Housing advocacy groups gathered in Foley Square to rally against the warehousing issue in New York City that's keeping affordable apartments off the market. 

Thousands of apartments are reported to be empty, and according to the tenants who live next to them, they're also neglected by landlords in deteriorating conditions.

Tenants who live next door say they've seen mold, bird and rat feces, pipes and walls falling out, heating issues and more.

They say that landlords are purposely driving out low-income tenants to bring the rent up to market value.

Council members Gale Brewer and Carlina Rivera have backed Intro 195. The bill would require landlords to keep all vacant units in good, habitable conditions, to allow tenants to report empty apartments to 311 and for the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development to provide inspections to those units.

Brewer and Rivera are also asking the department to be more transparent when it comes to reporting numbers on vacant apartments.