Changing of the Guard
On September 13th, Democrats flocked the polls for the party's Primaries and once all the votes were tallied by day's end it was clear that the results were going to differ greatly than those from years past. Across the board, races which typically saw the incumbent breeze to victory were suddenly toppled by candidates representing the 'progressive left.' Eight term Brooklyn State Senator Martin Dilan was easily defeated by 27-year-old Julia Salzar while Alessandra Biaggi defeated incumbent Bronx Senator Jeff Klein who was elected to his first term in the Senate back in 2004. When the dust finally settled, an unprecedented six total senators across New York City lost their seats. These victories come on the heels of the heels of
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's surprise win over Queens party boss and incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in June.
A common policy theme amongst the victorious candidates has been their commitment towards enacting pro-tenant laws while committing to block legislation granting landlords the ability to increase rent. Although ultimately losing in her bid to unseat Govenor Andrew Cuomo, Cynthia Nixon made NYC Housing a central theme of her campaign. In fact, Nixon's housing agenda known as 'Rent Justice for All' which focuses on vacancy decontrol, rent stabilization, and preferential rent, was among the first policy pronouncements issued by her campaign.
More importantly however, while the Republicans currently maintain a majority in the Senate, they also had the support of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) who frequently voted alongside the GOP. However, this group is now defunct as five of the six aforementioned losing candidates were members of the IDC including its former head, Jeff Klein. "The IDC better be dead," said Jessica Ramos who defeated ten year incumbent Jose Peralata for the 13th Senate District in Queens. Peralta was an IDC member while Ramos received one of Mayor Bill de Blasio's few endorsements.
A loss of Republican allies will almost certainly result in widespread change in landlord-tenant law. Furthermore, a number of the victorious party members hold seats in heavily gentrified neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Buschwick, (all likely to be represented by Salzar) where the housing laws are in the forefront of the voter's priorities.
Landlords need to brace themselves for this next wave of change. Adopting and confirming to the existing landlord-tenant laws must be a primary focus of every landlord in NYC.
At STRATCO, we are all about bracing for what is next. Our consultants ensure that each and every one of their clients are constantly evolving to keep pace with the ever changing NYC real estate landscape. If you're not one step ahead, you're one step behind.
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