Fuss over windowless housing could open a door

Mayor Eric Adams, once more, riled up a significant number of New Yorkers when he made an unusual and startling public remark. This time, the flamboyant mayor declared that apartments needn’t have windows at all. “Why can’t we do a real examination of the rules that state every bedroom must have a window?” Adams asked during a housing panel last week. “You don’t need no window where you’re sleeping, it should be dark!” declaring a bedroom window was now optional, he would’ve dodged all the derision. Few younger New Yorkers realize that one cause of the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis was the destruction of the SROs in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Indeed, though some people do enjoy sunlight and fresh air, which is especially relevant given that the city just endured a deadly airborne pandemic. Windows have been mandated for New York City bedrooms since at least the 19th century—plenty of illegal basements apartments don’t have them—and taking them away would encourage developers to overcharge for dystopian living quarters.

ROSS BARKAN

Anyone who has read a novel depicting old New York or seen a film portraying any period before the 1980s knows, intuitively, what an SRO was like. Sometimes known as “flophouses” or referred to as “renting a room,” they were single-room, dormitory-style living quarters in larger buildings, typically in Manhattan. SROs were very cheap and offered weekly or monthly rates that didn’t require the commitment of a year-long lease.

tered by economic crises, street homelessness was never an inordinate challenge.

torn down or converted into market-rate housing.

teaming with the state government to advocate for the funding needed to subsidize new SRO construction. These apartments should have windows, just as college dormitories have windows. Small bathrooms and kitchenettes should be included too. In essence, these would be modern, smaller-than-normal studio apartments, and they should be priced for affordability. The goal is an apartment any single person could afford without a great deal of effort. Let Adams evangelize for that.

Quick takes

● It’s fine that Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democrats in the state legislature are planning for a budget that drags beyond the April 1 deadline. Andrew Cuomo’s obsession with on-time budgets led to rushed, shoddy policy decisions.

Unfortunately, Adams missed a crucial opportunity to advocate for the revival of the SRO, or single-room occupancy unit. Had Adams simply called for this without

For the poor, the young, the disabled, military veterans, or anyone trying to get a foothold in the big city without much money or credit, SROs were a crucial lifeline. New arrivals hoping to find work or jumpstart careers in the arts often crowded into SROs, enjoying proximity to Manhattan for a negligible amount of money. For much of the last century, even when New York was bat-

That began to change in the 1990s. By then, a decades-long war against SROs had been utterly successful. First, politicians banned the construction of new units. Then, aggrieved politicians and locals concerned about the crime and drug use that happened in housing for the poor led aggressive campaigns to close down those that still existed. Most SRO buildings were either

It must be stated that the mid-century SRO unit was anything but ideal. Conditions were substandard. Rather than reform the SRO, however, city leaders made the disastrous decision to abandon the system altogether. Like the push, in earlier years, to rip up the city’s trolley car network, New Yorkers were deprived of a crucial means to make their city more livable.

Now what? Adams should be

● This state budget, arguably, is the most consequential to come in at least several years. In 2020 and 2021, lawmakers largely abandoned policymaking, and in 2022, Hochul was worried about her re-election. It’s plausible this budget could be legacy-defining for her ■

Ross Barkan is a journalist and author in New York City.

ANDREW L. ROSENBERG

Cassin & Cassin

INTERVIEW BY C. J. HUGHES

Andrew L. Rosenberg, a real estatefocused partner at Cassin & Cassin, is a big believer in balance. Though many of the tenant-protection reforms of the past few years are well-intentioned, he says, some lawmakers risk taking things too far by over-regulating the housing industry. After all, some landlords are in a precarious nancial spot because they missed many months of rent payments during the pandemic but still had to keep the lights on, he says. Policies like “good cause” eviction, which put limits on rent increases among other restrictions, could produce more hardship, he says. Admitted to the New York bar in 1992 and with his current rm since 2005, Rosenberg spends 85% of his time on transactions, such as sales, leasings and nancings. Today, it can often seem like political leaders and the real estate community will never get on the same page. But he’s been around long enough to have seen several real estate cycles come and go, and he’s learned that sometimes lawmakers need to come back down to earth.

The elephant in the room in the past couple of weeks has been the “bank-demic,” which among other things could chill lending for development. What’s your take on the bank failures?

I think it’s interesting that when New York Community Bancorp bought Signature Bank’s assets, it didn’t take on its real estate loans. [NYCB] already lends a lot to rent-regulated residential buildings, which have become less attractive since the 2019 reforms that capped what landlords could charge for empty units. A lot of banks go on a lending binge when times are good but invest themselves too heavily in real estate. Add in the last two years, when interest rates have been creeping up, and are still going up, and it really affects the pricing on the loan. It also affects the pricing on the property, so an

TRANSPORTATION

Dossier

WHO HE IS Partner, Cassin & Cassin

AGE 56

CHILDHOOD HOME Tena y, New Jersey RESIDES Haworth, New Jersey

EDUCATION Bachelor’s in nance, George Washington University; J.D., Brooklyn Law School

FAMILY LIFE His wife, Melissa, is an executive recruiter. The couple have a son, Scott, and a daughter, Danielle, who are both students.

CAREER HIGHLIGHT Rosenberg has been a member of New York State Association for Affordable Housing, the largest such trade group in the country, since its 1998 creation. “It’s been gratifying to have been part of the creation of thousands of affordable apartments.” asset is now worth less. Deals are still getting done, but only with the bettercapitalized guys.

HOBBY When he’s not drawing up contracts, Rosenberg is a shutterbug, especially when it comes to travel and food. Recent highlights on his Instagram page include a frolicking humpback whale from a boat trip in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; a bacon Bloody Mary from Ted’s Bulletin bistro in Washington, D.C.; and the family dog, a golden doodle named Buddy, enjoying candles in a special birthday dessert.

Of ces are vacant, and the housing supply is tight. Would of ce conversions solve both problems?

I agree, it would give landlords some exibility and be a big help to commercial landlords. Take all those monolithic glass