CAPITALISM, ARCHITECTURE, AND HOME RESTORATION IN NEW YORK

For many New Yorkers and citizens of the world, the Manhattan townhouse is a beloved icon. Beyond even their singular beauty and grandeur, the stature of these homes reflects the curiosity they pique about what lies behind their imposing facades. Indeed, the classic Manhattan townhouse possesses a sheer visual magnetism that defines New York no less powerfully than does the classic skyscraper.   

In my mind's eye there are two Manhattans: The Manhattan seen from afar - the New York that spreads across the horizon in a rising, falling wave of towers to create the most beautiful skyline in the world; then there's the Manhattan we experience when we're on the streets in the heart of the city. This latter New York is where the Manhattan townhouse holds court. It evokes our past through old movies, photographs and even - for the fortunate among us - memories of lovely hours spent inside their ample interiors. Yet for all this beauty and grace, somewhere behind these extraordinary buildings lies a complicated web of intrigue, strife and hardship.   

My interest in Manhattan townhouses predates my decision to work in New York real estate. I have lived in these homes for many years and couldn't recommend the experience more highly to anyone. But there's one equally classic caveat to bear in mind: the pre-existing tenants.  With each of my acquisitions came an unexpected, arduous journey that proved to be anything but a first-class ticket to paradise. One could even go so far as to say that I have paid a severe emotional price for my love affairs with these unique houses, and in retrospect the most painful part of the journey has turned out to be my growing awareness that much of the difficulty was unnecessary.

  For most people contemplating the acquisition of a home in Manhattan, the precondition for any serious negotiation would include two words: "Delivered Vacant."  The first time I set my sights on a Manhattan townhouse, I decided to forego that fundamental sine qua non of real-estate purchase. I thought I could dispense with the issue of the simple relocation of a few lingering tenants and begin the exciting process of restoration. 

  This fantasy led me into the grips of judges, lawyers and tenants who took me on an emotional rollercoaster of greed and jealousy, and a fortune of wasted funds.

  Here, I discovered the true tale of two cities. This time, they were not glamorous Manhattan up close and Manhattan seen from afar, but the true division of Manhattan split between the world of The Wealthy Manhattan House Buyer and that of The Townhouse Vigilante. Each of these iconic individuals is caught in the clash between two irreconcilable legal interests: the rights of ownership and the rights of the tenant under rent stabilization. And herein lies the root of the problem with rent stabilization as it pertains to houses and/or small buildings. 

In New York City we pride ourselves on maintaining certain deference to strangers. We live in such close proximity with one another and do so as cordially as we do because we have mastered this art as a group. Therefore, within tenant-landlord disputes in buildings housing a great number of units, we maintain this cordial distance.  However, when an owner is dealing with a small group of tenants everything immediately becomes too personal. Here you have a collision of extremes which usually becomes an all-or-nothing showdown.  Because in matters of the home it is natural to revert to our deepest, most primal instincts in which we express our Territorial Imperative and from there, disaster usually occurs. 

What, then, is to be done? Actually, the solution to our current predicament isn't so complicated. Rent stabilization laws for buildings under 10 units should be crystal clear-providing a consistent, fail-safe, buy-out formula and eliminating the two sets of mutually opposed interests. It is not the job of the court to broker deals between tenants and homeowners, which has been the case each time I have found myself in such a predicament.

The majority of tenants housed in these small rent stabilized apartments need and deserve money to relocate. That is not the question. The question is, how can we orchestrate this transaction?

After many years of owning grand Manhattan townhouses, I can't honestly say I enjoy owning them more than I do just looking at them. It is so breathtaking to walk by these homes day or night, marveling at their exterior architecture and glimpses of exquisite interiors we are privy to when the lights are on and the curtains are up. They are something that all passersby can enjoy. Nobody benefits when they begin to crumble as a result of archaic, ineffective, no-winner rules and regulations. We owe it to New York to save the Manhattan townhouse and make each of our blocks equally enjoyable.