As Bruno Exits, Real Estate Legislation Angles for Spotlight

Each year in Albany, a multitude of bills on housing issues go through a familiar pattern: The Democratic-led Assembly, supported by affordable housing groups, passes legislation that would expand tenants’ rights and protections to varying degrees, including bills that would strengthen rent stabilization. Then the Republican-led Senate, backed by the New York City real estate industry, votes down the legislation or takes no action, often saying the bills would crimp economic development or encroach on property owners’ rights.

Now, with an increasingly narrow Republican majority in the Senate and the retirement of Senator Joseph Bruno, who led the Republican side for 13 years, the recurring rhythm of real estate legislation—and the political alliances that go along with it—could shift substantially.

With Democrats two seats shy of Senate control, a number of vulnerable Republican incumbents, and a national presidential election that could bring strong turnout for Democrats statewide on Nov. 4, long-dormant real estate legislation could be front and center under a new Democratic Senate. To name a few issues: rent control; a real estate incentive program, regulations limiting the ability of property owners to privatize their Mitchell-Lama affordable housing complexes; and tax breaks for residential construction.

“I have about 121 house bills, and probably half of them are in rent regulations, and they’re as old as me,” said Assemblyman Vito Lopez, chairman of the Assembly housing committee. “If the Senate goes Democrat, the chances of them moving those bills will greatly increase.”

Topping the list of real estate issues potentially up for grabs is high-rent vacancy decontrol, the law that allows landlords to free vacant apartments from rent regulations once the rent passes a cap of $2,000 a month. Just a decade ago, Mr. Bruno came close to eliminating all such rent regulations, but now many Senate Democrats pledge to raise the cap or remove it entirely.

Moving the Democrats into power has become a prime focus of tenant groups, and housing affordability advocate Michael McKee, who serves as treasurer of the Tenants Political Action Committee, said his efforts are aimed entirely at the Senate.

“Everything rides on the Senate changing hands,” said Mr. McKee, who added that his group has been assisting in the campaign of Joseph Addabbo, a Democratic councilman from Queens seeking to unseat Republican Senator Serphin Maltese.

Among Senate Democrats, Liz Krueger, the ranking Democrat on the Senate’s housing committee, said the vacancy-decontrol cap is a major issue, one that she would seek to remove completely, though she said she’s open to raising its limit.

“The conference supports rent stabilization, and recognizes that we have a housing crisis in the city of New York,” Ms. Krueger said.

In May, Ms. Krueger was joined by the bulk of the Democratic conference in the Senate—26 of the 29 other Democrats—in writing a letter to Mr. Bruno pledging support for the removal of the vacancy-decontrol cap entirely.

The letter, which aligned the members with Assembly Democrats on the issue, was also notable for one of the three who did not sign it: Malcolm Smith, the Democratic Senate minority leader.

Mr. Smith’s lack of open support for some of the rather liberal housing policies espoused by his colleagues is suggestive of a broader ambiguity as to how the Senate Democrats would actually vote if they came to power. Next Page >