NYC's Government & Rent Regulation System: A Maximum New York Mega-Office Hours Experience (Event)
Thursday, May 29 // 6:30–9:00pm // There will be snacks
Post event note: it was great! A little over 40 people attended, we had snacks, and a good time was had by all. Let me know if you’d like a version of this event in your part of the city; ideally you have a place to host, at least 10 people you can invite, and you can provide snacks. If you’ve never hosted an event like that before, I’ll help you. Email me (daniel (at) maximumnewyork.com). Socialize for abundance! Photos below by Eden.
Want a refresher on the basics of NYC government and political history? Want a summary overview of NYC’s rent regulation system? Then do I have the event for you!
Come to Maximum New York’s Mega-Office Hours Experience! We’ll dedicate an hour to going over each of those things. By the end of the night, you’ll know more about them than most other people in the city—and you’ll discover how the realities of our laws are far different than headlines and social media portray!
Note: parents and their children are welcome at all MNY events, if bedtime permits, of course. Let me know if you need anything.
Event breakdown:
Thursday, May 29, Williamsburg/Brooklyn:
6:30pm: doors open, arrival
6:45–7:45pm: NYC government overview
7:45–8:00pm: break, snacks
8:00–9:00pm: Rent regulation overview
How does NYC work? There's a mayoral race!
For the first half of this event, I will present an abbreviated version of the content in my Foundations of NYC class. We will map out the government, discuss the law, and review basic political history. I’ll also point to external resources to continue learning if you desire.
What is rent control??
During the second half, we will specifically discuss how rent regulation works, what it is, and how to think about it; you will be in charge of formulating your own conclusions beyond that. About half of NYC's rental stock is rent regulated, so it's a vital component of any politician's housing platform.
You can come for one, or both, halves; I recommend coming for both, because understanding rent regulation is hard without government basics.
Surprising facts about rent regulation and NYC’s housing stock:
There is no “rent regulation system.” It is several systems stacked in a trench coat, often not designed with reference to each other. This doesn’t mean you can’t learn it, but you should not have the expectation of one uniform system.
Two-thirds of NYC’s housing stock is rental, and that is split near 50/50 between market and non-market rentals. Most of the non-market rentals are rent regulated in some way. They are very common, and since WW2 have generally been most of our housing stock.
There are ~2.3 million rental units in NYC. How do the rents stack up?1
26% (604,000) have rents above $2,400 (74% are below $2,400)
24% (554,000) have rents between $1,650 and $2,400
25% (578,000) have rents between $1,100 and $1,650
25% (586,000) have rents below $1,100
About 250,000 of these are rent stabilized
130,000 are in public housing (NYCHA)
180,000 are market rate
These datapoints by themselves aren’t enough to have an in-depth understanding of the rent regulation system. But they should get the questions and comments rolling!
What should you be able to do after attending?
Recognize the basic pieces of the NYC government.
Know basic NYC political history.
Ask good questions about rent regulation to candidates for office.
Evaluate claims made by people on social media about rent regulation.
Recreate good-faith arguments about rent regulation from multiple perspectives.
List relevant primary sources and law relevant to rent regulation.
Know before you arrive: This event will be guided by the four rules of etiquette that guide all Maximum New York classes, and is generally for people who mostly agree with The Sensible Seventy. Get ready to venture draft opinions, be curious, and have a good time.
See 2023 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Selected Initial Findings, p. 17 for all of these numbers. Or see this delightful video (delightful in the sense of “nice summary,” not “the rental situation in NYC is good”) that goes over the same numbers.