Drag on the real estate industry.

0:00 Speaker 1 Well, there’s a lot of problems in New York City with in the real estate industry. Landlords are complaining they can’t collect their money. The court system is not working. They’re falling behind. Some are falling behind on their loans because they’re not collecting their money. Well with us today is our friends, the left Rack family attorney and they,

0:26 how do you say it? In the streets in New York they were matters heck about what the heck is going on? And right now there’s a lawsuit and we have their lawyer on the phone. Native when not a sky and Native give us an update of what’s going on.

0:45 We are suffering the same problems the left Rack family are suffering in my company, the judges, in the courts. It goes on forever. Native.

1:00 Speaker 2 So this case was commenced because housing court has for a long time now ceased to function as intended, and it has, unfortunately to all who walk through with stores, only gotten worse and worse over the years. A typical non payment case was initially intended to start and finish.

1:20 It might be hard to believe at this point, but it was initially intended to start finished within thirty period. Generally, the time in which property is rented. Now all the time, that time period has increased to three months, and six months and nine months, and now that time period has typically increased too well over a year, oftentimes a year

1:42 and a half. Now, I do want to emphasize that this is not because housing court judges and clerks are lazy or not looking to do their job. To the contrary, housing court judges are some of the hardest and most diligent judges in our system. But it’s largely a function of an inadequate budget and insufficient personnel, and that inability

2:06 to properly operate the system does not excuse, however, the housing court from derogating their statutory duties. So, just by way of illustration, when the landlord commences the case and the tenant answers, the statute mandates that a trial be had within three to eight days. Now, John, I need not tell you you’d be lucky to smell a trial

2:26 within the year. I mean, we cannot even get on the calendar in some boroughs for six months. That’s just to appear on the calendar for the first time. And what this leads to is a complete breakdown in the system where our clients tell us it’s not even worth to start the case in housing court and looks for

2:46 some different alternative. Now, this ultimately goes to the detriment and injures everyone involved. This is not a landlord action. This is an action really that was commenced on behalf of the citizen of New York. Now, the reason I say that is because landlords aren’t into the business of obtaining evictions. As you know, John, landlords are in the

3:11 business of getting rent, but the goods and services they supply andamely housing landlords don’t make money by evicting people. They simply just hope to expect the rent. And so when there’s an issue as to the payment of that rent, if you have an effective housing court, what you can do is resolve those issues. Landlord knows it could commence

3:30 the case, it will get its relief, it’ll be able to possibly enter into a stipulation with a tenant, and that all could be done within an effective time period. An efficient time period, whereas if you have a system where things go on for a year or a year and a half and nothing’s moving, then landlords are unable

3:49 to operate their business. And if they’re not collecting the rent and they’re unable to operate their business. Well, that means tenants aren’t getting their services because landlords don’t have the money to provide those services. And then on the flip side of that, from the tenant’s end standpoint, if tenants, if it takes a year and a half to conduct

4:09 the case and down tenants, at the end of the day, if there’s a judgment render for that year and a half worth of rent, it’s very difficult for that tenant to come up with the years and a half worth of rent. Or as if it would have been completed in thirty sixty ninety days, it’s far more likely that

4:26 the tenant can pay the rent and the landlord contenant can go on their way.

4:30 Speaker 1 Nakia, we experience the same thing. We find that if the tenant ends up owing a year’s with the rent, there’s no way they can pay the years with.

4:40 Speaker 2 The rent right and so then what option do you have at that point? The option is through a victim, which is something you never wanted in the first instance, because all you wanted to do is just to be able to collect the rent and resolve the issue with the tenants. But if you’re putting everyone in a position

4:57 where none of their problems can be resolved. And how court, which was its initial intention, than what you have is a broken system. And so we commenced this case to say, look, the statue tells the court how this is supposed to be run, and what we’re asking for is simply for the court to follow the statue as intended. And if

5:18 the if the the Office of Court Administration has an issue as to what the statue says, and they say, look, you know we can’t run it because we don’t have the proper budget. Well that’s something to be taken up with the legislature. But as it is presently written, they have statutory obligations like we all do, which is to

5:37 follow the law.

5:38 Speaker 1 And I am very disappointed in revenue. The Real Estate Board of New York that you’re usually was very good years ago on their ability to get a decent deal for all sides in Welbany, and they’re putting the business community, of the real estate business community in trouble because nobody else, nobody wants to make an investment in New York. And

6:08 if nobody’s making an investment in New York, where’s the future.

6:13 Speaker 2 Well, I share the concern with you that the future of New York is so highly dependent upon the real estate community and the way the legislators are treating the real estate community. They’re almost looking to drive it away, which is I need not tell you, John, how that’s going to impact the tax base, how impacts the quality

6:34 of life for all of New Yorkers. I don’t know if I would necessarily put this particular issue at Revenue’s or because it’s not rebnue’s obligation to follow the statute, it’s the obligation of the people running the court system.

6:48 But I generally agree with you that as a whole, whether it’s it’s the recent laws that were enacted in twenty nineteen that drove property values down forty fifty sixty percent and everything that goes along with that, and how that impacts New York society as a whole. All of these things, including the inefficiencies of the Housing Court, is

7:12 going to drive people away from this great city that we love.

7:15 Speaker 1 John, Well, thank you so much, and let’s let’s connect real soon, because if you need support on your lawsuit, I’m sure you check with my company lawyers, and I’m sure they want to they want to show your support because we want New York City to be fair and square to all sides.

7:35 Speaker 2 Thank you John myself personally, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for the community, both the real estate and the New York citizenry at large, and so thank you for everything that you do.

7:47 Speaker 1 Thank you so much, and we’ll catch up.

7:49 Speaker 2 So thank you, Thank you, sir,