Real Estate
FiDi tenants win rent-reg fi ght
BY GABE HERMAN
Lower Manhattan tenants scored
a decisive win in a late June
Appeals Court decision, which
ruled they had the right to rent stabilization,
rent refunds and lowered rents,
and that landlords receiving 421-G tax
breaks could not deregulate apartments.
The 421-G tax exemption for
landlords passed the state Senate
in 1995. It incentivized turning
Lower Manhattan offi ce space
into residential use during a
time when people were fl eeing
the area.
In return for the tax
breaks, apartments
would be rent stabilized,
with only small
rent increases and
guaranteed lease
renewals for as long
as the 421-G benefi
ts were being received.
Before the state
Senate voted on the
bill back in 1995,
then-Senate Majority
Leader Joseph Bruno
submitted a “Giuliani Letter”
into the record. Not offi
cially part of the legislation,
the letter said that the city’s view
of the bill was that luxury deregulation
would still be allowed for apartments
with rents over a certain amount.
Landlords have used the Giuliani Letter
to argue that they can raise rents.
In two Manhattan State Supreme
Court cases involving Financial District
area buildings, Kuzmich v. 50
Murray Acquisition and West
v. BCRE—90 West, the
court ruled in 2017
in favor of the
tenant s
and said that luxury deregulation did
not apply to 421-G tax breaks.
However, the Appellate Division then
overturned those decisions, ruling that
the apartments had been properly deregulated
under the Rent Stabilization
Law from 1993, and were not
exempted from deregulation by
421-G.
Now the Court of Appeals
has had what will likely be
the fi nal word on the matter,
according to attorney Serge
Joseph, who represented
tenants at 50 Murray St.
and 90 West St.
The Court of Appeals
wrote in its
majority decision
regarding
the 421-G tax
breaks, that the
law required
rent regulation
for as long as
the buildings
receive the tax
breaks.
“The Legislature’s
intention,
as refl ected
in the language of
the statute at issue
here,” the decision
read, “is clear and inescapable.”
The Appeals Court decision
was 6-1 in favor of the tenants.
The majority decision noted that
because the 421-G legislation passed
after the Rent Stabilization Law, its
exemption from luxury deregulation
was suffi cient and did not require going
back to the earlier law to amend it
for this exception.
Joseph told this paper that he was
very happy about the Appeals Court
decision, after fi ghting for more than
a decade on this issue, which affects
thousands of Lower Manhattan tenants.
“I’ve been partying, drinking Champagne,”
Joseph said. “It was a long
fi ght, and now this is it.”
Tenants at 90 West had joined the
issue over 421-G after the building’s
owner, The Kibel Company, tried to
raise rents by 33 percent in 2016, tenant
Taylor West told this paper in 2017.
An amicus brief supporting tenants
at 90 West was fi led by then-Public
Advocate Letitia James in 2016 and
signed by 37 other local politicians,
including Assemblymember Deborah
Glick, Councilmember Margaret Chin
and state Senator Daniel Squadron. A
similar suit was also previously fi led by
local politicians supporting the tenants
at 50 Murray St.
“It has been a very long and arduous
fi ght,” said Joseph, in a statement after
the Appeals Court decision. “We look
forward to working with Downtown
tenants to ensure that as many tenants
as possible benefi t from the Court’s decision.”
Bowling alley? Own pool? Amenities frenzy
BY MARTHA WILKIE
I fi rst experienced Hudson Yards
accidentally, while en route to the
High Line. I walked past a gleaming
glass tower set directly atop the access
route to the Lincoln Tunnel — 24-
hours-a-day honking. I thought, why
would anyone live here? See that sunset
on the roof deck? That’s why.
Developers compete with each other
for the most over-the-top amenities.
(Warning: if you’re the type who rages
that Manhattan’s being ruined by the 1
percent, you may wish to stop reading
now.)
Extras include climbing walls,
IMAX theater, golf simulators, basketball
PHOTO BY GOOGLE MAPS
Tenants at 90 West St., above,
blocked their landlord from using
luxury deregulation.
courts, yoga studios, automated
robotic parking (what even is this?)
and even access to private yachts and
jets. Parents used to lugging strollers
to fourth-fl oor walk-ups will rejoice at
stroller valet. Hand-delivered mail is a
nice touch. Does someone pick up the
garbage, too, or are there “Jetsons”-like
pneumatic tubes?
Adrienne Berman, an agent with
Brown Harris Stevens, is realistic.
“In some markets, amenities sell the
apartment,” he said. “However, today,
buyers are looking for value and are
willing to forgo the valet parking. The
one exception is in-unit washers and
dryers. There’s no amount of money
New Yorkers won’t pay for that golden
amenity.”
As for me, I happily live in a building
with laundry in the basement and
a bike room. Here are four listings, all
with the latest mod cons:
A no-fee rental studio in Hudson
Yards offers “unparalleled amenities,”
including a climbing wall, full-size basketball
court, piano and poker lounge,
billiards room, and that stunning roof
deck. $3,924.
The Lucida, at 151 E. 85th St., is
the fi rst LEED-certifi ed building on
the Upper East Side and has a nifty indoor
basketball court with a wall that
opens to the street, a pool and free Pilates
and yoga classes. A two-bedroom,
two-and-a-half bath with soundproof
fl oor-to-ceiling windows is renting for
$12,000.
In the Financial District, the former
J.P. Morgan building, at 15 Broad St.,
offers refl ecting and swimming pools, a
sports lounge, concierge, squash courts,
bowling and more. Two bedroom, two
bath. $1.9 million.
In West Chelsea, at the Soori High
Line, at 522 W. 29th St., a fi ve-bedroom,
with fi ve-and-a-half baths, sports
an “Augsburg oak paneled private elevator”
and “Bavarian Spessart oak” in
the kitchen. (I’ll take, “Obscure German
Oaks” for $1,000, Alex.) Amenities
include a “lifestyle concierge” and
private parking spaces. $22.5 million.
26 July 25, 2019 TVG Schneps Media