When a legislated wage provision prompts developers to limit buildings to 99 units, they create larger apartments to use more of the square footage allowed by zoning. The result: higher rents. That is not what the NYS legislature intended. But it was predictable. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

How 485x is distorting development and raising rents

Apartments in 99-unit projects, which invariably use 485x, are 200 square feet larger than in buildings that don’t, CityTracker.ai found.

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When rolling blackouts become a regular occurrence in New York, don’t say we weren’t warned. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Dark days lie ahead for New York, literally

When blackouts become the norm in New York, don’t say we weren’t warned. The grid operator’s forecasts have become increasingly dire.

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Use this fabulous map to find NYC properties on Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax list. I see 30 on my mom's block. I doubt any are pieds-à-terre. Getting off the list will be a hassle. Suggestion: open a side business helping homeowners upload documents to the DOF website. therealdeal.com/data/new-yor...

See which NYC properties could be hit with the pied-à-terre tax

Take your real estate business to the next level with TRD Data access. A one-stop resource that provides exclusive access to proprietary data and contacts for real estate companies and leading industr...

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Mamdani dislikes the 40x income requirement. He says landlords should let tenants move into units that, technically, they can't afford. Yet he uses rent-burden data to justify a rent freeze. That’s forcing landlords to do good deeds, then punishing them for it. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Mamdani: Be lenient with poor tenants, and I’ll freeze your rents

Mayor Zohran Mamdani says tenants should be able to lease apartments they technically cannot afford, which in turn justifies a rent freeze.

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Is the BQE essential to NYC? I would say no. Why not use that land for what makes NYC great? Homes, businesses, mass transit and parks. Instead of a cost, it would be a huge revenue source. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Replace BQE with what makes NYC great

Replacing the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway with transit and traditional avenues would be a boon for real estate and New York City.

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Any policy that limits housing production in the name of safety (but actually has some other agenda) should take into account that the housing shortage causes homelessness, which shortens lifespans considerably. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

A matter of life and death: Why office conversions must continue

Raising labor costs for office conversions would mean less housing and more homelessness, which is far more dangerous than construction.

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One anecdote not in this story: The city padlocked a deli for illegal cannabis. Only the rats could get in, and they had a feast. Eventually, the landlord got the sheriff to remove the padlock for a few hours so a crew could remove the food. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

After cannabis crackdown, landlords cope with padlocked stores

The press conferences about shuttered smoke shops have given way to the dirty work of reclaiming retail space and rent arrears.

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I'm getting positive and negative feedback on this column. I tried to address the mayor's rhetoric on landlords with an analogy that would resonate with him. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

What people hear when Mamdani bashes “corporate landlords”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is rightfully outraged when demagogues portray Muslims as evil, but he does the same thing with landlords.

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You no longer have to imagine how politics affects decisions at the state housing agency. A former DHCR official laid it out in a court filing that has since been sealed by a judge. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Smoking gun: Former state official reveals secret decision that kneecapped landlords

Under political pressure, state regulators secretly changed a policy to make it harder to remove buildings from rent stabilization, according to testimony from former official Woody Pascal.

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“What did you do with $96 million that you couldn’t fix our building thoroughly?” a Rutland Plaza tenant demanded. It turns out that $76 million of that taxpayer money went to keep tenants in their units at below-market rents. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Frustrated tenants bite hands that fed them

Rutland Plaza tenants say their building’s in bad shape despite $96 million from New York state, but $76 million was for rent support.

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A commenter on a Gothamist story credits Mamdani for this action by the CPC and Related, but they were chosen by the Biden administration's FDIC to buy the landlord's debt in 2023, before Mamdani was anywhere near City Hall. www.openweb.com/share/3G8aO9... therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

wow, what a difference in this city administration and that of previous mayors from adams to DeBlasioFinally doing something to help the people who make this city work, who make this city liveableyup a Democratic Socialist who knew? out will come the guns of rhe hatersunable to positively reply …

openweb.com

What if tenants had to pay the true cost of housing? Tracey Towers’ rents from 2015-2024 rose 2.1% per year as the buildings crumbled and mortgage arrears grew. Now they're facing a 30% rent hike over 4 years. Here, Mamdani can't force the owner to swallow the costs. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Memo to tenants: Be careful what you wish for

If rent-stabilized tenants owned their buildings, they would face the same sticker shock as Mitchell-Lama renters.

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If Mayor Mamdani wants more housing violations cleared, he should make it easier to clear them. Start by moving the process online. It's crazy that you have to mail or hand-deliver a paper application to cure an infraction. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Stone Age system: Violations process still not digital

New York City is moving HPD violations processing to a single location. But what would really be nice is moving it online.

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Elections rarely turn on a single issue, but Netanyahu’s aggression since Hamas’ Oct. 7 atrocities has been a motivator for DSA. So has Trump’s second term. “They’re able to capture that emotion and use it to win. Mamdani did the same thing.” —Brad Tusk therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Election post-mortem: Where the industry went wrong

Writing checks to moderate candidates has been a failing strategy for the industry against ideological, hard-working opponents.

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The challenge of cheap markets: A developer would make a killing if he could build luxury rentals in NYC for $160K per unit. But in Lake Charles, LA, he might not be able to make his loan payments. In fact, that seems to be what happened. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

The challenge of cheap markets

A local firm built luxury apartments in downtown Lake Charles, Louisiana, a cheap market compared to other hot spots, but lost the complex to New York City-based Muss Development.

