"Hefty profit"? I don't see how that is good investing -- properties sell based on yield. If someone buys a prime property and it generates 3 or 4% per year.. then they're not going to let it sit empty for two years.
Renters do have leverage here. You're not going to get it for $1000, but you might for $2500 or $2200.
I don't have a super great understanding of real estate, so my example might be over simplistic and flat-out wrong. This article has better explanations for why vacant spaces remain vacant in NYC (although it applies more to commercial than residential):
Trust me, as a resident, this phenomenon is real. There are a number of stores in my neighborhood that have been vacant for literally the entire time I've lived in the area (~ 2 years).
As a general rule of thumb, renters (both commercial and residential) really don't have much leverage in NYC, except under extremely rare circumstances. It's hard to understand unless you actually live here, but the rule governing real estate elsewhere in the USA don't really apply here.
Renters do have leverage here. You're not going to get it for $1000, but you might for $2500 or $2200.