With the record setting $5.4 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village to Tishman Speyer last year, many residents suspected that the new owners would shake things up. But we doubt few tenants would have anticipated the rent increases sent in lease renewal papers. The NY Times speaks with some tenants about their sticker shock. The verdict? A lot of people are moving out. Check out these rents and the increases:
- Two bedroom rent increasing from $3,750 to $4,450 (18.7% increase)
- Two bedroom rent: $2,660 to $3,350 (25%)
- Two bedroom rent: $3,233 to $4,300 (33%)
Tishman Speyer's managing director Rob Speyer tells the Times, "We’re generating significant demand from existing residents as well as from the outside. Our rents are well within the market, and our renewal rates demonstrate that." Yeah, but while the renovated apartments are nice, they're not that nice. It'll be interesting to see what people want to pay to stay in the East Village/Gramercy area - they were getting some nice deals while they lasted. They could probably take their Stuy Town-Peter Cooper rent money and cause trouble just a few L stops away in Brooklyn.
What's the craziest rent increase you've had to endure? Did you stay or go? And even before the sale, we questioned the sanity of people paying market prices for STPCV rentals.