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Four members of the Knicks' championship team were in the 2018 @NBA draft. Only one of the four, Mitch Robinson (#36), was drafted by the Knicks. The others: Mikal Bridges (#10), Landry Shamet (#26) and Jalen Brunson (#33).

Instead of bus parking, 1031 Eastern Parkway will become 379 affordable homes near a transit hub. The developer entitled the land using a path that for some reason has only been used 9 times since its creation 9 years ago. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

A most unlikely project

Coconut Properties turned to an obscure legal precedent to build 20 stories of affordable housing on a lot zoned for manufacturing.

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The media overlooked that Mayor Mamdani abandoned his pledge to build 200K city-funded social housing units. He kept the goal for affordable units but will rely on for-profit investors to create most of it, cross-subsidized by an untold number of market-rate units. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

How Mamdani cut $78B from housing plan, yet added units

Pivoting from an unrealistic campaign promise, the mayor will unleash the private sector to finance and develop mixed-income housing.

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People with no authority or expertise will fight obviously beneficial projects just because they weren't consulted sooner, like before the project was even conceived. For once I'd like to hear someone say, "Great idea! Thanks for moving quickly on this." therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Kneejerk opponents wonder why they don’t get early notice

Activists are fighting a $7 million, state-funded bus terminal project, claiming late notice, though it was announced four months ago.

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There's a lot of drama in data center development. That's why the CEO of Youngwoo & Associates loves her job. Here, I explore some reasons for the controversy, which another industry person claimed is fueled by "misinformation." therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

The Daily Dirt: Data center drama

Some towns are advertising for data centers, eager to reap huge tax revenues. Other places are passing moratoriums on them.

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I write a lot about the failures of government. Here's a success: The charter revisions proposed by the Adams administration and enacted by voters last year are triggering housing projects that would otherwise never happen, including this one in Brooklyn. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

In Bay Ridge, impossible to build becomes impossible to stop

Daniel Grinshteyn’s BWH Group can win approval to build hundreds of apartments in low-scale Bay Ridge under New York City’s new process.

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Developers, the de Blasio administration and former Council member Espinal deserve an apology from activists who opposed the East New York rezoning. Instead, the opponents doubled down, despite the evidence of its success. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Real estate ready for activists’ apology

Opponents of the East New York rezoning won’t admit that it created homes for the very New Yorkers they claimed it would displace.

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If @mayor.nyc.gov @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social is ever going to call out fellow Democrats for blocking housing, this seems like the time. If Jo Anne Simon and Marcela Mitaynes face no repercussions, they'll just keep doing it. www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Key financing measure for Brooklyn waterfront overhaul left out of state budget

The multibillion-dollar proposal encountered opposition in the state Assembly.

politico.com

I looked into a $4M Bronx sale to see who's still buying rent-stabilized buildings, but found myself more interested in the seller. The 20-building, debt-free, well-kept portfolio assembled by Howard Alkoff over 40-plus years was being sold. He died last month at 93. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

The Daily Dirt: The life and death of a landlord

Howard Alkoff owned rent-stabilized buildings in the Bronx for 40-plus years until his death at 93

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In today's Daily Dirt, the Tenant Protection Unit goes on a retaliatory fishing expedition, the pied-a-terre tax looks like it will triple the bill of a luxury co-op, Northeast home sales plunge, and the @NYCCouncil digs into the dog-poop problem. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

The Daily Dirt: Fear of retribution silences owner

A whisper network recounting stories of Tenant Protection Unit hounding owners even with no proof of harassment is silencing landlords.

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“There is no way that a political process is going to create a good outcome for tenants and buildings over the long run.” — Rafael Cestero, CEO of the Community Preservation Corporation. Here's my latest column on NY’s rent stabilization crisis therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

“No way to create a good outcome”: NY’s rent stabilization crisis

Even if profit opportunities remain for “disciplined” buyers of rent-stabilized buildings, so do risks, and several are likely to happen.

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Good cause eviction has not been a big topic in NYC since the law passed in 2024. But one real estate exec believes it is causing more tenants to stay put, which means fewer units opening up and higher rents for those that do. Anyone else seeing that? therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Is good cause eviction causing tenants to stay put?

A real estate executive says good cause eviction has tenants staying in apartments longer, reducing availability and raising rents.

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This shouldn't be at all controversial. But it is, because of NIMBY opposition and the need for the local NYC Council member to get credit for something. That's standard politics; I get it. A deal will be cut, and if not, there's now an appeals process therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Gotham Org’s Bushwick project pits liberal pol against Mamdani

Council member Lincoln Restler says he’ll only approve Monitor Point if the city builds a park and makes half the units affordable.

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A reader asked me why anyone who believes we need more housing opposes build-to-rent development. Good question. Here is my take. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

The Daily Dirt: Why would anyone oppose single-family rentals?

A bill to kill build-to-rent housing isn’t likely to pass, but the threat of it is already stopping projects. What is the rationale?

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A tenant rep on the Rent Guidelines Board says landlords can offset rising expenses by buying less of the stuff that has become more expensive. He did not say how that is possible. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

Tenant rep uncovers magic solution to rent stabilization crisis

The solution to the rent stabilization crisis had gone overlooked until a tenant representative revealed it.

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