New York City real estate interests are putting on a full-court press this year for what they’re calling “vacancy reset”: legislation allowing landlords to raise rents as much as they want on rent-regulated apartments that have been occupied for at least 10 … Continue reading
The Great Airbnb War entered its latest chapter five months ago, when New York City enacted its crackdown on short-term vacation rentals, forcing anyone offering stays of less than 30 days to prove their legality by registering with the city. Airbnb hosts have … Continue reading
One of the truisms of modern “Rent Is Too Damn High” New York City is that rent-stabilized apartments are all but impossible to find unless you’re lucky enough to inherit one from a deceased relative. And a new report issued … Continue reading
One stormy evening last summer, in a corner of a playground on Union Street in Flushing, a small crowd gathered. They were residents of 140-35 Franklin Avenue one block to the south, and they were there to hear Aaron Carr, … Continue reading
StreetEasy has all but usurped the apartment-finding role once held by Craigslist, and before that, by rushing out to pick up the Voice on Tuesday nights before your fellow would-be renters. Ever since the site launched its first subway ad … Continue reading
When New York state’s 421-a tax break program came crashing down early last year amid a standoff between developers and construction unions over wages, there were mixed feelings among many housing advocates. On the one hand, 421-a had been a … Continue reading
The city’s venerable 421-a tax break for housing development, which expired last January and which Governor Cuomo now wants to renew and expand, has long come under fire from housing advocates as an insanely inefficient way to spur new residential … Continue reading
After a rush of activity culminating in last spring’s approval of the sweeping Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability reforms to the city’s zoning code, the approval of the rezoning of East New York, and the withdrawal … Continue reading
For the one million New York City tenants living in rent-stabilized apartments, it’s a familiar dance: Your landlord offers to fix your splintering floor or crumbling kitchen cabinets, if you’ll agree to a rent hike. Landlords can use a panoply … Continue reading
When Bushwick community groups announced in January 2014 that Read Properties, owners of the long-derelict Rheingold Brewery site along Flushing Avenue, had agreed to build as many as 200 units of affordable housing as part of the city’s rezoning of … Continue reading