Council says NO to Arts

Council Members have purposely ignored the real victims of the unregulated and destructive unfair commercial lease renewal process.

Concerned activists have brought to our attention one more devastating consequence of this failed commercial lease renewal process that Council Members have willfully protected for years. Council Members refuse to protect artists when their leases expire.

Recently we did an article* that exposed how, with the support of several lawmakers in the Democratic leadership, a lobby hijacked democracy at City Hall in order to stop a vote on legislation, the Small Business Jobs Survival Act, Jobs Survival Act. A bill that gave rights to all small business owners, including artists and health professionals, when their leases expired. Furthermore, we detailed that the real estate lobby, Real Estate Board of New York, REBNY, was not satisfied with just stopping a vote on the bill but was obsessed with never allowing business owners in NYC to ever have any rights in the landlord controlled commercial lease renewal process. This article focused upon the key role played by one of those in leadership, Brad Lander. Lander was instrumental to the success of the lobby’s collusion with lawmakers to rig the system to ensure that the Jobs Survival Act would never again have an honest hearing in the Council. Furthermore, this disgraceful collusion had the goal of never again would any legislation be introduced that gave business owners any hope of having the rights needed to negotiate fair lease terms where their profits matter. Never again would the small business owners even have a single sincere voice at City Hall calling for justice and rights needed to save their American Dream and end the over decade long small business crisis. * One of the primary victims of this collusion and rigging by the lobby corrupted lawmakers was the city’s arts community.

* https://www.savenycjobs.com/brad-lander-lobby-collusion

While it is unimaginable to most New Yorkers that the progressive lawmakers they elected to office would willingly allow the only real lifeline to save thousands of good businesses and tens of thousands of jobs, before and during the Covid crisis, to sit for three years, bottled up in Committee with 28 sponsors and no call for a hearing or vote, was ever made. It is even more inconceivable to voters that the Council Members they trusted to carry out only progressive principled legislation that reflected the will of the people, would betray them. Many Council Members did in fact further betray their local merchants, artists, professionals and constituents by sponsoring (their first legislation upon being sworn into office) a bill created by a lobby with the goal to kill the Jobs Survival Act and substitute the lobby’s “status quo” bill, Commercial Rent Stabilization bill, CRS. The CRS bill is a cleverly disguised bill by the lobby where the business owner had NO right to renew their lease and NO rights in the negotiation process and where the annual rent increase rate would ONLY go up and never down.

Never in the history of the Council were two bills with the exact opposite intentions introduced at the same time, and yet in three years a hearing was never held to debate which bill would be better to save our small businesses, artists, or professionals. No honest hearing was ever held in the Council to at least find a real lifeline to give business owners a real fighting chance to survive and make a reasonable profit when their leases expired. These links* show the worst case of a lobby controlled City Hall in collusion to rig the system to deny small business owners economic justice in a time of a growing citywide crisis. An unresolved and ignored crisis that only grew out of control to create the only “empty store blight” in America. Yes, our empty store blight was the outcome of a lobby corrupted City Council. Also, the outcome of Council Members who abandoned their progressive values and lacked the political will and courage to stand up to a lobby.

* https://www.savenycjobs.com/who-will-stop-rebny

* https://www.savenycjobs.com/brad-lander-leads-rigging

The article showed that even when the city’s small business crisis, that was caused by insane sky high rents, grew out of control causing record closings of good long established businesses in every neighborhood, year after year, the lobby controlled Council did “absolutely nothing” to save even one business or one job. The city’s arts community suffered due to these insane rents and their own government ignoring the crisis that each faced when their leases expired and there was no longer any affordable place in NYC to relocate to. An artists can only move so many times to escape the oppressive lease demands from greedy landlords.

