Despite map's implication, no evidence that "100% affordable" 535 Carlton, at least, has left rent stabilization. Landlord lapse + too little oversight?

New Data Shows Where Rent-Stabilized Apartments Might Be Disappearing, THE CITY reported 2/15/23, with a map that suggested--hardly conclusively, in my assessment--that one building with rent-stabilized units in the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project might be among the "disappearing" group.

Rather, it seems more likely sloppy record-keeping by the building owner-operators, compounded by insufficient oversight.

From The City:

The nonprofit group JustFix shared with THE CITY records of 44,470 buildings that reported rent-stabilized units on their property tax bills in the last few years. The city Department of Finance says it gets that information directly from the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR), which requires property owners to annually certify the number of rent-regulated apartments in their properties.

Screenshot from THE CITY/JustFix

Here's the map, excerpted at right, with the "100% affordable" 535 Carlton Avenue highlighted in blue.

Clicking on the blue dot brings up this explanation: "This building registered zero rent-stabilized apartments in 2021 but registered 298 in 2019."

Have the apartments left the program?

Does that mean that any of the apartments have left rent-stabilization, which is a condition of the participation in the subsidy and tax-break programs that benefit the building?

Not here. (However, inclusion on the map may be a warning for other buildings listed.) Consider that, for example, units 320 and 1614 at 535 Carlton were last year marketed on StreetEasy as rent-stabilized. 

The similarly "100% affordable 38 Sixth Avenue, which does not appear on The City's map, also had units last year listed as rent-stabilized. 

It doesn't make sense that 535 Carlton would appear on The City's map but not 38 Sixth, as they were both, as of 2021, owned by developer Greenland Forest City Partners.

What happened?

THE CITY reported reason for suspicion, at least for some buildings:

It’s also not uncommon for landlords to file their state registration paperwork late — meaning that some of the 10,400 buildings that show a drop to zero rent-regulated units in their 2021 tax bills will eventually get back on the rolls.

But another roughly 3,100 buildings reporting a decline in the number of rent-stabilized apartments since 2019 still have one or more stabilized units registered — meaning that late registrations don’t explain the drop.

On the other hand, there's a partial explanation:

A state Division of Housing and Community Renewal spokesperson, Charni Sochet, told THE CITY that the COVID pandemic in particular caused a “noticeable lag” in the timing of registration of units by landlords in 2020 and 2021, compared to prior years.

Sochet added that the agency’s internal preliminary analysis shows that the “lag has receded, and registration trends more closely mirror historic norms.” However, HCR declined to share its latest registration figures, which are not due for public release until a required December annual report.

Note that 535 Carlton and 38 Sixth in mid-2022 were purchased by Avanath Capital Management. 

So now it's Avanath's job, as well as that of state regulators, to get the paperwork right.