More Downtown buildings may be eligible for rent stabilization

The thousands of tenants who could be eligible for rent-stabilization after a court ruling on 421-g tax breaks can attend a meeting this Thurs., Jan. 28 to find out more information.

Although the Dec. 23 Housing Court ruling related only to one apartment in 37 Wall St., it could apply to an additional 28 buildings Downtown. The 421-g tax breaks were given to landlords who converted office buildings to residential units between 1995 and 2006. The December court ruling stated that landlords although apartments in 421-g buildings could start at market rate, landlords had to keep the rents stabilized for the entire duration of the tax benefit. This Thursday’s meeting, sponsored by Lower Manhattan’s elected officials, will be held at 6 p.m. at St. John’s University, 101 Murray St. near West St.

When Downtown Express first reported on the court decision three weeks ago, the city Dept. of Finance refused to provide a list of the potentially affected buildings. The Express compiled a partial list of 16 buildings for that article by cross checking records. State Sen. Daniel Squadron, who had also been trying to get the list, last week received this full listing from the Dept. of Finance: