LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
New York Newsday
May 24, 1997

Residency Requirement

Daniel B. Sukenik. Kew Gardens

As owner-manager of New York City rent-regulated apartment houses, I file protest applications with New York City on the escalating assessed valuations on an ongoing basis. Whether successful or not I must pay my accountant's and appraiser's fees. If successful, I must share the tax savings and refunds with my attorney.

Tenants subject to New York rent control and stabilization don't have to lift a finger to prove that the regulated apartment is their primary residence or that they even live there at all (and are not subletting their apartment for vast sums of money).

Current New York law protects senior citizens even if they spend most of the year in Florida or elsewhere. Many people residing year-round in Ireland, Europe, Puerto Rico, etc., maintain rent-regulated apartments. They do not pay city or state income tax or sales tax and they do not enhance the local economy.

There should be some provision that tenants in rent-regulated apartments must prove that they actually reside in their apartment before they are granted the benefits of such regulations.