Opinion: New York City Must Act to Preserve Its Rent-Stabilized Housing

"The system that sustains New York City's rent stabilized housing has been badly fractured. We need to balance physical and financial soundness with affordability. In 1974 when the major banks founded the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), its animating principle was to work with government to build and maintain a legislative and regulatory framework capable of renewing and sustaining the city's neighborhood housing. Lenders, government, and civic institutions alike must renew that commitment-to both protect this housing and its residents."

"Start with the growing financial distress in city-subsidized, rent-stabilized housing. A recent report from the New York Housing Conference (NYHC) documents how rising operating costs-unmatched by comparable rent growth-are pushing many buildings toward mortgage default, with serious implications for financing both the preservation of existing housing and the building of new housing. Some 213,000 apartments are affected."

"NYHC recommends a number of sensible actions to address this, including resetting rents on vacancies affordable to households at 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), and avoiding lengthy delays in re-renting apartments. They also recommend $1 billion of new funds to protect the over $16 billion of public funds invested to build and/or renovate properties developed over the last two decades."

"An even larger segment of rental buildings faces serious problems-a category that NYU's Furman Center defines as "legacy" rent stabilized buildings. These include non-subsidized buildings, built before 1974-over half built before World War II-that contain six or more units, with 90 percent or more of their apartments rent stabilized. This high percentage"

New York City’s rent stabilized housing system is fractured, creating financial distress in city-subsidized buildings where operating costs rise faster than rents, pushing many properties toward mortgage default. About 213,000 apartments are affected. Recommendations include resetting rents on vacancies at levels affordable to households earning 60 percent of area median income, and avoiding delays in re-renting apartments. Additional funding of $1 billion is proposed to protect more than $16 billion of public funds invested in building and renovating properties over the last two decades. A larger set of “legacy” rent stabilized buildings also faces serious problems, including non-subsidized buildings built before 1974, often before World War II, with six or more units and at least 90 percent rent stabilized apartments.

Read at City Limits