McKee's Media - 8/2/2019

ARTICLES OF INTEREST TO TENANT ADVOCATES:

LANDLORDS' RESPONSE TO NEW RENT LAWS

Scott Lemieux: Landlord lawsuit against NY rent regulations should be laughed out of court, but it might find a receptive audience among conservative federal judges (City & State OpEd)

Kathryn Brenzel: REBNY issues lease template to guide landlords through changes in rent laws (The Real Deal) 

Liz Kim: Lenox Terrace tries to raise tenant's preferential rent by $1,100 (Gothamist)

HOUSING COURT DATA (Landlords barred from using tenant screening from that data)

Sarina Trangle: Advocates call for release of housing court data but with privacy protections (amny)

MAKING HOUSING AFFORDABLE

Wall Street Journal: Buyer of Manhattan rental buildings will convert 2800 to affordable housing in return for tax breaks

New York Times editorial: Ruckus over a rich Maryland suburb's attempt to allow homeowners to create basement or backyard apartments shows how difficult it is to provide affordable housing

HOME SEIZURE PROGRAM HURTS COMMUNITIES OF COLOR

Curbed NY: City Council members say City's home-seizure program unfairly targets communities of color

SHELTERS AND POLITICIANS

Greg Smith: Woes at Wards Island shelter overseen by Andrew Cuomo's sister (THE CITY)

Denis Slattery: Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi slams Andrew Cuomo for blocking Housing Stability Support while raking in campaign $$ from shelter providers (Daily News)

New York Times: Cuomo rakes in campaign cash from contractors seeking business from the MTA

New York Times editorial: Cuomo's accepting millions in campaign contributions from MTA contractors illustrates need to end pay-to-play system

Bernie Sanders: I grew up in a rent-controlled apartment (CNN)

HuffPost: Nancy Pelosi slams Jared Kushner as a "Baltimore slumlord"

NYCHA

Bart Schwartz: Federal monitor reports on why NYCHA residents suffer (Daily News OpEd)

New York Times editorial: NYC needs new approach to fix our public housing

TENANT ACTION

Sabina Mollot: Tenants win class action status in latest Croman lawsuit (Real Estate Weekly)

Patch: Fed-up Chelsea tenants plagued with lead dust go on rent strike

Patch: Inwood tenants sue landlord  Barberry Rose to stop displacement

CAN LANDLORD EVICT TENANT TO MOVE IN FAMILY?

Ask Sam: Can my landlord evict me to move in his family? (Brick Underground)

 

DEVELOPMENT PLANS

THE CITY: Judge halts plans for three waterfront mega-towers on Lower East Side

MISCELLANEOUS

LocalSyr: State legislators ask A.G. to investigate mobile home park without electricity

New York Times: New York State officials sue predatory rent-to-own home seller

City Limits interview with City Council Member Rafael Espinal on Bushwick rezoning