Not long after Covid ended, a tenant in one of my Manhattan buildings died. He was an elderly Italian immigrant who lived alone in a small studio near Gramercy for decades. These things happen in the normal course of life, and there’s always a story: Sometimes people die, get married or divorced, or decide that the big city isn’t for them.
Normally, it doesn’t take too long for landlords like me to renovate an empty apartment and list it on StreetEasy so that new people can move in and start the next chapter of their lives. But since this particular apartment is rent-stabilized, laws that were passed in 2019 essentially prevent me from doing anything with it except shutting the door and keeping it empty.
Is There a Dumber Housing Policy Than Rent Control?
By JUDGE GLOCK · 2025-09-03
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