Manhattan renters who leased their apartments at deep pandemic discounts are sharing their dismay as landlords jack up their rents by as much as 65% or more.
Median rents in Manhattan hit an all-time high of $3,700 per month in February, a 24 percent increase from a year ago, according to a new report from brokerage Douglas Elliman.
As offices reopen and young people flood back to the city, New York’s supply of available apartments has plunged, and landlords are pressing their advantage by raising rents to new highs.
‘I just got my new lease and guess what, they’re raising my rent 48 percent! And its f***ing legal!’ said New York City resident Gabbie Fried in a January TikTok video.
Fried, a comedy writer and actor, said that she had initially leased her apartment during the pandemic at ‘pandemic prices’, expressing shock at the increase.
WARNING: Explicit language
‘I just got my new lease and guess what, they’re raising my rent 48 percent! And its f***ing legal!’ said New York City resident Gabbie Fried in a January TikTok video
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many New Yorkers fled the city, and rental prices plunged as desperate landlords tried to lure willing renters into their units
Median rents in Manhattan hit an all-time high of $3,700 per month in February, a 24 percent increase from a year ago, according to a new report from brokerage Douglas Elliman
‘My life is great, I haven’t had four emotional breakdowns this week, welcome to my life,’ she said.
Fried, 27, recently told the New York Times that her Upper West Side one-bedroom was the first apartment of her own she was able to afford when she got it for $1,945 per month last February.
But when she learned the rent was going up by $800 per month if she renewed, she had an ‘absolute breakdown,’ she said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many New Yorkers fled the city, and rental prices plunged as desperate landlords tried to lure willing renters into their units.
Many property management firms offered deep discounts or sweeteners, including multiple months of free rent, to entice renters to sign new leases.
But now the worm has turned, and with demand outpacing supply, landlords have been able to raise rents to record highs.
The vacancy rate has plunged in Manhattan, with just 1.32 percent of apartments free in February, compared to 11.79 percent a year ago, and the lowest February rate recorded since 2008.
Studio apartments in Manhattan had a median rental price of $2,600 in February, up 18.2 percent from a year ago, according to the Douglas Elliman report.
TikTok users expressed their dismay at steep rent increases in New York
Manhattan renters who leased their apartments at deep pandemic discounts are taking to TikTok to share their dismay as landlords jack up their rents
The setting sun illuminates buildings on Henry Street on the Lower East Side in front of One World Trade Center on January 28, 2019 in New York City
New York City renters are taking to TikTok to express their dismay over skyrocketing rents, as pandemic-era discounts end and rents hit an all-time high
One-bedrooms saw the biggest annual rate increases, rising 27.1 percent to $3,750, while two-bedrooms rose 20 percent to $5,104.
The luxury apartment market has also surged, with the top 10 percent of Manhattan rents rising 43.8 percent from a year ago, to $11,500.
‘What we’re seeing is a rapid rebound and an unprecedented climb in rental prices,’ said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel, which prepared the report, in an interview with CNN. ‘In all categories, everything is going up.’
Furious TikTokers have responded by posting videos slamming the rate increases, with one saying her rent had gone up from $1,800 to $,2850.
Another said hers had jumped from $2,500 to $4,950 with her lease renewal, which would be an increase of 98 percent.
‘I just got my rent increase for New York City, post COVID, $2,400 to $3,950,’ another said, announcing her imminent departure from the city.
The soaring rents come even as New Yorkers grapple with a shocking wave of violent crime, leading some to question whether it is worth remaining.
Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain who ran on a tough-on-crime platform, has been under pressure to take stronger action since taking office in January.
New Yorkers have been stunned by a string of violent and seemingly random violent attacks, including two incidents of hammer attacks on the subway in just 12 days.
On Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams unveiled his latest economic development plan that promised to lure tourists back, beautify the streets and embrace NYC’s legal pot industry – though he failed to mention spiking crime rates
During the month of February, the NYPD reported a 58.7 percent increase in total crime. The latest figures showed 9,138 incidents as opposed to 5,759 in 2021 – with double-digit surges in nearly every major category
On Thursday, Adams unveiled a newest economic development plan that promised to lure tourists back, beautify the streets and embrace NYC’s $1.3 billion legal pot industry, AP reported.
The recently-elected Democratic mayor said that the plan would help rebuild the city, which was battered by a pandemic that cratered New York City´s economy, sending the unemployment rate from a pre-pandemic rate of 3.7 percent to more than 20 percent in May 2020.
Even this past December the unemployment rate remained high at 8.8 percent, with about 66,000 business being forced to close at some point. More than 26,000 businesses closed for good over the past two years, the mayor’s office said.
‘We will never be the same. COVID has changed the game. And we must be prepared to win in the game,’ Adams said.
His plan calls for helping small businesses and cultivating specific industries, including the legal pot industry.
New York legalized the recreational use of marijuana last year for those over 21, but recreational sales are not expected to start until later this year or early next year as the state sorts out regulations for what is expected one of the biggest legal US markets for pot .
The mayor’s office estimates that the industry will generate $1.3 billion in sales and between 19,000 and 24,000 jobs.
Adams also has an outreach plan to lure tourists to visit and spend money in the five boroughs.
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