Ever since the state legislature passed a package of tenant-friendly bills in Albany last year, real estate bigwigs have been keeping more units empty in the hopes that politicians will undo some of those laws, and the consequences could be lethal for the unhoused facing down the pandemic without shelter, according to Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal.
“People who are homeless will get sick and they have nowhere to go, this spells death for them and their families,” the Big Apple lawmaker said at the protest last week. “What [landlords] hope — although this won’t happen — is that we will roll back some of these tenant protections and they will once again be able to increase the rent and be able to take apartments out of rent regulation.”
