@erik-engquist.bsky.social
In a span of three months, the City Council speaker fought City Charter revisions and passed the ill-conceived COPA and three bills slashing affordable housing production. Fewer homes, more bureaucracy. That’s a helluva way for a former housing champion to go out.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
The Daily Dirt: Speaker damages housing legacy
Adrienne Adams, who previously championed housing, fought City Charter revisions and passed COPA and three bills slashing production.
therealdeal.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:08 PM
In a span of three months, the City Council speaker fought City Charter revisions and passed the ill-conceived COPA and three bills slashing affordable housing production. Fewer homes, more bureaucracy. That’s a helluva way for a former housing champion to go out.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
The Wall Street Journal's story on the Twin Cities' rent control experiment got it mostly right, but not the part about evictions. It put that in to show the "other side of the story," but there really is no other side: therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Minnesota’s mistake on rent control
St. Paul passed rent control while Minneapolis built housing, creating a natural experiment to show which policy is better.
therealdeal.com
December 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
The Wall Street Journal's story on the Twin Cities' rent control experiment got it mostly right, but not the part about evictions. It put that in to show the "other side of the story," but there really is no other side: therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
My column for The Real Deal has been rebranded as "Reality Check" and given its own newsletter, which we will blast out to @trdny subscribers Monday, Wednesday & Friday. It runs online the next day (we have a paywall for frequent visitors). Here's one:
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Even dead tenants are hard to evict
When tenants die, it can trigger a long, frustrating process that keeps units vacant for a year or more and costs landlords thousands.
therealdeal.com
December 21, 2025 at 3:19 PM
My column for The Real Deal has been rebranded as "Reality Check" and given its own newsletter, which we will blast out to @trdny subscribers Monday, Wednesday & Friday. It runs online the next day (we have a paywall for frequent visitors). Here's one:
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
One of the many reasons it's hard to find an apartment in NYC is that even dead tenants often have to be evicted, and that can take more than a year. I'm sure the process could be streamlined if our leaders put some effort into it.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Even dead tenants are hard to evict
When tenants die, it can trigger a long, frustrating process that keeps units vacant for a year or more and costs landlords thousands.
therealdeal.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:21 PM
One of the many reasons it's hard to find an apartment in NYC is that even dead tenants often have to be evicted, and that can take more than a year. I'm sure the process could be streamlined if our leaders put some effort into it.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
At this point, only a fool would finance a sub rehab without a written guarantee from HCR that deregulation is OK. But what about all the projects done with the assumption that the rules were the same as they had been for ages? How many buildings are at risk? therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
The Daily Dirt: Sub-rehab disaster in the making
Investments in hundreds of substantially rehabilitated and deregulated buildings could be wiped out by the state’s housing regulator.
therealdeal.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:39 PM
At this point, only a fool would finance a sub rehab without a written guarantee from HCR that deregulation is OK. But what about all the projects done with the assumption that the rules were the same as they had been for ages? How many buildings are at risk? therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Hundreds of inane reports are required by city laws, including a report on how many reports are required. As of 2019, there were 842. The NYC Council is trying hard to get to 1,000. Now businesses have a new one to file each year.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Paperwork madness: New burdens for businesses, city
If city workers are not returning your calls and emails, they may be doing pointless reports mandated by law.
therealdeal.com
December 15, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Hundreds of inane reports are required by city laws, including a report on how many reports are required. As of 2019, there were 842. The NYC Council is trying hard to get to 1,000. Now businesses have a new one to file each year.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
When manufacturing jobs largely disappeared from the Northeast, upstate NY cities were devastated but NYC (which lost nearly all of its 1 million manufacturing jobs) reinvented itself.
One factor: Parking lots are holding upstate cities back. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
One factor: Parking lots are holding upstate cities back. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
What not to do: Real estate lessons from Upstate
Huge swaths of upstate cities are devoted to parking lots — masses of macadam that spread people apart and sap life from urban centers.
therealdeal.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:12 PM
When manufacturing jobs largely disappeared from the Northeast, upstate NY cities were devastated but NYC (which lost nearly all of its 1 million manufacturing jobs) reinvented itself.
One factor: Parking lots are holding upstate cities back. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
One factor: Parking lots are holding upstate cities back. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
What if we applied the theory behind the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act to necessities besides housing, such as food and clothing? So, nonprofits would get first dibs to buy food, before evil supermarkets jack up the price 2% to make a profit. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
If COPA is so great, why stop there?
