Under construction (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)

The Stand for Tenant Safety/Coalition to End Apartment Warehousing applauds the New York State housing agency’sproposed regulations regarding the first rents for combined or “Frankensteined” apartments. Under that proposal, where at least part of a newly-combined apartment is rent-stabilized,the

Housing across the city (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

I can’t say I am optimistic about 2023. Increasingly I am hearing from owners of rent-stabilized apartment buildings that they will not be able to make their mortgage payments this month or soon thereafter. A confluence of "once in a lifetime" events is pushing this much needed housing toward the brink of insolvency...

Housing New York City (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

June 14, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: What Building Owners Want from the Rent Guidelines Board and Policy-Makers

Jay Martin, executive director of CHIP, The Community Housing Improvement Program, which represents 4,000 owners and managers of over 400,000 rent-stabilized rental properties in New York City, joined the show to discuss what his members want to see from the NYC Rent Guidelines Board and policy-makers at the city and state levels.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what

A proposed housing reform (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)

In June 2019, state lawmakers significantly altered a provision of the rent stabilization laws called preferential rents. It was the ability for a housing provider to offer a rent that was lower than the legal limit, where such limits apply. Under the change in law, tens of thousands of tenants with preferential rents are locked in to rent increases that can never be more than what is

State Senator Michael Gianaris (photo: Senator Michael Gianaris/flickr)

April 15, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Senator Michael Gianaris on 'Canceling Rent' & State Senate Priorities

State Senator Michael Gianaris, a Queens Democrat who is the Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate, joined the show to discuss his push to

Inwood (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)

New York state government’s recent rent regulation reforms gave tenant advocates reason to celebrate, eliminating major loopholes that allowed landlords to raise rents and deregulate units among the roughly 1 million city apartments currently governed by the rent laws. One unforeseen consequence of the new Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, however, is how the strengthened regulations may imperil a tenant lawsuit against New York City government on the impacts of a recent neighborhood rezoning of Inwood,

Gov. Cuomo and Long Island officials (photo: Governor's Office)

I’ve seen a lot through my five decades fighting for tenants in Albany, but I’ve never seen as tectonic a shift in power like we witnessed during this most recent legislative session.

For decades, the real estate lobby has spent more than the gross domestic product of many small countries to keep incumbents in power and ensure that the deck remained decidedly stacked against tenants, cementing a political status quo as solidly as the foundation of any

(photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)

June 12, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast:Dissecting Dynamics in Albany, with Casey Seiler

Casey Seiler, managing editor of the Albany Times Union, joined the show to discuss the end of the legislative session in Albany, including the historic deal reach on rent regulations,

What's The [Data] Point? Episode 75 -- 6/15, Crunch Time in Albany as Rent Regulations Expire, with REBNY's John Banks and Assemblymember Harvey Epstein [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

Rent regulations impacting about 1 million New York City apartments home to 2 million people are set to expire June 15. State lawmakers and

(photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)

April 3, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: The Debate Over Rent Regulations

(photo: governor's office)

Although the state budget approved earlier this week included several progressive priorities for Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature, there are still three months left in the legislative session this year and a list of remaining items on which the governor and legislators have promised action.

Taking advantage of their party’s newfound control over both houses of the Legislature, Democrats moved a long list of bills already this year, both prior to and in the budget. Though there has been a

(photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photography Office)

This is part of AGENDA 2019, a joint Gotham Gazette-City Limits project
Find the rest of the series here

One of the most contentious issues on the 2019 docket in Albany will be the expiring rent regulations that apply to roughly 1 million apartments in New York City and determine several ways in which rents are capped and when and by how much landlords are allowed to increase rents or remove a unit from the regulated rolls. While the

(photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photo Office)

This is part of AGENDA 2019, a joint Gotham Gazette-City Limits project
Find the rest of the series here

Today, New Yorkers are living in an era of mass displacement ...

MNN discussion

This is part of AGENDA 2019, a joint Gotham Gazette-City Limits project
Find the rest of the series here

As part of Agenda 2019, Gotham Gazette and City Limits are partnering with Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) on a series of television shows. The first show is part of Agenda 2019 housing week: hosts Ben Max and

tenants Hunter & Corchado outside 431 Bleecker (via vimeo)

On a Wednesday last month, a group of community activists and politicians including Assemblymember Maritza Davila and then-State Senate candidate Julia Salazar gathered outside an apartment building in Brooklyn, where they protested a landlord in front of one of several properties he owns.

“Our landlord -- terrible, terrible, terrible,” said Ermelinda Corchado, a tenant who was moved to tears as she told the crowd of more than

IDC members (photo: @IDC4NY)

For years, dysfunction and real estate power brokers have prevented Albany from strengthening tenant protections in New York, and the result of these failures has been devastating for our neighborhoods: we continue to suffer from record homelessness and increasing displacement across the state.

The Independent Democratic Conference — a group of eight breakaway state senators elected as Democrats — has been a leading force of obstruction since 2011, partnering with Senate Republicans to shut out tenant voices

(photo via The Mayor's Office)

Every 20 years, the New York State Constitution mandates a statewide vote on whether to convene a convention to consider amending it. On Tuesday, Election Day, New Yorkers will vote “yes” or “no.” This measure, question one of three on the back of the ballot, is more important than anything on the front.

Tenants Political Action Committee debated this question at length, and despite many arguments in favor, we voted unanimously to oppose a “con con” this time around.

This was not a

Keith Wright, Charles Rangel, and others (photo via Wright's campaign)

New York Assemblymember Keith Wright’s congressional campaign has flooded inboxes declaring him a “champion” for tenants. Many see it as an appropriate description for the housing committee chair - his campaign touts the support of “100 tenant leaders” and he has a long history of advocating for renters, starting in the 1980s as the head of the tenant association in Harlem’s Riverton Houses, where he still lives. Wright and his fellow tenants recently settled a lawsuit with their landlord for $2 million after