New York City – As a parade of slovenly dressed 20-somethings passed through the entrance of a downtown Manhattan apartment building on a weekday afternoon, these seemingly savvy New Yorkers did not seem to notice they were the subjects of a photo shoot.
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That is because this shoot was covertly orchestrated by their landlord, who had hired a private investigator to root out illegal tenants.
Masked by lunchtime crowds and afternoon rain, the private eye, Joseph Mullen, who has run a sleuthing firm for more than 40 years, parked his car in front of the building, flipped through papers showing that several residents of the seven-story building were “dead or living somewhere else,” and waited.
Shane Williams, a vice president of the firm, J.T. Mullen Inc., slouched strategically in his seat and photographed people as they entered and left. The affable pair looked like observers at an antifashion show as food deliverymen paraded through, an older portly renter stepped out to buy cheese biscuits and renters dressed in gym clothing shuffled outside to smoke.
“We don’t know half the people who live in this building,” Mr. Mullen said. He released a gravelly chuckle, rustled through papers and glanced through the tinted window. “The landlords say, ‘I got to get these illegal tenants out and make some money.’ ”
In a high-rent borough like Manhattan with plenty of rent-regulated apartments ripe for exploitation, real estate investigation has long been a big business. Private detectives say it has picked up in the past year as some New Yorkers have tried to find extra money by moving out of their apartments and subletting to other renters for more than they are paying, which is not allowed.
They should eliminate this socialist rent control law for good and stop with these games. The ,market should decide who can afford to live in NYC. We don’t tell supermarkets how much they can charge for a loaf of bread and shouldn’t tell landlords how much they can charge for rent. About half the tennants in rent controlled apartments shouldn’t be there anyway and the other half will have to find a new place to live where they can afford. There are millions of people who are losing their homes they cannot afford through foreclosures so these subsidized tennants need to learn they have to pay market rents.
#1 ,
Eliminate rent control and say goodbye to a lot of Jewish communities in NYC.
Rent Control & Rent Stabilization works very well for me (a Landlord) should they do away with them it will free up many apartments in New York & rents will go down. They are protecting some rich & older comfortable people & the others pay for it with higher rents.
if the landords could abolish rent control noone would be able to afford in nyc
Nice. Spoken like a true landlord advocate who couldn’t care less about tenants. Would you tell your parents to go “find a new place to live where they can afford”? And where do you get your statistics from? About half the tenants shouldn’t be there? Really? Have you investigated? Maybe you should do some side work for the city as a statistician.
Shimon….(No. 4)
Most yidden in New York work for a living and can pay their rent. If you can’t than move to Monsey or Lakewood.
To No. 5…studies done by several REITs who purchased rent-controlled properties based their valuations on the potential for revising upwards approximately 50 percent of controlled rents because the tennants were not eligible for one of many factors, including income, continuity of residence, sublets, lease violations etc.
reply to#4:
if you’re right, then rents will go down, everyone will be happy!
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4
Today at 01:07 PM shimonyehuda Says:
if the landords could abolish rent control noone would be able to afford in nyc
reply to #2 :
So? Who cares? I’m a frum homeowner with my own tzores paying for my home. Jews are not the only ones who will be displaced, but if they can’t afford the rent, they should find a cheaper place to live. the same will happen with Pakistani, Russian, Chinese, and every other culture/community.
Do you think that people should be able to walk into a store and th=ell the owner “sell it to me for less than the going price, I’ve been buying this for years and can’t afford this brand anymore”?
Get real – you are obviously a renter looking to save money on landlords’ backs.
If a landlord charges more than the market thinks his place is worth, no one will rent the property.
to #5 :
Yes, I would tell that to anyone. Why should anyone be entitled to free rent at someone else’s expense? if you want to pay taxes to cover their shortfall, fine, but don’t volunteer someone else’s money anbd livelihood because YOU think the tenants should get a free ride.
Do you own a business? do you give a discount to anyone who says they can’t afford your prices?
reply to #3:
You are obviously NOT a landlord, just a power, since your argument is ridiculous.
“poser”, not “power”, sorry for the typo.
# 6 what do you mean move to Monsey or Lakewood? you think onsey is cheap? How about the homeowners who pay 14-17,000 a year in real estate taxes? you think there are cheap rentals in monsey? the typical basement apt, goes for 1,100 a month.