Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders struck a tentative deal yesterday Tuesday paving the way for a vote on issues that affect millions of New Yorkers such as renewing regulation of rent-regulated apartments and capping property taxes for homeowners, according to the off-lead front-page article in today's edition of The New York Times by Nicholas Confessore and Thomas Kaplan.

The article said that "Mr. Cuomo praised the deal as significant progress toward his key goals, but some rank-and-file Democrats questioned whether the agreement would do enough to protect the millions of New York City residents who live in rent-regulated apartments."

The rent deal appeared to fall well short of what many Democrats and tenant activists had hoped for, the article continued, "though Democratic lawmakers will probably vote for it. And the modest strengthening of rent regulations came at a high price for Democrats from New York City - a commitment to pass a property tax cap, which many Democratic lawmakers fear will exacerbate disparities in education spending between wealthy and poor school districts."

"The renewal of rent regulations would leave in place laws that allow landlords to deregulate apartments when tenants' rent and income reach certain thresholds, but would raise those thresholds, to $2,500 from $2,000 in monthly rent, and to $200,000 from $175,000 in annual household income," the article said.

The proposed rent deal also requires that landlords document more of the money they spend to improve rent-stabilized apartments before they can pass along those costs to renters.

Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, said that "We have come up with a deal that - as opposed to expiration, as opposed to straight extender, which has been the Senate position all along - is a significant improvement."

The property tax measure, which affects homeowners throughout New York, would cap annual increases in the amount of property taxes collected annually by school districts and towns at 2 percent a year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower, while offering some relief for local governments from state spending mandates, the article said, adding that "Mr. Cuomo and Senate Republicans say the legislation will curb soaring property taxes in places like Long Island, Westchester County and pockets of upstate New York, where residents face some of the highest property taxes in the country."

"Clearly, the property tax cap puts a discipline on continued growth in local spending and state mandates for spending that we haven't been able to achieve on any other basis," said Kathryn S. Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, an association of business leaders. "From the standpoint of the taxpayer, and the overall economic interests of the state, this is a very good thing."