Residents and Queens Lawmakers Urge Albany to Pass State Bill and Save 25K+ New Yorkers From Displacement

QUEENS, NY (06/03/2025) (readMedia)-- Today, dozens of Queens residents and local lawmakers rallied for the Albany legislature to pass standard tenant protections for more than 25,000 New Yorkers living in ground lease co-ops. Last month, prime sponsors Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal amended S2433A/A2619 to safeguard the ability of ground lease co-op residents to remain in their homes, in the event of forced deconversion. Both the Senate and Assembly Housing Committees advanced the legislation, and the GLCC is eager to see the legislation brought up for a vote in both houses before the end of the legislative session.

WATCH a recording of the press conference here.

Designed to offer middle-class residents a path to homeownership, ground lease co-ops make up the last class of "unprotected tenants," and face an elevated risk of displacement due to a legal loophole in New York State housing law. Residents in these buildings own their homes but rent the land beneath their co-ops from third-party landowners. As ground leases expire across the state, landowners are electing to dramatically hike rents for longtime co-op shareholders and effectively price them out - a result of inadequate regulation. There are nearly 12,000 ground lease co-op apartments across the state, with more than a third of these units located in Queens.

S2433A/A2619 offers ground lease co-op residents a path to remain in their homes if their building is forced to deconvert into rental apartments, by aligning regulations with existing provisions in the Rent Stabilization Law. The amendments aim to guarantee the following tenant protections for residents:

• Ability to borrow for required repairs and capital improvements
• Right of first refusal
• Tenant protections upon deconversion including rental leases for existing residents

Impacted residents and coalition members from Mainstay Co-op, Murray Hill Cooperative, Hilltop Village Co-op, and other Queens buildings shared their testimony, calling on the State Legislature to sign the bill into law.

"Like thousands of Queens residents and New Yorkers statewide, families purchased our apartments at Mainstay Co-op believing they would be a secure investment in our future. Decades later, we are facing an extreme rent hike that threatens our ability to keep them - all at the hands of unregulated landlords. We're a community of seniors, fixed-income, and middle-class families with children at risk of losing everything simply because we lack basic housing protections. It's on our lawmakers to protect every class of tenants, and this bill is how we ensure rights for ground lease co-ops. Albany must act now and pass this vital legislation before co-ops like ours are wiped out," said William Maiman, President of the Mainstay Co-op Board and member of the Ground Lease Co-op Coalition.

"Murray Hill Cooperative was founded as an affordable haven for working-class families, but today, our homes are under siege. With our landlord weaponizing our lease renewal to demand unsustainable terms, longtime residents face impossible choices: pay up or leave the place we call home. If Albany doesn't close this loophole now, countless co-ops around the state - including thousands of units across Queens - will find themselves on the brink of collapse. We urge New York lawmakers to pass this bill immediately and save our homes," said Anton Lekic, manager of Murray Hill Cooperative and member of the Ground Lease Co-op Coalition.

"Despite the passage of last year's Ground Lease Renewal Bill, tens-of-thousands of ground lease co-op residents statewide remain at risk of losing their homes, due to a longstanding legal loophole in New York housing laws. Queens is home to the largest number of ground lease co-ops; without standard protections, families across our borough are in imminent danger of displacement as countless ground leases reach expiration. That's why we're standing with tenants, advocates, and lawmakers to close this loophole once and for all. We are calling on the full Legislature to pass this bill before the end of session," said the Hilltop Village Co-op Board of Directors.

"With more than 10,000 people living in ground lease co-ops across Queens, our members face a substantial threat to their futures," said Geoffrey Mazel, Legal Counsel for the Presidents Co-op & Condo Council. "Landlords are using predatory tactics to force residents out and drain away families' hard-earned equity because of legal gaps that leave ground lease co-ops uniquely vulnerable. New York must step up to protect these tenants and defend this vital source of middle-class homeownership. The PCCC urges Albany lawmakers to prioritize passing S2433A/A2619 among the final slate of bills this legislative session."

NY State Senator John Liu stated, "Queens has more ground lease co-op residents than anywhere else in New York, many of whom have owned their homes for decades. These families did everything right by investing in their communities and buying homes that promised affordability, and now landowners are trying to pull the rug out from under their American Dream. We need to pass this legislation to provide standard tenant protections and give ground lease co-op residents the basic rights and security they deserve."

About the Ground Lease Co-op Coalition: The Ground Lease Co-op Coalition (GLCC) is a non-partisan coalition of co-op owners from diverse socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds advocating to save their homes amid the statewide housing crisis in New York. Representing more than 25,000 New Yorkers, the coalition supports legislative reform to ensure housing fairness, stability, and affordability for all ground lease co-op residents.

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