EPISODE 5

The Brick Underground Podcast Episode 5: The highs and lows of brownstone landlord-ing

Being a landlord in NYC is no easy job.

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By S. Jhoanna Robledo | May 16, 2016 - 9:59AM

Landlords get a bad rap. But who can blame tenants for getting salty with them when there are so many dubious operators—like the one who made headlines last December for pressuring and misleading tenants so they'd leave their rent-stabilized apartments in the East Village—in this increasingly expensive (and, to many, unaffordable) market?

Bad apples aside, there are also plenty others for whom being a landlord is an avocation, one that's fueled by trust and goodwill. (Many of them own just one or two properties.) Though the business may be lucrative, making money isn't paramount: building good relationships is. For this episode, we spoke to Ann, a Manhattanite who shares her brownstone with tenants, and has seen it all, including renters who rake in the bucks—unbeknownst to her—by Airbnb-ing their apartment, and a vengeful ex-tenant who quite possibly used the New York Public Library as a weapon.

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This podcast was produced by Jhoanna Robledo, Jenny Falcon, and Chad Dougatz of Hangar Studios; many thanks to Ann for welcoming us into her brownstone and sharing her story.

Have a great tale about navigating NYC's maze of a real estate market? Or about life in this sometimes frustating but always fascinating city? Comment on this post or email us at: [email protected].

Tune in next month for the second installment of our Landlord Chronicles, in which we interview tenant rights lawyer Sam Himmelstein, who has had many run-ins with some of the city's worst landlords. And keep checking back with us for more tales of NYC life, liberty, and the pursuit of real estate.

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