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That has already happened. Most of the people that currently live in rent controlled or price stabilized apartments got them decades ago. The waiting list for

That has already happened. Most of the people that currently live in rent controlled or price stabilized apartments got them decades ago. The waiting list for any units that become available is extremely long. That effectively means most rent control is helping the elderly. I present that without comment or judgement, it's just a fact. The elderly are generally not the people manning the counter at your local bodega. They are not your local construction workers, doormen, or bartenders. All of those people, the ones that are the backbone of the service economy within Manhattan, already live in the outer boroughs. So the question effectively becomes does it make sense to subsidize the rent of retired people in Manhattan? On one side you can be the assholes kicking elderly people out of the homes and neighborhoods they have lived in for 30 years. On the other side you can be the assholes forcing the working class to commute 90 minutes a day. Take your pick of the bad options.

evanpw 11y ago
Very interesting. According to this: http://furmancenter.org/files/publications/HVS_Rent_Stabilization_fact_sheet_FINAL_4.pdf http://furmancenter.org/files/publications/HVS_Rent_Stabiliz..., in Manhattan below 96th street 35% of rent-stabilized apartment dwellers moved in more than 20 years ago! (Versus 2.7% of those in non-stabilized apartments). Another interesting fact from that paper: the median person in a rent-stabilized apartment in core Manhattan has a higher income than the median person in a non-stabilized apartment in most of the rest of NYC.
- krschultz 11y ago
  This is a slightly different PDF from the same research group [1], which is what I was looking at. A couple other statistics that stick out. There are more rent stabilized apartments in NYC than market rate apartments. Over 20% of all rent stablized apartments in Manhattan go to people over 65. Less than 5% of people in market rate apartments are over 65 years old.Over 65% of people in a rent stabilized apartment in Manhattan are white. I think people have a picture of rent stabilized apartments as the place where your local bodega employee lives. The fact is the neighborhood rent stabilized apartments are where retired people live. [1] http://furmancenter.org/files/FurmanCenter_FactBrief_RentStabilization_June2014.pdf http://furmancenter.org/files/FurmanCenter_FactBrief_RentSta....
- damon_c 11y ago
  I don't know how prevalent this is but from my experience, rent stabilization is largely gamed by many landlords. My lease in Manhattan is for about 60% higher than what we are paying. We are then given a "preferential rent" rider which allows us to pay what we pay... This I assume is so the landlord keeps the building at his rent stabilization maximum which are about $3k higher than market rate. This is probably happening everywhere (at least in my last 3 apis) and it really amounts to no stabilization at all...

evanpw 11y ago

Very interesting. According to this: http://furmancenter.org/files/publications/HVS_Rent_Stabilization_fact_sheet_FINAL_4.pdf http://furmancenter.org/files/publications/HVS_Rent_Stabiliz..., in Manhattan below 96th street 35% of rent-stabilized apartment dwellers moved in more than 20 years ago! (Versus 2.7% of those in non-stabilized apartments). Another interesting fact from that paper: the median person in a rent-stabilized apartment in core Manhattan has a higher income than the median person in a non-stabilized apartment in most of the rest of NYC.

krschultz 11y ago
This is a slightly different PDF from the same research group [1], which is what I was looking at. A couple other statistics that stick out. There are more rent stabilized apartments in NYC than market rate apartments. Over 20% of all rent stablized apartments in Manhattan go to people over 65. Less than 5% of people in market rate apartments are over 65 years old.Over 65% of people in a rent stabilized apartment in Manhattan are white. I think people have a picture of rent stabilized apartments as the place where your local bodega employee lives. The fact is the neighborhood rent stabilized apartments are where retired people live. [1] http://furmancenter.org/files/FurmanCenter_FactBrief_RentStabilization_June2014.pdf http://furmancenter.org/files/FurmanCenter_FactBrief_RentSta....
damon_c 11y ago
I don't know how prevalent this is but from my experience, rent stabilization is largely gamed by many landlords. My lease in Manhattan is for about 60% higher than what we are paying. We are then given a "preferential rent" rider which allows us to pay what we pay... This I assume is so the landlord keeps the building at his rent stabilization maximum which are about $3k higher than market rate. This is probably happening everywhere (at least in my last 3 apis) and it really amounts to no stabilization at all...