Affordable housing advocates hail New York state’s Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 as a life raft for renters in more than 1 million apartments in New York City alone. Other observers, however, regard it as a minefield that will eliminate incentives for building upkeep, remove housing stock from the market, and drive away landlords and investors. A key provision of the law empowers a board to tie rent increases to an inflation-indexed percentage. Owners previously could raise rents 20% when stabilized units were vacated, with deregulation allowed when rent level or resident income thresholds were reached. Another section limits rent increases to cover only $15,000 of improvements over a 15-year period, regardless of actual costs. “New York State has taken a historic step towards a fairer housing system by reforming the rent loopholes that allowed landlords and property owners to harass and displace tenants across the State. By passing this legislation, we are finally delivering equity and justice to our clients and all low-income New Yorkers,” the Legal Aid Society said in a statement. “[The law] makes it likely that no new apartment buildings will rise. It guarantees that existing ones will decay. It will make repairs and upgrades prohibitively expensive for landlords who must eke out puny profits from properties that require major reinvestment, but where they can’t charge enough rent to pay for it,” countered New York Post editorial writer Steve Cuozzo. In July, a month after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law, a coalition of trade associations and building owners filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the legislation is unconstitutional. A new Yardi Matrix bulletin weighs in on the new law. “Market players say that the values of properties with stabilized units dropped anywhere between 20-40...

In 2004, Yardi opened its doors in Glen Head, Oyster Bay, New York as part of the BJ Murray acquisition. The team of 16 employees set out to define a course for the fledgling office. “We faced the challenge of merging functionality, converting client platforms and creating a shared culture,” recalls Richard Malpica, Vice President and General Manager, Eastern US, Sales at Yardi. “I don’t know if there was an official strategy for [merging cultures]. I think we made it clear, from a Yardi perspective, that the company was committed to integrating the group and growing together,” says Malpica. “It was really a matter of understanding people’s skills and desires and plugging them into our framework. They can create a new trajectory for a long-term career with the company.” Over a span of several years, the New York office steadily found its way. Employees discovered new applications for their talents and practical ways of supporting one another along the journey. In addition to merging corporate cultures, Yardi found itself adapting to the New York culture. The market proved to be rich with opportunity but difficult to conquer. The Yardi team strived to form relationships in a market where loyalties are strong and tough to penetrate. “New York clients are the most demanding but they’re also extremely loyal. Once you get through the difficulties, the relationships are very, very strong,” Malpica says. John Caputo agrees. The Senior Server Administrator at Yardi has worked in New York since 1996. In his experience, brand loyalties have always been a challenge for growing companies in the metropolitan area. “[New York companies] have strong connections to our clients. It’s true of Yardi and other companies around here because it is such a competitive workplace. They really have a fierce...

For many Jersey City is “the sixth borough,” even though at times it feels like it’s a world away from New York City. There are only a few miles from Manhattan to Jersey with the Hudson River crossing of about a mile. Yet, moving from one side of the Hudson to the other means taking a relatively circuitous route or using the busy PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) system. The PATH system cannot keep up with the ever-higher number of commuters—240,000 people per work day—the ferry is expensive enough to make you want to call Uber, the train system is pretty unreliable, and tunnels need repairs. A new proposal might change all this. Kevin Shane, a 34-year-old Jersey City resident employed at the real estate crowdfunding company Sharestates, has invested much of his free time developing a plan that would enable commuters and tourists to bike or walk between downtown Jersey City apartments and Lower Manhattan. Yes, he envisioned a pedestrian bridge over Hudson—more than a mile long (1.5km) and more than 200 feet (60m) above the river. He envisioned another Liberty Bridge. Recently, Kevin met with Jersey City architect Jeff Jordan of Jeff Jordan Architects, who saw the greatness of Kevin’s daring idea and decided to join forces. Shortly after, Jordan jumped on board pro bono, releasing a series of appealing renderings that he designed with the assistance of his summer architecture interns and the Liberty Bridge turned from daydream to media darling. “It was provocative. I knew it would be a fun project to be involved in,” said Jordan, 38, who believes the bridge is buildable. “This isn’t a space station—it’s a bridge across a river. It comes down to money and will, but I think it’s feasible.” The Liberty Bridge idea is...