disparity
persists, as the ultrarich in America own, on average, nine homes.^2

[ [link removed] ]Addressing the housing crisis in the United States is an urgent need
that demands timely and innovative solutions. One obvious solution is all
around us: the countless empty office buildings collecting dust across
hundreds of cities.

[ [link removed] ]Graphic with a photo of people holding a sign that says "Housing is a
Human Right" and the text below that says "MAKE OFFICE SPACE INTO
AFFORDABLE HOUSING" and "SIGN THE PETITION" with the MoveOn logo in the
corner.

Local and state elected officials can and must take bold steps to address
this crisis of inequity and pass legislation to make it easier for empty
office buildings to be renovated and turned into affordable housing. And
it’s already happening. In New York, nearly 80 office buildings have been
repurposed into housing—and 200 more could be repurposed over the next
decade, paving the way for 20,000 units of new homes!^3

Together we can make affordable housing for all a reality. [ [link removed] ]Urge your
locally elected officials to streamline permitting processes, revise
zoning laws, establish tax exemptions and abatements, and create funding
and grants to drive and incentivize conversions.

Right now, nearly 1 billion square feet of office space sits vacant in the
United States.^4 Add your name to the petition and help repurpose these
empty office buildings into affordable housing for all!

[5]Sign the petition

Instead of trying to make workers who went remote at the beginning of
COVID-19 return to the office—forcing people to make impossible choices
between their families, health, and jobs—we can use this moment to
reimagine what’s possible and innovate to meet our country's most urgent
and pressing needs. 

Change is possible. Legislation in California has already been introduced
to make it easier to turn office buildings into affordable housing, and
local elected officials in cities like Pittsburgh and New York City have
also eased restrictions to incentivize reimagining vacant buildings into
housing.^5,6 [ [link removed] ]Add your name to help this movement spread across the
country.

This solution is not only good for people, it’s good for the environment.
New construction accounts for 11% of global carbon
emissions.^7 Repurposing existing buildings rather than starting
construction from scratch offers a more sustainable pathway to addressing
our housing crisis and urgent environmental priorities at the scale we
desperately need. 

Join thousands of fellow MoveOn members and ask your elected officials to
make this a reality in neighborhoods, cities, and states across the
country. [ [link removed] ]Sign the petition to make it easier to turn office buildings
into affordable housing!

Thanks for all you do.

–Aliya, Sana, Valeria, Amanda, and the rest of the team

Sources: 

1. "The Biden administration is encouraging the conversion of empty office
space to affordable housing," AP News, October 27, 2023
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

2. "Here's How Many Homes the Average Billionaire Now Owns," Fortune,
December 2, 2016
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

3. "Cities look to revive downtowns by converting offices to housing,"
PBS, April 24, 2023
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

4. "Visualizing 1 Billion Square Feet of Empty Office Space," Visual
Capitalist, July 7, 2023
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

5. "New York Plans to Open Parts of Midtown Manhattan to Housing," The New
York Times, August 17, 2023
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

6. "Pittsburgh City Council looking to repurpose old office building for
affordable housing," CBS News Pittsburgh, July 27, 2023
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

7. "Turning unused office space into housing could solve 2 problems, but
it's tricky," NPR, July 24, 2023
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

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It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online
petitions. You can [ [link removed] ]start your own petition here.

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