NYC Mayoral Candidates Land Use Policy Recap

The Mayoral Election will help shape the City’s land use and housing policymaking decisions. Between now and June 20th, early voting is available for the NYC Primary, in which New Yorkers will help decide who will be the next Mayor of New York City. Over the course of their campaigns, mayoral candidates have developed and shared their positions on a variety of land use and housing issues including developing affordable housing, handling the eviction and <Read More>


City Planning Hears Application for Hotel, Affordable Housing in Belmont

The proposed hotel would be located near several cultural, academic and medical institutions within the Bronx. On March 3, 2021, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for an application to build a hotel and a residential building on East 188th Street between Arthur Avenue and Hughes Avenue. Currently, the site consists of low-density residential and commercial buildings and a funeral home; none of the residential units are currently rent stabilized, and the commercial <Read More>


Landlord loses eviction action

Landlord sued to evict tenants from six-unit building in order to provide apartment for son. Shlomo Karpen owns a six-unit, rent-stabilized building in Brooklyn comprised of two rented units on the first, second and third floors. In June 2018, Karpen notified the tenants in the rented apartments that he would not renew their leases and intended to take over the apartments to make a four-bedroom apartment for his son. In October 2018, Karpen commenced an … <Read More>


London Terrace case remanded

Landlord classified rental apartments as being destabilized and charged tenants market rate rents despite receiving J-51 tax benefits. London Terrace Gardens, located along West 23rd Street in Manhattan and built in 1930, occupies an entire block and has 1700 apartments. After the enactment of the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1993, London Terrace Gardens began deregulating rent-stabilized apartments through high-rent vacancy decontrol. London Terrace Gardens subsequently received J-51 tax abatement and exemption benefits after … <Read More>


Mayor’s Office Announces Conversion of Temporary Homeless Shelters into Permanent Affordable Housing

The conversion is another step in the City’s plan to address the homelessness crisis. On November 19, 2019, the Mayor’s Office announced its transition into the second phase of a plan to convert temporary homeless shelters into permanently affordable housing units. According to the Mayor’s Office, this plan will help not-for-profit housing developers acquire and rehabilitate an additional 14 residential “cluster site” buildings, currently being used to house homeless families, and convert them into over … <Read More>


Landlord Fined $53,100 for Residential Tenants’ Illegal Transient Use

The Appellate Division affirmed fines for illegal conversion of residential units as hotel rooms. 360 West 43rd Street is a 28-story, 264 rent-stabilized unit building in Midtown, Manhattan. On June 5, 2015, the owner sent three tenants a letter advising them that their leases would be terminated and they would be evicted if they continued illegally renting out the apartments for hotel use.