Thousands of New Yorkers risk eviction under ground lease co-op terms, advocates say
Residents of ground lease co-ops call themselves the unprotected tenants of New York City.
While homeowners own and renters rent, ground lease co-op tenants do both at once. They own and maintain their building but not the ground it sits on, which belongs to a landlord.
Advocates say nothing is stopping landowners from pricing out, evicting, or demolishing the homes of New York's estimated more than 25,000 ground lease co-op residents. Some will see decades-long leases expire in the coming years.
"That's not fair at all"
For tenants at Mainstay Co-op, it was an affordable path to home ownership, but now, they say they are vulnerable.
"We're a neighborhood of middle-class and working-class and retired people, and we have all of our equity tied up in this building," Mainstay Co-op resident William Maiman said.
"We're going to have to lose our home and probably can't even sell it," Linda Tse said.
"We don't know what's in the future, and that's what frightening," Vivian Mason said.
At Mainstay Co-op, some have sunk tens of thousands into home upkeep.
"And now, I got to pick up and find a new place? That's ridiculous," Richard Wechlser said. "And why is that fair? That's not fair at all."
"A poison pill for a building"
Lawmakers, including State Senator Liz Krueger, say it's time these tenants had standard protections. She is pushing for Senate Bill S2433, which would cap rent hikes.
But not everyone is buying in.
"Instead of focusing on the mountain of pressing issues faced by every day New Yorkers, policymakers have chosen to try -- again -- to legislate a windfall for some of the wealthiest New Yorkers while throwing contract law into chaos. This bill was bad policy last session when it died, and it's bad policy now," The Real Estate Board of New York told CBS News New York.
Real estate lawyer Stuart Saft calls it unconstitutional, and a slippery slope.
"Then, the legislature could also decide that mortgages are no longer valid or that a contract between teachers and the teachers' union aren't valid," he said.
Attorney Geoffrey Mazel, who represents co-ops, disagrees, insisting there's both precedent and public need. He says many who bought into these co-ops weren't properly warned of the risks.
"I've been to meetings. I've seen people cry," he said. "It's really a poison pill for a building."
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