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Marc Fader/City Limits
Call for More Regulation of New York City Co-ops
Some 1 million New Yorkers live in co-ops, an affordable ownership option for many families. But some say the companies that sponsor coops are retaining too much control—at residents' expense.
For Some Landlords, It's Not Easy Going Green
If New York is to meet PlanNYC's goals, apartment buildings must get greener. While property owners and tenants both benefit from more efficient systems, getting them up and running takes a different kind of green.
Dozens of Properties, Millions of Dollars, No Landlord
One Bronx real estate operator had an interest in more than 100 buildings, most of them severely troubled. But when regulators or tenant advocates tried to push for improvements, they found no one to hold accountable.
Years of Warnings, Then a Boy’s Death
A Housing Court judge ordered repairs to the electrical system at the building on DeKalb Avenue. A year later, the work undone, an eight-year-old resident died in an electrical fire.
Corporate Ties Linked Troubled Buildings
The mortgages were massive—$36 million here, $32 million there, $19 million a couple years later. But the buildings remained in dismal shape, plagued by lead paint, rats and crime.
City Probe Uncovered Operator’s Power
After years of complaints about one Bronx real-estate figure, the city housing department issued an unprecedented subpoena. The records it turned up made for interesting reading.
Time to License Landlords?
Recent experiences with troubled buildings have housing advocates wondering if government needs new tools to protect tenants.
Why Bad Landlords Aren’t Locked Up
Prosecuting property owners for alleged negligence linked to fatal fires is hard to do, experts say. It’s only regularly attempted in high-profile cases involving firefighter victims.
Landlord Lawsuit Slapped Tenant Group
The Bronx activist group had targeted landlords and lenders before. This time, however, they were rewarded with a million-dollar lawsuit and a court order to leave the owner alone.
Properties Linked to Welfare Scam
Two people associated with a notorious portfolio of troubled Bronx buildings took guilty pleas after a welfare fraud investigation involving fake eviction cases.
Affordable Housing 'Maze' Confronts Would-Be Tenants
The city is in the midst of an historic plan to build affordable housing. But people who want to live in those low-income units face enormous difficulty finding and applying for government-subsidized apartments.
Crackdown on Conversions Confronts Danger and Necessity
Illegal apartments have figured in several tragic fires, prompting stricter enforcement. But they also play a role in meeting housing demand, leading some experts to wonder if a path to legalization is needed.
Cuts Cripple Housing Assistance Network in Inwood, Washington Heights
Residents looking for help with housing disputes must line up as early as 3 a.m to get assistance from cash-strapped community organizations in particularly vulnerable northern Manhattan neighborhoods.
Immigrants On Front Lines Of Housing Fight
First-generation New Yorkers are more likely to reside in rent-regulated housing than the rest of us. So as Albany weighs weakening or strengthening rent rules, some immigrants are raising their voices.
Life In A Landmark: Pioneering Public Housing Site Shows Its Age
For residents of First Houses—the Lower East Side site where public housing began in the United States—pride in their historic location is mixed with worries about deterioration inside.
10 Foreclosed Buildings. One Mystery Buyer. $19M In Problems.
As an unnamed buyer closes in on 10 Bronx buildings that fell into foreclosure after an overleveraged private-equity deal, an assessment says they need at least $19 million in repairs.
Nonprofit Eyeing Distressed Buildings Faces Tenant Resistance
Hope Community LDC wants to purchase 47 East Harlem buildings out of foreclosure. But a tenant organization has raised questions about the would-be buyer's past record.
Pols Warn Foreclosed Buildings' Mystery Buyer
Tenants and elected officials are suspicious of the unnamed buyer eyeing 10 distressed Bronx buildings, but the city's housing chief wants to give the new owner a chance.
Behind The Scenes Of An Eviction
Most of the evictions that City Marshal Oren Varnai conducts aren't dangerous; they're simply "uncomfortable."
Opponents Mobilize Against New Harlem Charter School
With housing so expensive in New York, tenants lease apartments and houses. However, the recent economic recession and real estate market crash has made both tenants’ and landlords’ lives tricky. Tenant activists are trying to repeal vacancy decontrol, and rent regulation laws are eligible for renewal. With all of this opportunity for change, Governor Cuomo has come under a a fair amount of criticism from tenant advocacy groups.
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A Tragedy in the Bronx - Jarrett Murphy
Watch a video interview with the father of an 8-year-old boy killed in a 2002 fire at a Bronx apartment building that was under court order to fix its flawed electrical system.
Report Slams Housing Court For Tenant Treatment - Milesska Contreras
Access to lawyers, translation services and childcare would make Brooklyn Housing Court a fairer forum, according to a coalition of community groups.
Tenants, Pinnacle Eye Settlement Of Long-Running Dispute - Jarrett Murphy
Lawyers for both sides say there is a proposed settlement in the lawsuit tenants filed 2007 against the Pinnacle Group, alleging improper rent hikes and evictions.
The Economics Of Rent Control, Revisited - Jarrett Murphy
As Albany heads toward a renewal of rent control, it's time to study up on the traditional arguments against rent regulation, and the counterpoints.
Tenant Advocates Wary Of Rent Reg Talks - Gena Mangiaratti
State leaders are edging toward a deal to preserve rent regulations. But advocates who'd hoped not just to save the laws but to strengthen them wonder what the final deal will look like.
Crown Heights: At The Corner Of Old And New - Patrick Wall
An influx of young, more affluent residents is remaking the Brooklyn neighborhood. What's gained, and what's lost, in this transformation? Watch a video interview with reporter Patrick Wall.
EVENTS
Cooperative Conversions, 101.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
9:30a - 12:30p
Cooperative Conversions, 101.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
9:30a - 12:30a
Cooperative Conversions, 101.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
9:30p - 12:30p
CONVERSATIONS/OPINONS
Housing Court Crisis Demands Action
With 2,000 cases rolling in every day and 11,000 families losing their housing last year, a survey found that tenants are at a stark disadvantage in Bronx Housing Court.
Sister to a 'Worst Landlord'
"It doesn’t feel good to see your own brother featured in the news as the year’s worst landlord. It would feel even worse to be doing nothing about it."
Council Eyes Systemic Remedy for Housing Violations
Tenants may for the first time experience a code enforcement system that rewards their organizing efforts with lasting improvements in their buildings and their lives.
MULTIMEDIA
Report on Jiggets Fraud Case
The Jiggets program was set up to help low-income tenants avoid eviction by subsidizing rent for people on the verge of being thrown out. But as this report by an inspector general indicates, some landlords used the program to enrich themselves.
Pledge Agreement for Palazzolo Associate
A complex set of corporate relationships (such as the one outlined in these documents, produced under subpoena for New York City;s housing department and obtained by FOIL request) linked Frank Palazzolo, a wealthy real estate operator, and several troubled properties.
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The Tackling Poverty Series at Galapagos Art Space in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn.Tackling Poverty (Manhattan)
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