NEW YORK — Andrew Cuomo privately expressed regret to a receptive audience about elements of rent reforms he approved as governor, two people familiar with his remarks told POLITICO.
The Controversial Rent Reforms
Cuomo, the frontrunner in the race to unseat Mayor Eric Adams, last week shared his belated concerns about the 2019 tenant-friendly laws during a closed-door meeting of the executive committee of the Real Estate Board of New York. He suggested he should have sought, during negotiations with the state Legislature, to curtail the laws he believes excessively limited allowed rent increases tied to apartment building repairs.
In a statement, his campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi substantiated Cuomo’s hindsight-is-2020 message to the REBNY board.
Industry Backlash
“While well-intentioned, the 2019 bill had unintended consequences in some places — specifically changes involving MCI and IAI repairs,” Azzopardi said, referring to state-administered programs that regulate how much owners can raise rents after making improvements. “There’s been widespread acknowledgment of these issues, which subsequently were the subject of legislative tweaks.”
The rent law overhaul, and Cuomo’s role in it, has remained a source of discontent for some well-heeled real estate executives who have the means to bolster a super PAC backing Cuomo’s candidacy.
Political Maneuvers
Cuomo’s comments come as he works to amass support for his mayoral bid from business leaders, who are increasingly abandoning Adams with the mayor’s reelection prospects in doubt. The former governor is a moderate Democrat who occasionally aligned with the left flank of the party, particularly during the post-2018 progressive heyday. In addition to the rent regulations, he also signed into law controversial criminal justice reforms. He’s now running as a centrist promising to restore order to the city.
“We appreciate the Governor meeting with us and outlining his vision for New York City’s future,” REBNY President Jim Whelan said in a statement about the meeting.
Industry Impact
The real estate lobby staunchly opposed the state’s systemic overhaul, which eliminated or severely restricted landlord-friendly provisions approved decades earlier. The laws caught the industry off guard and signaled a dramatic reduction of its longstanding dominance in Albany, following Democrats’ retaking of the state Senate during the blue wave of 2018.
REBNY had long funded Senate Republicans, counting on them to block any unfavorable rent changes.
Legislative Surprises
In 2019, the governor — a political strongman when he wanted to be — left the reforms up to the state Legislature, saying shortly before the Senate and Assembly reached a deal on changes that he would sign whatever they passed.
It was widely expected that Albany lawmakers would reform the rent-regulation system after the Democrats’ victory, but how far they went — particularly around building and apartment improvements — shocked industry insiders.
Industry Perspectives
During last week’s REBNY meeting, the Democratic ex-governor specifically cited the law’s effect on building investments, people familiar with the conversation said.
Landlords have argued the 2019 laws hindered investment in rent-regulated buildings designed to keep them in decent condition.
Their calls prompted some rollbacks in the wide-ranging Albany housing deal last year. The changes — slammed by tenant activists — allowed higher rent increases tied to apartment improvements, but landlord advocates say they did not go far enough.
