City Council radicals are speeding toward their goal of destroying New York’s housing market in the name of “saving” it.
Progressives want to “decommodify” residential real estate by turning it into “social housing” run by politically connected nonprofits.
That is: a system much worse than NYCHA.
The scheme would grant “qualified” insiders an effective veto on the sale of already “distressed” residential buildings by imposing a six-month “right of first refusal” period on owners and buyers.
Say you own a three-family rental property, and want to sell it: Under this “Community Opportunity to Purchase Act,” you must announce your intent to put your property up for sale at a listed price and then wait six months — subject to extensions — to see if a city-approved nonprofit outfit wants to buy it by matching that price.
Only then can you make the building “available for sale in the public market.”
This madness means huge headaches for sellers, and would drive investors to look anywhere else: No responsible party will put up with the hassles and delays.
Families who inherit property often have to sell to pay taxes and divide estates; this six-month holding period imposes obvious hardship.
Cue the complete cratering of values of already distressed properties — which is probably the goal of the legislation in the first place.
That is: Insane state laws already have masses of apartment buildings underwater all across town; this is a bid to force owners to sell at even more of a loss.
City Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez says it’ll mean “housing that is socially owned by public entities.”
Except that connected insiders will control those “public entities”; tenants will be at their mercy.
Real socialism always proves to be far more cruel than “heartless capitalism.”
This story originally appeared on NYPost
