Exclusive | NYC landlords see red as anti-real estate DSA candidates move closer to Congress: Sets us up for failure
The Democratic Socialists of America triumphed in Tuesday’s primary election in New York City.But with two anti-real estate candidates — Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier — getting one step closer to Congress, landlords are seeing red.“Their ideologies may seem mainstream to them and their comrades, but in the 435-member Congress, they’re on the fringe,” said Ann Korchak, board president of Small Property Owners of New York, a membership of property owners operting nearly 5,700 housing units.
“These housing schemes would not see the light of day from lawmakers around the country who respect property rights and the value of these small businesses as the backbone of housing stock in New York City and other urban areas throughout the U.S.,” she added.“They bash financially struggling small owners as slumlords, when in reality it’s government-imposed mandates and restrictive laws that prevent us from repairing, maintaining and operating our buildings.” State Assembly member Valdez — a Democratic Socialist whose district spans parts of Brooklyn and Queens — won the Democratic primary in New York’s 7th Congressional District.
She defeated three other candidates, including Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, and is one step closer to replacing retiring Rep.Nydia Velázquez. On her campaign website she boasts that she will “be a champion for passing legislation in Congress to increase the supply of affordable housing, fully fund the New York City Housing Authority, and fight for a New York where working people can afford to stay.
Claire is the only candidate in this race who has not taken real estate money.”She promised to “take buildings away” from so-called slumlords and implement nationwide universal rent control if elected to Congress.“The federal government has spent decades helping the real estate industry make billions off of working people,” Valdez claimed in a statement.“My housing platform serves Ne...