And then there were six.
Nearly two years after a state court struck down Newburgh’s good cause eviction law, the City Council there voted to adopt the policy again.
The big difference this time is that state law explicitly permitted localities to enact such a policy. As part of the state budget this year, good cause was enacted in New York City, while other New York localities were given the option to pass their own version, under the state’s parameters.
After the passage of the state budget, the localities where courts threw out their initial versions of good cause set to work to re-pass the policy. Albany was the first, followed by Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Ithaca and Beacon.
The budget gave municipalities wiggle room to put their own spin on the policy, but Newburgh’s exemptions are very narrow. It excludes housing where the rent is more than 345 percent of the fair market rent and defines “small landlords,” who are exempt, as owners of no more than one unit in the state.
Newburgh’s version follows a template laid out by the five other upstate cities. The version of good cause that applies to New York City set the rent exemption at 245 percent of the fair market rent and the portfolio threshold at 10 units.
Meanwhile, landlords have been waging a legal fight against the decisions by Newburgh, Kingston, Poughkeepsie and other localities to adopt rent stabilization, as allowed by the 2019 rent reform.
What we’re thinking about: Did you catch the reference to NYC’s squatter laws in the latest episode of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building”? Did you curse at the television when the show repeated an oversimplification of state law? Did you turn to your significant other and explain that the state budget further clarified the law, and express frustration when your partner didn’t seem concerned that this inaccuracy could ruin the plotline? Or are you normal? Send a note to kathryn@thereadeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Jay Martin, formerly executive director of the Community Housing Improvement Program, is now the senior vice president of external affairs for the newly-formed New York Apartment Association. His focus will be on politics, policy and the press — as it was in his previous role.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Only 6 percent of visitors to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum last year were NYC residents, Gothamist reports. Only 20 percent were from the tri-state area.
— Winter is coming, and that means, so is the Real Estate Board of New York’s annual gala. The trade group announced that its perennial party, which is in its 129th year, will be Jan. 16 at the Glasshouse.
— House Republicans on Tuesday grilled former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on his response to the pandemic, Politico New York reports. Many of the questions were focused on whether his office intentionally undercounted deaths at state nursing homes.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Wednesday was $7 million for a 4,000-square-foot, two-family house at 964 East Ninth Street in Midwood.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $27 million for an 80,000-square-foot nursing facility at 38 West 131st Street in Central Harlem.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $14.8 million for a 6,261-square-foot townhouse at 95 Charles Street in the West Village. The Hudson Advisory Team at Compass has the listing. — Matthew Elo