If COPA for apartment buildings is a good idea, why not apply its logic to food, clothing, energy and other necessities?
therealdeal.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:42 PM
What if we applied the theory behind the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act to necessities besides housing, such as food and clothing? So, nonprofits would get first dibs to buy food, before evil supermarkets jack up the price 2% to make a profit. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
The NYC Council thinks the way to change the outcomes of a complex system is to simply mandate new outcomes. That approach has produced three bills that would disrupt affordable housing production, killing some projects, according to NYSAFAH therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
The Daily Dirt: Enough with the mandates
Council members are proposing mandates that would throw a wrench into the complex machinery of affordable housing development.
therealdeal.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:35 PM
The NYC Council thinks the way to change the outcomes of a complex system is to simply mandate new outcomes. That approach has produced three bills that would disrupt affordable housing production, killing some projects, according to NYSAFAH therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Why Mamdani should sweat the small stuff, like getting city agencies to end practices that waste New Yorkers' time or, worse, cause elderly people to miss out on benefits: therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Why Mamdani should sweat the small stuff
Mamdani got elected by running on big ideas. But there are small, more achievable things he can do to make the city work better.
therealdeal.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Why Mamdani should sweat the small stuff, like getting city agencies to end practices that waste New Yorkers' time or, worse, cause elderly people to miss out on benefits: therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
I know Zohran Mamdani has big ideas, but basic "blocking and tackling" could go a long way toward making NYC more affordable. One example is speeding up landmarks permits. As one developer told me: "The wait can be a killer." therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
“The wait can be a killer”: Mamdani must fix historic districts problem
Landmarking is well past the point of diminishing returns. The main thing it is preserving now is the housing shortage.
therealdeal.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:52 PM
I know Zohran Mamdani has big ideas, but basic "blocking and tackling" could go a long way toward making NYC more affordable. One example is speeding up landmarks permits. As one developer told me: "The wait can be a killer." therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Warren Buffett famously said, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”
In the same vein, the proposed New York City Charter revisions are revealing who is truly pro-housing and who has just been faking it.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
In the same vein, the proposed New York City Charter revisions are revealing who is truly pro-housing and who has just been faking it.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Charter revisions expose fake housing advocates
The proposed New York City Charter revisions are revealing which politicians are truly pro-housing and who has just been faking it.
therealdeal.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Warren Buffett famously said, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”
In the same vein, the proposed New York City Charter revisions are revealing who is truly pro-housing and who has just been faking it.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
In the same vein, the proposed New York City Charter revisions are revealing who is truly pro-housing and who has just been faking it.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
I never knew (until this week) that FHA, VA and USDA mortgages are assumable. That is, they can be transferred from sellers to buyers. Which is big, because mortgage rates have doubled since 2021. Several startups are now operating in this space. therealdeal.com/national/202...
With lock-in effect crushing home sales, a solution emerges
One in four home mortgages is assumable, a little-known fact that allows startups like Roam to reduce borrowing costs for homebuyers.
therealdeal.com
October 11, 2025 at 1:37 AM
I never knew (until this week) that FHA, VA and USDA mortgages are assumable. That is, they can be transferred from sellers to buyers. Which is big, because mortgage rates have doubled since 2021. Several startups are now operating in this space. therealdeal.com/national/202...
Andrew Cuomo says he would start 300 projects at once to build 500,000 affordable units. And I thought @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social's housing plan was absurd.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
The Daily Dirt: Cuomo’s housing fantasy puts Mamdani’s to shame
Andrew Cuomo’s initial housing plan didn’t win him any votes, so he made it even more fantastical than mayoral rival Zohran Mamdani’s.
therealdeal.com
October 10, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Andrew Cuomo says he would start 300 projects at once to build 500,000 affordable units. And I thought @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social's housing plan was absurd.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
“We were trying to break the mold”: The first attempt in NYC at a multifamily built to the passive house standard. How'd it turn out? @phplus.bsky.social @passivehouseie.bsky.social @passivehousebb.bsky.social @passivehousecan.bsky.social @passivehousela.bsky.social
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
“We were trying to break the mold”: The story of 803 Knickerbocker
RiseBoro’s 803 Knickerbocker Avenue development pioneered one of the state's first passive house multifamily buildings. Now it’s become the norm.
therealdeal.com
October 9, 2025 at 9:00 PM
“We were trying to break the mold”: The first attempt in NYC at a multifamily built to the passive house standard. How'd it turn out? @phplus.bsky.social @passivehouseie.bsky.social @passivehousebb.bsky.social @passivehousecan.bsky.social @passivehousela.bsky.social
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Borough President Antonio Reynoso is as pro-housing as it gets among NYC electeds, but his Planning Commission appointee keeps voting against it. Has Juan Osorio gone rogue? therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Boro prez wants housing, but his rep keeps voting against it
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso’s City Planning Commission appointee Juan Osorio keeps voting against pro-housing plans.
therealdeal.com
October 6, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Borough President Antonio Reynoso is as pro-housing as it gets among NYC electeds, but his Planning Commission appointee keeps voting against it. Has Juan Osorio gone rogue? therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Last month, I got a call from a broker who sells rent-stabilized buildings. It’s been a brutal six years for people like him. He needed to vent, and he did not hold back. Here's what he said... therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
“The prices just keep coming down:” Rent-stabilized broker’s epic rant
Six years after New York’s Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, selling rent-stabilized buildings has never been more painful.
therealdeal.com
October 3, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Last month, I got a call from a broker who sells rent-stabilized buildings. It’s been a brutal six years for people like him. He needed to vent, and he did not hold back. Here's what he said... therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Think homelessness is just a NYC problem? The Hudson Valley's Ulster County has “emergency housing” contracts with 24 hotels and two shelters where families spend an average of MORE THAN THREE YEARS.
