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Corporations buying up more NYC real estate
More and more corporate landlords are buying up apartments in New York City, pushing out families that have owned those buildings for decades. One neighborhood where that has become increasingly common is the East Village, and longtime residents say they're not happy about it.
NEW YORK - While the East Village is one of New York City's trendiest neighborhoods, it has become part of a new trend some here would prefer to skip.
Corporations have been buying up portions of the East Village, the most recent examples are two connected buildings at 305 E. 11th St. and 310 E. 12th St.
A combined 89 residential units were purchased by the real estate corporation Meadow Partners for $58 million. The company says it is looking forward to modernizing the buildings and that the market rate units are renting below market value.
With New York City in the middle of skyrocketing rents and soaring demand, those who live here tell us tenants in the building are being told their leases won’t be renewed and that they have to move out when their current lease runs out.
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According to Sateesh Nori, Executive Director of the housing justice group Just Fix, more and more corporations are becoming landlords, and for residents here, it may mean massive rent hikes or getting pushed out altogether.
"In fact, 89% of landlords of buildings with three or more apartments are corporations. And so this means that these corporations are in the business of making money," Nori told FOX 5 NY. "If they can profit even 1% by pushing out a family that has been there for decades, they will do so."
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Some have said that when a company takes over a property, it's not always bad news and that a larger company might have the deeper pockets needed to afford repairs that a private, individual owner cannot afford.
But for many New Yorkers, it'll be a matter of wait and see.