Housing Troubles + Hochul Debates Zeldin

Oct 24, 2022

The State Division of Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR), which oversees the city's rent regulation programs, acknowledged a backlog of 3,400 complaints for illegally overcharged rents.
The DHCR also estimated that over 60,000 rent stabilized units were left vacant in 2021, while the City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) estimated that number at nearly 90,000, or 1 in 10 rent stabilized units.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced indictments against developers who fraudulently claimed the state's notorious 421-a tax incentives for "affordable housing."
Major street improvement projects like bike and bus lanes have been stalled by repeated interference from high-level appointees in the Adams administration.
The City's Chief Technology Officer openly carries a gun to the office, a violation of City policy.
According to the latest economic numbers, New York City has regained 86% of jobs lost during the pandemic, and average weekday office occupancy is at 48%.
Unionized City Council staffers are pushing back against Speaker Adrienne Adams' plan to end remote work by the end of this month.
Erick Tavaria, 28, became the 17th person to die in custody at Rikers Island so far this year, the highest total since 2013, when the jail's population was much higher.

Elections

Gov. Hochul and Lee Zeldin will have their first, and likely only, debate on Tuesday 10/25.
The City looked at various ways Republican Lee Zeldin could win next month's election against incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul, as polls show the race tightening.
A New York state judge ruled in favor of a Republican lawsuit to block a new law meant to allow for faster counting of absentee ballots. The ruling was immediately appealed by State Democrats.

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