Providing perhaps the most suspense is what's known as the "unique or peculiar" provision, part of the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974. That provision lets building owners set a new rent without having to base it on an unusual one, such as a reduced rate the owner was charging a family member. But since 2005, a state court ruling has allowed this so-called "unique or peculiar" provision to apply to many apartments coming out of the Mitchell-Lama program. The upshot is that some owners of Mitchell-Lama buildings leaving the program can apply to the state for the "unique or peculiar" exemption, letting them base the new rents on market rates, instead of the low rents under Mitchell-Lama.
These factors are key as owners – who received tax breaks and favorable loan rates in this signature New York state housing program in exchange for keeping rents well below market rate for at least 20 years – move in ever-greater numbers to remove their buildings from the affordability program, as the original law allowed, and profit from the city's hot real estate market.
It's the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) that has the power to grant or deny the "unique or peculiar" designation for former Mitchell-Lama developments, and it's DHCR that may be making one of next moves. In a meeting last month between housing advocates and DHCR officials, including Commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen, the division said it will issue a policy on "unique or peculiar" in "a few weeks," according to Dina Levy of the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB), who attended the meeting.
A spokesman for DHCR, Dan Irizarry, wasn't able to immediately confirm the division's plans. But DHCR officials said "they want to set a policy, they have the authority to set a policy, and they're looking to do so very soon, within the next several weeks," according to Amy Chan, a tenant organizer with Tenants & Neighbors who also was at the meeting, which she called an informal meet-and-greet session with DHCR. Chan said it was an informal meeting, with DHCR inviting a few housing groups to meet the recently appointed deputy commissioner of rent administration, Leslie Torres.
Meanwhile, the owners of 11 developments that left the Mitchell-Lama program in 2005 and 2006 have filed papers in state supreme court. The filings ask the court to force DHCR to let them base post-Mitchell-Lama rents on "prevailing rents" in the neighborhood – in short, to make DHCR act on their "unique and peculiar" applications. Larry Gluck of Stellar Management is a stakeholder, as well as the manager, for all 11 buildings. Court proceedings are scheduled for June 13 – but it's possible DHCR will rule first.
"I think the regulations will supersede the court case," said Jacques Rose, the lawyer for tenants' associations in two of the 11 developments, which are located in several boroughs. "If those regulations are issued, the court case may become moot."
Gluck's spokeswoman, Kathy Cudahy, could not be reached for comment.
