Rent Stabilization Association Merges with CHIP

The New York Apartment Association is ready to make its debut.

The Rent Stabilization Association and the Community Housing Improvement Program, which represent owners of rent-stabilized buildings in New York City, have officially merged to create the new organization, more than one year after news surfaced that the groups were considering joining forces.

Attorney General Letitia James signed off on the merger last month, and the new organization has filed a certificate of merger with the Department of State.

Some RSA members had objected to combining, raising concerns about CHIP’s finances and fears that small owners’ voices would be lost in the combined organization. But both groups’ boards and members voted in favor of the merger. The groups are expected to unveil their new status as the New York Apartment Association this week.

The merger signals a new chapter for the real estate trade groups, with an aim to unify landlord advocacy. CHIP and RSA’s interests have aligned on many issues, and they worked together on an ill-fated lawsuit to challenge New York’s rent regulation system.

The groups have lined up former Assembly member Kenny Burgos to lead the New York Apartment Association. Burgos, who represented the South Bronx, stepped down from the Assembly in July, citing preparations for “a new chapter” without specifying what it would be.

Joseph Strasburg, who has served as RSA’s president for 30 years, is expected to transition to a consultant role for the new supergroup. It is not clear what position Jay Martin, CHIP’s executive director, will take on, though he has said he will continue his work lobbying on behalf of owners.

Representatives for the groups did not respond to requests for comment.

CHIP was founded in 1966 and the RSA was established three years later along with New York’s rent stabilization regime. Despite CHIP’s head start, RSA grew to several times its size in terms of spending power. In their 2022 tax filings, the latest available, RSA reported $7 million in revenue and $51.6 million in net assets, while CHIP reported $2 million in revenue and $1.6 million in assets.

The memberships and agendas of RSA and CHIP overlapped. Both fiercely opposed good cause eviction, a version of which the state legislature passed this year, and have been seeking rollbacks to the severely restrictive rent reform that became law in 2019.

The state budget included one such measure, allowing owners of rent-stabilized apartments to recover more of certain renovation costs with rent increases. But RSA and CHIP both said the change did far too little to bring dilapidated units back on the market or help owners of distressed properties.

It remains to be seen how the New York Apartment Association’s approach will differ from that of its predecessors. If nothing else, the new name makes clear that the group represents landlords.

The monikers RSA and CHIP sounded more like government entities or nonprofits that provide housing assistance to low-income New Yorkers. But as Martin relentlessly broadcasts on social media, rent-stabilized housing is private and not subsidized.