Progressive Manhattan lawmakers again push ‘rent control for the rich'
Two progressive Manhattan state lawmakers are back to pushing 'rent control for the rich' to benefit residents of 'Billionaire's Row.'
State Sen. Liz Krueger and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal tried to sneak this into law last year, losing out only after we called out the injustice.
Once again, their proposal applies to roughly 100 co-op buildings, mainly in Manhattan, that sit on land someone else owns; these 'ground leases' are renegotiated every 20 to 30 years and usually result in a rent reset for shareholders.
Right now, an arbitration process kicks in when ground owners and co-ops can't agree on a rent reset after the ground lease expires — all as per the original contracts.
The Krueger-Rosenthal bill, narrowly approved 10-9 last month by the state Senate Judiciary Committee, would unconstitutionally rewrite those private contracts to limit land-rent hikes to 3% or the Consumer Price Index (whichever is greater).
It would also guarantee lease renewals at the same terms for up to 30 years and grant co-op boards right of first refusal if the landowner opts to sell the parcel.
As ideological cover, the bill would also force some outer-borough units in land-lease co-op buildings back under the rent laws — decades after they left when the building went co-op.
Except that this would force some owners to dig up rent records — from as long as 46 years ago — that the law didn't require them to keep.
The two Manhattan progressives are plainly looking to curry favor with a few wealthy constituents who'd see the value of their units skyrocket.
Never mind the horrific precedent this would set as the Legislature tears up existing contracts by overriding the terms of agreement.
Even if the law eventually got tossed as unconstitutional, it would poison New York's business by proving that the Legislature holds contract rights in complete contempt.
If Senate and Assembly leaders don't quash this madness, Gov. Hochul should tee up her veto pen.
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