How New York’s rent control laws threaten Orthodox livelihoods
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n the span of a few hours last Friday, progressive Democrats in the New York state legislature overturned a raft of laws, enacted over decades, that had served to stabilize New York state’s rental market. The move delivered a victory for tenants and prompted warnings of doom from property owners.
“Bad news,” one developer told Mishpacha. “Very bad news.”
By wide margins, the state assembly and senate and passed a series of bills that will make the city’s rent stabilization law permanent and make it harder for landlords to raise rents, even when they make improvements to their properties. Both houses also approved extending these new rules to localities across the state, all changes that were fiercely resisted by real estate industry lobbyists. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law, saying that developers would get no special favors in Albany.
The new rules will hit the Orthodox community particularly hard. While a century ago frum Jews found jobs in the apparel industry, and then diamonds and electronics, today there are a large number in the real estate business. Satellite industries like mortgage and insurance, law, construction, and plumbing will also be hit hard.
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