Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Unintended consequences

From the NY Times:

When Albany passed a law last summer preventing landlords of rental buildings from using their apartments as hotel rooms, neighborhood activists on the Upper West Side, where many of the conversions had taken place, were ebullient.

No longer would tenants in these buildings have to contend with European backpackers and other transients traipsing through their halls. No longer would landlords force out long-term residents to make way for more lucrative hotel guests.

But now some backers of the law, which makes it illegal to rent out most residential rooms and apartments for less than 30 days, are wondering if they have opened a Pandora’s box. To the dismay of many on the Upper West Side, at least one building that was stopped from operating as a hotel is now being turned into a homeless shelter for 200 men.

This was not the outcome the law’s supporters hoped for or, they say, expected. They also fear that more such buildings will follow suit, in a neighborhood that many residents contend is already saturated with homeless shelters and homes for the mentally ill and recovering addicts.

7 comments:

Babs said...

omg - these poor people!

they went from one dangerous situation to another . . . sad

Anonymous said...

Reaped what the sowed

Anonymous said...

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...............................

Anonymous said...

I was going to say, "ha ha ha" but someone already beat me to it.

Anonymous said...

This sounds just about right that the idiots in Albany would do.

Anonymous said...

From one extreme to the other. It doesn't pay to be a tenant in NYC.

Anonymous said...

"From one extreme to the other. It doesn't pay to be a tenant in NYC."

Sure it does - if you're one of the lucky few that has an insanely large rent controlled apartment that you'vemanaged to keep in the family through succession.