As NY Budget Drags On, Pressure Builds to Negotiate Tenant Protections

Gov. Hochul’s plan to ramp up construction across the state has emerged as a sticking point in delayed budget talks—making now the time, some lawmakers say, to push for the deal to include renter protections like “good cause” eviction. “You try to resolve some thorny issues within a final budget if you can,” said Manhattan Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal.

In New York’s Fight to Legalize Basement Apartments, What About Cellars? 

While Gov. Kathy Hochul included a pathway to basement legalization in her February budget proposal, the word ‘cellar’ is absent from her plan. The two terms may be indistinguishable to most property owners, but they’re different under zoning and dwelling laws, and excluding cellars from the state’s plan would omit a significant swath of below-grade housing stock from potential conversion, advocates say.