For the first time ever in NYC, our article exposed to Council Members and to the public some of the negative consequences to small business owners, artists, professionals, their workers and to society of this betrayal by Council Members “doing nothing” but serving a lobby and special interests for their own political ambitions. Council Members who cannot play “willful ignorance” of the root cause of their very best established businesses being forced to close when their leases expire. Or claiming to be unaware that a real lifeline (Jobs Survival Act) existed for years in the Council to save their own merchants (arts, NFP, and professional businesses) and the jobs of their workers. Or self-proclaimed progressive Council Members who deceitfully claimed that they had no idea the CRS bill they rushed to sponsor and promote was created by a lobby and would keep the “status quo” because it gave no right to renew the lease to their merchants.

After reading our article, two concerned citizens brought to our attention that we had missed an important negative outcome of the destructive commercial lease renewal process. That negative outcome greatly affected the city’s arts community when fair lease terms cannot be obtained by artists. Historically a thriving arts culture environment must have affordable space.

Year after year, rampant real estate speculation spreading to every block of every neighborhood causing sky high rents and affordable space for artists to be quickly evaporated in NYC. Many artists were forced to move when they could not pay rents that big banks and big chains were paying. These sky high rents were now being demanded in every neighborhood citywide. Lobby controlled lawmakers refused to throw these artists a real lifeline by passing the Jobs Survival Act.

People would be surprised to learn that the original version of the Jobs Survival Act in the 1980’s was promoted the most by the arts community, followed by tenants’ groups. In fact, the largest public hearing, for over 3 decades the bill had 12 hearings, had a theme of just the destruction of the arts as a result of the sky high rents and the artists having no rights. At this hearing the late Alvin Ailey testified that he had been evicted from this space in Harlem. If the Council would allow such a great artist to be evicted, along with other dance studios and artists, it showed that their only priority was being reelected to office. Unfortunately for today’ artists that priority has not changed. The united public support for our bill by the arts community did not go unnoticed by the real estate lobby, REBNY. In future debates on what artists needed to survive and maintain a healthy pro arts environment in NYC, REBNY would have their own handpicked cronies touting only REBNY’s false talking points while claiming to speak on behalf of the city’s artists.

For over 3 decades the Jobs Survival Act had 12 Council hearings. At 11 of these honest hearings the voices representing diverse business groups, especially the majority multi-generational immigrant owners, the arts and community groups were heard. With no exceptions, the business owners and other’s true dire state and proposed real solution easily won every hearing.

Some people may ask, “if the commercial lease renewal process is so threatening and destructive to many small business owners, artists, health professionals and NFP and has so many harmful consequences to society then why doesn’t our elected lawmakers know about this and take real action to fix the process?” The answer is simple, because after the real estate lobby stopped a vote on the Jobs Survival Act in Oct. 2009, they committed to taking full charge at City Hall and never allowing the bill to ever have an honest hearing in the Council. They knew that if the true small business advocates, arts and tenants’ activists voiced the truth of the failure of the manipulated so called “free market” system and what legislation was needed to correct it by protecting the business owners when their leases expired, the Jobs Survival Act would easily pass into law. Furthermore, the lobby also knew that they must take full control of the narrative of the true state of health of our small business owners. They had to put into place at City Hall those policy influencers and policy makers loyal to the lobby that would willingly cover up both the growing crisis, its root cause, the damaging consequences to society of doing nothing, and ignore the existence of a real solution (Jobs Survival Act) to end the crisis.

For the lobby to be successful in their “Machiavellian scheme” to deny small business owners economic justice and rights needed to survive, the lobby had to corrupt the moral fabric of the Democratic leadership. At every election they grew in power due to their abundant funding and political influence. Their success with ambitious politicians willing to abandon their progressive values resulted in their extreme influence over the selection of the Mayor and Speaker and most of their staff and appointments. From this influence, the lobbies and powerbrokers hand picking the Chairperson of the Small Business Committee, as well as its members. Also, selecting the heads of all the agencies mandated to serve small businesses and make economic policy but who secretly had pledged to promote only pro real estate economics at City Hall. The real estate lobby had their loyal shills: SBS, Chambers, BIDS, funded NFP, and every business organization funded by government or influenced by big real estate, all mimicking only the lobby’s false narrative and playbook to successfully keep the business owners and public in the dark of the greatest discrimination and betrayal of small business owners, artists, and professionals ever at City Hall. NYC’s business owners and artists would be the "collateral damage" to the greatest real estate speculation in the nation, maybe the world.

