In an op-ed yesterday in the New York Post, Nicole Gelinas of the right-leaning Manhattan Institute makes yet another case against rent-regulation in New York City apartments, a timely topic given the looming deadline for the current regs and all the recent mishegosh in Albany as a result.
Curbed has a great Read More
Food and shelter are two of life’s basic necessities. For those who need assistance feeding themselves, the Food Stamp Program is available. This program issues monthly benefits that can be used to purchase food at authorized retail food stores. Food stamp benefits help low-income working people, seniors, the disabled and others feed their Read More
City Councilman Jumaane Williams slammed both the Bloomberg and Cuomo administrations at a rally for rent regulations today at City Hall, saying that those in power do not care about the middle-class or the poor.
“What they’re saying is that they don’t want to tax the rich people, but they’ll tax the middle class and Read More
The pro-rent regulation folks are upset.
Last night, Tenants PAC, a group devoted to expanding rent regulations in New York, sent out a press release announcing that it was rescinding endorsements for three Senate Democrats from outside the city: David Valesky, Brian Foley, and Darrel Aubertine. The group had pushed to get all three elected over Read More
When Democrats won control of the State Senate from Republicans in November 2008, the common sentiment was that New York City landlords were going to be in trouble. With Democrats controlling both houses of the Legislature and the governor’s mansion, tenant activists expected to be able to pass a raft of new legislation that would Read More
Last Friday, I was given the opportunity to testify before the Rent Guidelines Board regarding the current state of the multifamily market. The RGB is the entity that establishes the legal rent increases for rent-regulated apartments in New York. My testimony focused on some fundamental problems within the system and the need for Read More
In the world of tenant activists, 2009 was a year of tremendous optimism. And then it wasn’t.
Democratic control of the State Senate failed to provide any of the radical changes to rent laws that activists had long fought for—and that were expected once Republicans were booted from the majority. Deadlock dominated; the housing committee Read More
In 2009, perhaps the most interesting trend in the city’s multifamily market was that both median and average sales prices per square foot for walk-up buildings exceeded those of elevator buildings.
Interestingly, this counterintuitive dynamic was observed in each borough. In Manhattan, we saw walk-ups average $530 per square foot; elevator buildings Read More
In the heat of the bidding for Stuyvesant Town in 2006, a sale that gripped the real estate world, Mayor Bloomberg and his administration were begged by housing advocates to intervene to help preserve the 11,200-unit complex as middle-class housing. The existing tenants, Senator Chuck Schumer and Council Speaker Christine Quinn joined in the chorus, Read More
Looks like the tenants at Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village are viewing the impending default on the 11,200-apartment property with some hope they can get new layers of protection from market rate conversions. The Times reported that owners Tishman Speyer and BlackRock, along with their investors, will miss a debt payment Friday, plunging the $5.4 Read More
