Crain's New York reports:
In a 5-to-2 vote on Thursday, the state's Court of Appeals said that a rent-stabilized lease was exempted from a bankruptcy estate as a public-assistance benefit, just like disability or unemployment benefits, according to The New York Times. The ruling has implications for the nearly 1 million New Yorkers who live in rent-regulated apartments. The decision makes it clear that they can file for bankruptcy without fearing that they could lose their homes.
Do you love that phrase "their homes"? What ever happened to property rights in America? Check this amazing comment from the
tenant :
In the two-bedroom, $703-a-month apartment where she has lived for more than 50 years, Mrs. Santiago burst into tears when she heard about the decision from her bankruptcy lawyer, Kathleen G. Cully.
“It’s such a big relief,” she said in a phone interview. “I don’t have to worry about my landlord anymore.”
The dissenting opinion explains new legal ground:
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Robert S. Smith argued that the majority “grossly misreads” the law by treating rent regulation as public assistance. He was joined by Judge Susan Phillips Read.
“I would like to try asking every rent-controlled or rent-stabilized tenant in New York: ’Do you receive public assistance?’ ” Judge Smith wrote. “I would be surprised to find even one (apart from those receiving government subsidies from other programs) who answered yes.”
Imagine that.