Is there a real estate solution to this? My take:
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Is there a real estate solution to this? My take:
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Families are trapped in motels. Can real estate free them?
For hotels and motels, housing the homeless is a reliable source of income. From a social-welfare perspective, this is a disaster.
therealdeal.com
October 1, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Think homelessness is just a NYC problem? The Hudson Valley's Ulster County has “emergency housing” contracts with 24 hotels and two shelters where families spend an average of MORE THAN THREE YEARS.
Is there a real estate solution to this? My take:
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Is there a real estate solution to this? My take:
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
The scandals, the deal with Trump, and the disintegration of Eric Adams' re-election campaign should not obscure the fact that no mayor has done more to increase the potential for more housing in the city.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Mayor Adams’ real estate legacy will endure, even if few remember him for it
Mayor Eric Adams is ending his bid for re-election, closing the book on a fruitful and frustrating four years for NYC real estate
therealdeal.com
September 29, 2025 at 5:24 PM
The scandals, the deal with Trump, and the disintegration of Eric Adams' re-election campaign should not obscure the fact that no mayor has done more to increase the potential for more housing in the city.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Thursday’s votes were a promising sign that the NY City Council is more willing than ever to put the city’s housing shortage ahead of narrow-minded neighbors and their local representative.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Council snubs local members to approve projects in rare break from custom
The City Council approved a 53-unit affordable housing project for seniors despite opposition from the local member, Simcha Felder.
therealdeal.com
September 25, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Thursday’s votes were a promising sign that the NY City Council is more willing than ever to put the city’s housing shortage ahead of narrow-minded neighbors and their local representative.
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
A $2 billion Queens project is dead, but smaller ones are planned for the rezoned parcels. The first will have 560 mixed-income apartments and a P.C. Richard (assuming the developers can get financing). The Real Deal has the exclusive: therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
$2B Queens project dead, but smaller ones planned
The entity that planned megaproject Innovation QNS has dissolved, but plans for the first of its development sites have been filed.
therealdeal.com
September 2, 2025 at 11:21 PM
A $2 billion Queens project is dead, but smaller ones are planned for the rezoned parcels. The first will have 560 mixed-income apartments and a P.C. Richard (assuming the developers can get financing). The Real Deal has the exclusive: therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
What steps, if any, should be taken to prevent people from losing huge sums in real estate scams or dubious crowdfunding schemes? Or should we just accept that a fool and his money are easily parted?
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
The Daily Dirt: How to lose money on real estate
Some people lose money on real estate because they know nothing about it, others because they know just enough to be overconfident.
therealdeal.com
August 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
What steps, if any, should be taken to prevent people from losing huge sums in real estate scams or dubious crowdfunding schemes? Or should we just accept that a fool and his money are easily parted?
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
You can't upgrade a rental building in NY without considering the obstacles presented by "good cause eviction." That is even the case for Miki Naftali’s ultra-luxury Fifth Avenue condo project
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Does good cause eviction threaten Naftali’s Fifth Avenue condo?
Miki Naftali’s condo plan must avoid complications from good cause eviction and preserve a special permit from the 1970s.
therealdeal.com
August 20, 2025 at 12:16 AM
You can't upgrade a rental building in NY without considering the obstacles presented by "good cause eviction." That is even the case for Miki Naftali’s ultra-luxury Fifth Avenue condo project
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Many rezoning debates in NYC boil down to, “Well, if we do nothing, they’ll build market-rate condos” — so-called “luxury units” that “nobody can afford.”
But sometimes, negotiations fail and a developer does build market-rate condos. What happens then?
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
But sometimes, negotiations fail and a developer does build market-rate condos. What happens then?
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
The Daily Dirt: Who’s afraid of market-rate condos?
At a failed development site in Crown Heights, market-rate condos will rise instead. Is that so bad?
therealdeal.com
August 15, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Many rezoning debates in NYC boil down to, “Well, if we do nothing, they’ll build market-rate condos” — so-called “luxury units” that “nobody can afford.”
But sometimes, negotiations fail and a developer does build market-rate condos. What happens then?
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
But sometimes, negotiations fail and a developer does build market-rate condos. What happens then?
therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
117 N. 4th St in Brooklyn is a case study in why you shouldn't pay, say, $9.75M for an 8-unit building until you are absolutely certain it will be removed from rent stabilization. Deregulation is harder than you might think, even for a vacant building. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...
Rent control escape is possible, but ain’t easy
Rent-stabilized buildings often have only one way out of financial despair: demolition or substantial rehabilitation. But it’s hard.
therealdeal.com
August 11, 2025 at 1:10 PM
117 N. 4th St in Brooklyn is a case study in why you shouldn't pay, say, $9.75M for an 8-unit building until you are absolutely certain it will be removed from rent stabilization. Deregulation is harder than you might think, even for a vacant building. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...