He now invests in renovating substandard buildings in the area, creating many jobs in the community.

No longer can a substandard building attract prime tenants simply because of a stellar address.

Others lived in substandard buildings [source: HUD].

For example, he said, some alderman have worried that cracking down on substandard buildings could leave poor families living in those buildings without affordable housing.

Literally hundreds of thousands of children are taught in substandard buildings.

He along with some other developers contend that substandard buildings left in renewal areas deteriorate into even worse slums.

In one episode of "Spenser for Hire," for example, businessmen are involved in bribery and murder in connection with the construction of substandard buildings.

He said the aliens paid rent and utilities of $60 to $70 a month, in addition to the fees for passage and documentation, to stay in substandard barracks-like buildings.

This bill represents a $50 million investment in housing code reform and is a major victory for all New Yorkers living in substandard buildings.

Only about 100 families still lived there, according to the Bridgeport Redevlopment Agency, many in substandard multifamily buildings that would probably have required demolition in a few years anyway.