NY Dirt: Rent Freeze Suit Sees New Venue, Same Battle

New York’s rent freeze lawsuit has changed venues, but it hasn’t found a friendlier audience.

Last week, the city’s Law Department won its effort to move the case from Staten Island to Manhattan.

It was a matter of legal jurisdiction, but also likely one of strategy. In Staten Island, the city’s attorneys faced a conservative judge. Meanwhile, almost all justices elected in Manhattan are Democrats. The move stood to benefit the city, assuming a Democratic jurist might be more open to arguments from the Mamdani administration about why a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments was appropriate — not that the city’s attorneys would acknowledge that rationale.

The city got what it wanted, but with an ironic twist. The case has since been assigned to Brendan Lantry, a Republican from Staten Island. Lantry was elected in his home borough, but seems to have been shuffled over to Manhattan, working out of Thomas Street.

Lantry is the former chairman of the Staten Island Republican Party. At the time of his election, he was 35, the youngest judge in New York City history, according to SILive.

Lantry hasn’t been afraid to make enemies of Manhattan’s progressives, previously making headlines in 2024 for slamming District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg had sought felony charges for two people who had been caught buying fake vax cards from a “New Jersey stripper,” according to the New York Post. Lantry dismissed the felony charges, and further went on to say that Bragg and his office routinely move to dismiss charges for former felons or those who could see their immigration statuses threatened.

Lantry is set to have a key role in deciding how the case proceeds. First up will be deciding whether to grant the city’s motion to dismiss the case, as well as whether tenant groups and landlords can intervene in the suit. Oral argument on that issue is scheduled for Sept. 2.

What we’re thinking about: How are nonprofit affordable housing providers doing? Are they ready to take on distressed properties transferred from former “bad actor” landlords? If you run a nonprofit and would like to chat, I’m at lilah.burke@therealdeal.com.

A thing we learned: Manhattan-born actor Timothee Chalamet was the top-Googled celebrity in New York so far this year, according to a study from BetMGM Casino. Chalamet’s mother, Nicole Flender-Chalamet, is a broker for Corcoran.

Elsewhere

— The city broke ground today on the $36 million renovation and expansion of the Eastern Parkway Library, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. Residents will have access to a temporary library this fall, “thanks to Settlement Housing Fund, Amazon and IKEA,” Linda Johnson, who heads the Brooklyn Public Library, said in a statement.

— New York politicos are using AI to write their op-eds. Of the 54 opinion articles analyzed by New York Focus, in nine cases, politicians, including “the governor’s running mate, the mayor of Albany, and the chair of the Senate technology committee, acknowledged that they or a co-author used AI in producing 10 different articles.” Only four denied using AI.

— After the federal government shifted some of the burden of SNAP funding onto states, New York is shifting that burden onto counties. Those counties are weighing raising property taxes to make up for the shortfall, New York Focus reports.

-Lilah Burke

Closing Time

Residential: The most expensive residential sale recorded Thursday was $11.2 million for unit 11/12A at 925 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side.

Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction was $30 million for a 51-unit apartment building at 315 Siegel Street/59 Bogart Street in East Williamsburg. T30 Capital sold the property after purchasing it for $39.5 million in 2016.

New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $8.8 million for a 1,435-square-foot condominium at Central Park Tower.

Breaking Ground: The largest new building project filed was for a combined 224,687-square-foot, 297-unit property at 831-851 Rosedale Avenue and 829 Soundview Avenue in the Soundview section of The Bronx. Leandro Nils Dickson filed the permit on behalf of Westorchard Management.

–Matthew Elo