Reprehensible that no Council Member has even called for an honest hearing to find the best solution to stop the closings of their own long established businesses that are the foundation of stability, job creation, and growth for their local economy. Also, No call to stop the closings of their best job creators that have the best potential for growth and more job creation. Even more disgraceful of the Council Members is the truth that none can claim “willful ignorance” of not knowing the root cause of their best businesses being forced to close when their leases expired. Or that a real lifeline (Jobs Survival Act) existed for years in the Council that would have given their merchants real rights in the commercial lease renewal process and a real fighting chance to survive when their leases expired.

Through years of the Democratic leadership’s collusion with the lobby to rig the system with the sole goal of stopping any law that gave rights to the business owners in the commercial lease renewal process, a citywide unresolved small business crisis continues unabated today putting in grave jeopardy the survival and futures of local business owners, artists and health professionals when their leases expire. Due to the loyalty of lawmakers to a lobby or powerbroker, the public would never learn of the cancer to their local economy or society allowed to grow unchecked by our pro real estate lobby controlled government. Or of the existence of a real treatment to end our city’s over decade long small business crisis, and end the damaging consequences and suffering it has produced.

In former Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s reelection campaign in 2017, his lobby/PR supported friends cooked up a fake coalition called the “United for Small Business NYC” to cover up his betrayal of our city’s small businesses. A betrayal that resulted in NYC being the only city in America during an economic booming recovery to have an “empty store blight.” Even with their ludicrous claims that the real problems of small businesses were, “too many fines and over regulations,” the media and public bought it. The lobby orchestrated charade was successful in a distraction campaign of worthless programs and useless initiatives away from the real root cause of record good businesses being forced to close, which was a failed commercial lease renewal process. With this fake group claiming to speak for small business owners and DeBlasio and other lawmakers mimicking their false narrative, he got away with the worst economic record in the city’s history. The NYC Courts issued warrants to evict businesses on average of 483 per month during his entire term in office. An estimated 1,200 to 1,400 businesses voluntarily closed without a court fight each MONTH!

Under the disguise of speaking for NYC artists, other pro lobby influencers were used to promote REBNY’s false narrative opposing a vote on the Jobs Survival Act and promoting instead the lobby created CRS status quo bill that gave no real rights to artists. Shamefully, the CRS bill would not save even one artist, and these self proclaimed arts advocates knew it.

To prevent a repeat of past hearing where the arts community presented a strong united voice calling for a vote on the Jobs Survival Act, another fake voice for a coalition was planted to again falsely claim to speak for the city’s arts community. At the 2018 hearing on the Jobs Survival Act this fake voice claiming to speak for the arts community called for a vote on the Jobs Survival Act, BUT only after adding a bunch of worthless amendments that had nothing to do with giving rights needed by the artists in the commercial lease renewal process.

This is what a lobby orchestrated sham Council hearing looks like. One speaker for the NYC Artist Coalition, Jamie Burkart gives a sincere detailed testimony of the true dire state of health for the city’s arts community. Then she ends her testimony, “ We need commercial lease protections. Save the places that make New York, New York with fair leases and fair rents. Pass the Small Business Jobs Survival Act.”

She is a strong honest voice for the city’s artist community. But for this sham hearing the testimony is also given from another speaker also representing the NYC Artist Coalition. Her name is Olympia Kazi and she finishes her testimony not calling for a vote on the Jobs Survival Act like Burkart! Instead, she is calling to first add ridiculous amendments that must be made to the bill before it can be voted on! A big no no for supporters of a bill at any hearing is to call for adding amendments that have absolutely nothing to do with the primary intent of the bill, which in this case, is regulation of the commercial lease renewal process.

Kazi testimony called for such patent nonsense as:

Fund transition services: a “Know your Rights” campaign and a substantive program “Tenant Harassment Protection.”

When arbitration fails, require random follow up controls to fine landlords that are found abusive.

Create a program for small business tenants without proper leases.

