Few outside District 67 likely know Linda Rosenthal, the State assemblywoman who represents constituents on the Upper West Side and Hell’s Kitchen, and recent appointee to Chair of the Housing Committee in Albany. When it comes to NYC’s housing policies, her views matter…a lot.
To some, she is a noble crusader zealously fighting for affordable housing rights for New Yorkers; and, to others, she is a much more sinister character with an axe to grind against real estate developers and the well-off residents of NYC. Which is it…maybe a bit of both?
To her credit, she recognizes that “skyrocketing rents…have left far too many New Yorkers behind,” but beyond that, she is at a loss on how to effectively fix the issue. At every turn, she has made it more challenging for developers to build and was a vocal critic of the now defunct 421-a program. Furthermore, she opposes any form of “means testing” for rent stabilized units—a policy that would free up much needed apartments for low income families and prevent well-off New Yorkers from being afforded the benefits of rent stabilization.
It gets worse: Rosenthal has been living in a five-room rent stabilized apartment on the Upper West Side since 1984 and currently pays $1,573 a month. For context, a similar unit in the building rents for $5,200. When questioned about the overt conflict of interest, she brushed off the concerns noting “everybody has to live somewhere.” True, but few of us are in a position to control our own rent in perpetuity. As Housing Committee Chair, Rosenthal isn’t New York City rich but the $154,000 a year puts her in the top 20% of all earners in the United States so it’s no wonder a “means testing” approach is off the table under her leadership. It all smells, and not good.
Most disconcerting is Rosenthal’s failure to acknowledge or inability to comprehend the real issue: the lack of sufficient housing (it’s the supply side Linda). Last December, she quipped that she isn’t “worried about non-affordable housing” because “people who have means can buy, rent anything they need in this city.” That may be true for the uber wealthy but ironically not for many average New Yorkers and even an upper middle class assemblywoman making $154,000. The cavalier “let them eat cake” attitude coupled with a mindset of “as long as I get mines” and a smattering of incompetence makes Linda Rosenthal one of the more ill-informed and dangerous-for-the-city legislators to surface in some time.
Exclusive | Linda Rosenthal paying just $1,573 for five room rent stabilized apartment (nypost.com)
Rent-control deal poses conflict of interest for Linda Rosenthal (nypost.com)
Housing ‘have’ Linda Rosenthal won’t let have-nots have a chance (nypost.com)
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