New York Governor Paterson Lives in Rent Stabilized Apartment

The New York Sun reports on welfare for the Governor of New York:

The governor of New York pays about $1,250 a month for a two-bedroom, rent-stabilized apartment in central Harlem, even while owning a home upstate in Guilderland and having unfettered access to the 40-room Governor’s Mansion in Albany.


Governor Paterson and his wife, Michelle, made about $270,000 last year, according to their tax returns.

Mr. Paterson’s city home is part of the Lenox Terrace apartment complex, a set of 16-story residential buildings spread across a six-block area in central Harlem. Built in 1958, Lenox Terrace’s other well-known tenants include Rep. Charles Rangel, the district’s congressman for more than 37 years.

According to the landlord’s Web site, the governor’s rent is less than half of the market rate of $2,600 a month or more for comparable apartments at Lenox Terrace, which features 24-hour doorman service. Critics of the city’s rent laws say Mr. Paterson should not pay below-market rent while pulling in a six-figure income and owning other property.

The chairman of the Conservative Party, Michael Long, said yesterday that Mr. Paterson’s living situation was “unconscionable,” given the lack of housing for many poor New Yorkers.

Some people really benefit from the lack of supply and demand forces in real estate.That's why they like the status quo.