And That’s How The Annual Celebration Of “Stabilization Day” Came To Pass

The Rent Guidelines Board’s annual hearing to decide whether and/or how much to raise rent on rent-stabilized apartments functions as a benign ritual for tenants to take out their frustrations about rising housing costs:

Amid total pandemonium, the Rent Guidelines Board last night voted to hike rent-stabilized rents by 4.25 percent for one-year leases and 7.25 percent for two-year renewals — infuriating tenants who said they no longer want to participate in the annual process.

The 5-4 vote came after more than four hours of mayhem, with more than 300 angry tenants, armed with noisemakers, drowning out virtually every word uttered by RGB Chairman Marvin Markus.

. . .

While protesting tenants were unhappy with last night’s outcome, they were pleased with their disruption. “We did a fantastic job,” exulted Jumaane Williams, executive director of the Tenants & Neighbors coalition. “We shut it down longer than it’s ever been shut down before.”

Tenant leaders said they decided months ago to disrupt the annual rent-setting meeting because they considered the deliberations “a sham” that always produced a pre-ordained result.

. . .

The meeting at Cooper Union was chaotic even by RGB standards, where screams and chants from the audience are routine.

Markus, branded a sellout by tenant leaders, was interrupted so loudly and so often that he called an unprecedented 2 1/2-hour recess at 6:30 p.m.

But that had no impact.

Tenant activists ordered pizza and bottled water and were waiting in full force when Markus returned just before 9 p.m.

As a phalanx of cops stood guard, Markus tried four times to restart the meeting — only to give up as one uproar after another drowned out his words.

The fifth time, Markus simply read a resolution into the microphone. Virtually no one off the stage could hear him.

We’ll keep you posted about next June’s Stabilization Day, which will be marked by a boisterous pot-clanged march down Fifth Avenue, a peaceful protest in front of Bed, Bath & Beyond and an after-party at an establishment to be determined.

To Paraphrase Mel Brooks, It’s Good To Be Landlord!

Sobering economic analysis from the New York Press:

The Consumer Price Index, which tracks the effect of inflation on urban living expenses, jumped nearly one percent for NYC in the month of April alone according to various sources. The CPI for New York had risen less than three percent the entire previous year. This means everything here is costing more money. The rise in the CPI is fueled by the unstoppable escalation of oil prices and a parallel increase in the cost of rent. With gas and interest rates up, more people are renting, and fewer new homes are being built.

But it’s not all bad news:

This squeeze leaves Manhattan with another fun statistic, reported in The Daily News: a 0.67 percent vacancy rate for rentals. Landlords find themselves charging 9 percent more for a one-bedroom than they did last year, and they’re still turning hordes of people away; the sort of people who are scrambling for the chance to live in a city that promises only to bleed them dry once they move in.

Private School Education As Tax Shelter

The New York Sun takes a closer look at the phenomenon of grandparents chipping in for exorbitant private school costs. But it’s not all bad news — grandchildren are actually a valuable tax shelter:

Pitching in with tuition is a choice, not a responsibility, Ann Lubin Buttenwieser, who has 13 grandchildren, said. Several of Mrs. Buttenwieser’s grandchildren are enrolled at schools such as St. Bernard’s, Spence, Dalton, and the 92nd Street Y, and she and her husband make annual gifts of varying sizes to the schools.

Mrs. Buttenwieser said many institutions host grandparents’ and special friends’ days, during which they are invited to take part in classroom lessons and activities; the schools collect the names and contact information of attendees. “Once they have names and addresses, I think development officers can figure out who they are, if they do some homework,” she said.

Other grandparents contacted by The New York Sun acknowledged helping out with tuition, but, seeking to protect their children’s privacy, declined to speak about it on the record.

. . .

Many grandparents helping out with tuition prefer to give the money directly to their children as a gift, rather than write the check to the school, the president of Educational Investments LLC, Harold Simansky, said. Based in Boston, the firm helps families plan for school expenses.

Mr. Simansky said that under federal law, gifts to an individual of more than $12,000 a year must be reported to the IRS. A gift tax of 46% goes into effect if a person gives away more than $2 million during his or her lifetime. Tuition paid directly to an educational institution is not considered a gift and is not taxed, according to a recent IRS ruling.

“Certainly, in the last five years or so, as we’ve seen tuition rise above the gift tax exclusion. Grandparents have come out of the closet because they cannot funnel it through their grandchildren’s parents,” Mr. Simansky said. Tuition payments are also a way for grandparents to reduce the value of their estate and avoid estate taxes, he said.

Isn’t This What Libraries And Bus Stations Are For?

I don’t know which is worse — the $22 bagel or the $14 nap:

After parting a light-blocking black fabric “door,” clients will have officially traveled from the fast-paced life of New York City into the soothing atmosphere of the pod room. The room is dimly lit-almost to total darkness-and features two rows of four pearl white, circular sleep pods all draped in a blanket of hypnotizing scent and sound. The unmistakable sound in the room reminds one of the background noise of an airplane’s cabin. The sound acts as an auditory buffer. And the experience is not simply an audio/visual one. The enticing scent that fills the space was developed by an aroma therapist and is aptly dubbed the “Elixir of Sleep.”

Once you settle into your pod, the first thing you will notice is how comfortable the leather seats are. Your host, a young entrepreneur named Larry, will then proceed to pivot your pod to the angle of your liking, in which you can achieve a “full Batman” position if you so choose. After selecting your angle, you will cover your ears with top quality noise cancelling Bose headphones that emit an assortment of sleep-aiding ambient sounds. You will then envelop your face with a sleep mask, and you will finally begin to count sheep.

Price Of Beer In Yankee Stadium Surpasses That Of Strip Clubs

Beer in Yankee Stadium this year has become prohibitively expensive:

Thirsting for some suds? Fork over $8.75 for a Miller in a 20-ounce plastic bottle — up a quarter from last season and roughly $4 more than the 16-ounce pint at your neighborhood bar.

For just $1 more, you could get a monster 24-ounce Heineken or Fosters for the bargain-basement price of $9.75. Good ol’ Bud on tap will run you $7.75 — also up a quarter from last season.

Some fans cried foul over the modest increases

“It’s unbelievable. I pay less in a strip bar,” said Denis Broderick, 30, as he bought $60 worth of beers for his pals. “However, when you are trapped in there, they got you.”

“It’s expensive, but when you’re at the game you’ve got to pay,” agreed Rob Hickey, 26, of Hartford, Conn., who split $100 worth of beer with a pal. “But when Jeter hits a game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth, you don’t mind.”