Advocates, elected officials tour 'Frankensteined' and 'warehoused' apartments on Lower East Side
Warehousing refers to the practice of landlords intentionally keeping apartments empty and off the rental market. Frankensteining is the practice of combining a rent-stabilized apartment with an adjoining apartment or common space in an effort to boost the allowable rent or completely deregulate the apartment.
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59ds agoAdvocates and elected officials gathered to tour "warehoused" and "Frankensteined" apartments on the Lower East Side. It's a practice made possible via a 2019 loophole and one that advocates say must be stopped.
“If you came here a few years ago, you would find 20 rent-stabilized units providing affordable housing for people in New York City,” said resident Roy Zornow. “Now, you’ll find five.”
“We can't allow landlords to hoard housing, a fundamental and basic human right, hostage for their own personal and political gain at the expense of New Yorkers suffering as rents rise amid the ongoing housing, homelessness crisis,” said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Warehousing refers to the practice of landlords intentionally keeping apartments empty and off the rental market, often in the hope of deregulating the unit or waiting for New York state laws to change in the landlord’s favor.
Frankensteining is the practice of combining a rent-stabilized apartment with an adjoining apartment or common space in an effort to boost the allowable rent or completely deregulate the apartment.
“This leads to a decrease in units and steeper increase in rents as big property owners artificially increase the vacancy rates in our city,” said Willams.
Building owners across New York City are holding between 61,000 and 88,000 rent-regulated homes off the market, according to a 2022 report by the Coalition to End apartment Warehousing.
New York state ended most deregulation and limited rent increases of rent-stabilized apartments with the passing of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act in 2019.
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