Kazi, " Now, we do support SBJSA, but we do believe that there are changes that need to be made. We’re working with City Council and on the vacancy bill, too. So, we really look forward to working with you on all the bills that are coming forward, because we need them."

Really, more bills! Working with the City Council who have done nothing for over a decade to save even one artist, really! The Jobs Survival Act had 28 sponsors and a pledge made by then Speaker Johnson that the bill would be amended to eliminate any protections for Fortune 500 type companies and then moved to a vote. A simple non challenged amendment to one paragraph in the scope of the bill that should take 2 hours to make and then be voted on. Yet, claiming to speak on behalf of the city's desperate artists, Kazi promotes no amendment or vote until she "working with the Council" will create more bills that have nothing to do with the commercial lease renewal process.

Kazi submits her written testimony which is an obvious classic “stall a vote tactic,” Kazi, “ We want Lease Protections, Arbitration, Vacancy Control, Landlord Tax Incentives and Commercial Rent Stabilization. First stop, pass a strengthened Intro 737.” All code for “stall a vote on the Jobs Survival Act until the lobby can introduce their own bill, Commercial Rent Stabilization.” Which is exactly what happened and guess who is claiming to again represent the city’s art community and eagerly rushed to support it, Olympia Kazi. Once the lobby’s CRS bill was successfully substituted for the Jobs Survival Act on March 24, 2022, guess who, again representing the artists, NEVER called for a hearing or vote on the bill, Olympia Kazi. Is a lobby really pulling the strings of Kazi? Maybe not totally. In her testimony is the clue, Kazi " I lead one of the clubs of Carlina Rivera. Council Members Carlina Rivera and Diana Ayala are the co prime sponsors of the lobby's CRS bill!! Both should be ashamed for betraying their own business owners by not reintroducing the Jobs Survival Act in the new Council. Read this link* showing Rivera's throwing her own merchants and arts community under the bus to serve a lobby. * https://www.savenycjobs.com/carlina-rivera-betrayal

Kazi claims to speak for NYC artists but refuses to do what Jamie Burkart did, call for passage of the Jobs Survival Act. What NYC artist would not welcome the right to renew a 10 year lease? What artist would not want equal rights to negotiate fair lease terms or end paying their landlord’s property taxes? What artist would not want an arbitration process to end rent gouging, landlord abuses, and possibly having a lower rent? Olympia Kazi does not want any artist in NYC to have these rights or she would have called for a vote on the Jobs Survival Act. Instead, she promoted the real estate lobby’s Commercial Rent Stabilization Act that would keep the status quo for the landlord. Not one single artist in NYC would want the lobby’s Commercial Rent Stabilization Act because it does not give them the right to renew their leases. Kazi and other REBNY supporters should stop saying they represent the city’s artists, when none do.

Please let us know of any other consequences you experience from the failed commercial lease renewal process that we missed and we will get the message out. Always keep in mind the real solution to end these dire consequences is only the Jobs Survival Act.

The Jobs Survival Act has been amended seven times, but always keeping the primary intent of the legislation the same. That primary intent is to make legislation guidelines for the commercial lease renewal process that are: fair, simple for all parties, legally sound, less expensive for both parties, with no government involvement, and an arbitration process based upon a “case by case” local economy proven guidelines to encourage bargaining in good faith, compromises, and an end to rent gouging and landlord abuses like extortion.

The Jobs Survival Act was, and still is today, the only real solution to end this crisis and restore the American Dream for our business owners. If a Council Member has true empathy for the dire plight of their merchants and made a priority to stop the closing of their long established businesses when their leases expire, there is no other option but to pass legislation that gives the tenants the right to renew long term leases and an arbitration process to level the playing field for tenants to negotiate fair lease terms. The only true formula for a fair commercial lease renewal process where the business owner’s profits also matter, is with these two compatible necessary rights, the right to renew the lease and an arbitration process. One right without the other would will produce a useless “status quo” commercial lease renewal process that only sounds good.

* https://www.savenycjobs.com/why-lander-must-resign

https://www.savenycjobs.com/brad-lander-leads-rigging