ALBANY – Tenant activists are sticking by claims that more than 100 “landlords” support limiting rent increases statewide — despite evidence to the contrary.
“We, the undersigned, are landlords who collectively manage more than 5,000 properties in New York City and across New York State,” reads a March 28 letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul from the left-leaning group Housing Justice for All.
“We are writing in strong support of ‘Good Cause’ legislation currently under consideration in the New York State legislature that will protect tenants from eviction and curb the rent increases that tenants could face,” the letter adds.
The letter was shared with the Daily News and spread rapidly on social media, with some Democratic legislators eagerly sharing the idea that landlords supported the controversial proposal opposed by the real estate industry.
Hochul has yet to sign onto the idea despite growing pressure from the political left.
“I interact with small owners all the time, and I have yet to meet one more property owner that thought Good Cause eviction was a good idea. So I had a lot of skepticism,” Ana Korchak, president of the 300-member Small Property Owners of New York, told The Post about the letter.
A Post review of the names on the letter shows Korchak had reason to be suspicious because a significant chunk of the names are not landlords by any standard definition.
Fourteen supposed “landlords” from New York City, Albany, Rochester, and Buffalo have no properties listed under their names in local property databases.
More than two dozen other names on the list appear to have too few units to be affected by the proposal while others are linked to specific properties though it remains unclear the extent to which they directly own or rent properties on behalf of tenants.
Activist Bright Limm added his name to the list despite tweeting in 2019 that he was “not a landlord.”
“While I don’t intend to rent out my property to residential tenants at this time, it is also the case that if I were ever to lease my property to anyone else, I would insist upon having Good Cause protections in the lease,” he told The Post Thursday.
The Real Deal revealed much of this on March 31 – but that has not stopped housing activists from continuing to push the idea that more than 100 “landlords” support Good Cause.
Another questionable name on the list – Jay Strauss of Westchester – presented himself as the “owner” of three downstate rental properties in an April 6 op-ed in Crain’s New York.
He told The Post on Thursday that he has an “ownership stake” but declined to say how much.
But activists have continued to spread the idea that the letter demonstrates widespread support from landlords as progressives push to get Good Cause into a final state spending plan that is 13 days past an April 1 deadline amid fights between Hochul and legislative leaders on topics like cash bail and housing.
“Even the real estate community has warmed up to the policy, with more than 100 landlords writing a letter urging Gov. Hochul to pass Good Cause,” activists said in an April 13 press release touting support for Good Cause from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens).
Cea Weaver, campaign coordinator for Housing Justice for All, said Thursday that it was not a “big deal” that a big chunk of the names are either not “landlords” as stated in the letter or would even be affected by the proposal if it ever gets passed.
“I feel confident in this letter and I feel confident that we have support from mom-and-pop landlords across the state. You know, we don’t have support from all mom-and-pop landlords across the state – but neither does the real estate industry,” she said.
Good Cause would only apply to buildings with fewer than four units, according to a bill that has yet to pass the state Senate or the Assembly.
Both changes signaled their support for some form of the proposal in one-house budget resolutions passed in March.
A rent increase is presumed to be unreasonable and, therefore, not a basis for eviction, if it exceeds either 3% of the previous rental amount or “1.5% of the Consumer Price Index whichever is higher,” according to the bill language.
The fact that the letter literally begins with all the signatories saying they are “landlords” has people on the opposite side of the issue feeling like progressive activists are not playing fair when it comes to selling a proposal that would shake up the housing industry statewide – with uncertain results for tenants and landlords alike.
“I just feel like this should be a certain level of like honesty in the debate here,” Korchak said.