In the News
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Brick Underground: Could a Proposed Bill to Help New York Tenants Buy Their Building Finally Become Law?
Brick Underground — Many New York City renters dream of one day owning an apartment—but what if you and your neighbors had an opportunity to buy your rental building?
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The City: Payday Loan Apps Cost New Yorkers $500 Million Plus, New Study Estimates
The City — Cash advance apps like Dave and EarnIn have charged New York consumers more than $500 million in hidden fees and “tips” since 2019, a new report estimates — allowing the loan platforms to thrive despite New York’s strict limits on consumer interest rates.
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The Wave: State Senate Banks Committee Holds Hearing on Discrimination in NY’s Mortgage Industry
The Wave — The New York State Senate Banks Committee, chaired by NYS Senator James Sanders Jr., held a public hearing earlier this month to examine potential discrimination in New York’s home mortgage banking industry. The hearing brought together key stakeholders, including government officials, financial regulators, industry representatives, and consumer advocates, to address concerns regarding…
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Next City Podcast: So Many Land Trusts Launched in NYC That They Created A Map
Next City Podcast — We talk about community land trusts, or CLTs, a lot at Next City. It’s about ownership: The community owns the lands and stewards the land. That means that the buildings on the land — including housing and other spaces like storefronts — can made affordable to own or to rent, in…
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New York Focus: How Eric Adams’s MyCity Portal Became a $100 Million Question Mark
New York Focus — Over the past two and a half years, Mayor Eric Adams’s administration has spent tens of millions of dollars building an online tool it says will transform all social services in New York City.
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Finger Lakes 1: NYS Bill Gives Tenants a Chance to Buy Their Apartment Building
Finger Lakes 1 — The Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act would give tenants the first chance to buy their building if the owner decides to sell it. Renters could then work with community land trusts on the ownership model they want to have.
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Brick Underground: What is A Community Land Trust? How Does it Help Low-Income Buyers?
“TOPA will give tenants and community land trusts a powerful tool to take land and housing off the speculative market and expand the supply of deeply affordable, community-controlled housing in Black and brown neighborhoods,” said Chelsea Diaz, a Skadden Legal Fellow at New Economy Project.
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Finger Lakes 1: Tenant Groups Push for Stronger Housing Protections in New York Budget
Finger Lakes 1 — Nearly 70 tenant and community groups across New York State are calling on state lawmakers to pass the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and allocate $250 million annually to support its implementation, arguing that stronger measures are needed to prevent corporate takeovers of rental housing.
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Next City: A New Map Tracks the Growth of NYC’s Community Land Trusts
Next City — Three decades after the iconic Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association paved the way for community land trusts in New York City, the New Economy Project is releasing the first-ever interactive map of community land trusts across all five boroughs.
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Demos: Public Banks for Public Good: Transformative Investments to Help Close the Racial Wealth Gap
Demos — For decades, the racial wealth gap has persisted, with the median white family now holding more than six times the wealth of the median Black family in the U.S. Evidence has long shown that commercial banks perpetuate this divide through discrimination and predatory practices. But growing support for public banks—financial institutions created by local governments and…