Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos for the first time raised the threat of "a high-noon showdown over the state's soon-to-expire rent laws," as he rejected all but the most basic renewal of current tenant protections yesterday, according to an article today in The New York Post by Brendan Scott and Frederic U. Dicker.
"The surprisingly hard-line stance from Skelos surprised Cuomo administration insiders and raised the likelihood of a standoff - jeopardizing stabilized rents for more than 1 million Big Apple housing units - when current regulations expire June 15," the article said.
"The Republican Senate leader not only opposed cost-of-living increases to the rent and income thresholds at which units lose price controls - which Gov. Cuomo wanted - but he also ruled out calls to include a renewal of rent regulations in the looming budget deal," the article continued.
Before rejecting any hike to the14-year-old "luxury decontrol" thresholds, Mr. Skelos (Republican of Long Island, told The Post he was "open to extending rent regulations."
A dozen city lawmakers gathered before a legislative session yesterday to call for immediate action on the rent regulations. "Such an important issue must be done early this year," said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D- Manhattan). "Not under the cover of the night at 11:30 on June 14 in a smoke-filled room when the tenants get a take-it-or-leave-it bill."
A similar standoff with Republicans forced Democrats in 1997 to accept "vacancy" and "luxury" decontrol, which allow landlords to escape price regulations when monthly rents exceed $2,000 and tenants earn more than $175,000 annually, the article said.
City Democrats, led by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), have demanded the repeal of both laws, which they blame for helping to remove 13,500 units from the rent-regulation system in 2009 alone.
The article said that administration sources said that Cuomo hopes, at the very minimum, to raise the thresholds to reflect inflation since the statues went into law.
An article yesterday by Laura Kusisto at observer.com said that "With the deadline to pass a state budget basically a week away, Governor Andrew Cuomo has backed down on passing two controversial changes to New York's real estate laws," adding that "He said at a press conference in Albany yesterday that rent-regulation changes and a property tax cap are 'too complex' to put in the budget.
The article noted that "staunch opposition behind closed doors from Republicans and Big Real Estate caused the governor's flip-flop."
"The surprisingly hard-line stance from Skelos surprised Cuomo administration insiders and raised the likelihood of a standoff - jeopardizing stabilized rents for more than 1 million Big Apple housing units - when current regulations expire June 15," the article said.
"The Republican Senate leader not only opposed cost-of-living increases to the rent and income thresholds at which units lose price controls - which Gov. Cuomo wanted - but he also ruled out calls to include a renewal of rent regulations in the looming budget deal," the article continued.
Before rejecting any hike to the14-year-old "luxury decontrol" thresholds, Mr. Skelos (Republican of Long Island, told The Post he was "open to extending rent regulations."
A dozen city lawmakers gathered before a legislative session yesterday to call for immediate action on the rent regulations. "Such an important issue must be done early this year," said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D- Manhattan). "Not under the cover of the night at 11:30 on June 14 in a smoke-filled room when the tenants get a take-it-or-leave-it bill."
A similar standoff with Republicans forced Democrats in 1997 to accept "vacancy" and "luxury" decontrol, which allow landlords to escape price regulations when monthly rents exceed $2,000 and tenants earn more than $175,000 annually, the article said.
City Democrats, led by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), have demanded the repeal of both laws, which they blame for helping to remove 13,500 units from the rent-regulation system in 2009 alone.
The article said that administration sources said that Cuomo hopes, at the very minimum, to raise the thresholds to reflect inflation since the statues went into law.
An article yesterday by Laura Kusisto at observer.com said that "With the deadline to pass a state budget basically a week away, Governor Andrew Cuomo has backed down on passing two controversial changes to New York's real estate laws," adding that "He said at a press conference in Albany yesterday that rent-regulation changes and a property tax cap are 'too complex' to put in the budget.
The article noted that "staunch opposition behind closed doors from Republicans and Big Real Estate caused the governor's flip-flop."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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