While the bill for “rent cancellation” still moves through the state senate, some landlords are taking it upon themselves to ease tenants’ worries.
With lots of New Yorkers out of work and businesses closed due to city regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many wondered what they would do about rent due at the beginning of this month. And some landlords are helping them out.
Mario Salerno, who owns 18 apartment buildings (with up to 80 apartments) throughout Brooklyn, left a sign at all his buildings that he was waiving rent for the month of April 2020. “My concern is everyone’s health,” he told The New York Times in an interview. “I told them just to look out for your neighbor and make sure that everyone has food on their table.” He has 200-300 tenants and is therefore presumably waiving hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of rent payments, very generous indeed.
This was the only evidence we could find of a residential landlord waiving rent for tenants, but a few business landlords have been just as considerate. According to an interview with Eater, tapas favorite Boqueria owner Yann de Rochefort was forgiven from paying April rent in “some” of his seven restaurant locations.
And, Sauce Pizzeria‘s landlord also helped by waiving three months’ rent after they heard how the restaurant was working to feed hospital workers fighting the virus. According to NBC New York, A&E Real Estate Management said they wanted to help the business owner by not only canceling upcoming rent payments, but also by donating over $20,000 to the cause to help him make as many pizzas as possible. Now they are up to over 400 a day!
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