Landlords are keeping fewer rent-stabilized apartments vacant than you think

Plus: Why it's so easy to trip the subway's emergency brakes [View this email in a browser.]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( [NYC: Landlords are keeping fewer stabilized apartments vacant than you think]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☀️ Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid 50s. It's Monday in New York City, where the number of rent-stabilized apartments just sitting vacant and off the market has plummeted. Contrary to what many affordable housing advocates have guessed, [the city's latest Housing and Vacancy Survey]( found that "warehousing" — where landlords keep empty units off the market in hopes of one day jacking up the rent — has declined considerably. Here's what else is happening: - Warm week [ahead]( - The apartments at Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village [will remain permanently rent-stabilized]( after the landlord dropped its attempts to overturn a court ruling. - Conservationists say Flaco the owl's death and other bird fatalities could be prevented [if apartment buildings installed etched windows]( that don't create confusing reflections. - In an effort to [ease New Jersey's housing affordability problems]( some lawmakers are trying to require all towns to allow residents to build and rent out accessory dwelling units on their property. - Rep. Andy Kim had another strong weekend in his New Jersey Senate primary against First Lady Tammy Murphy, [winning Democratic conventions]( in two more counties. - The Hudson River's stock of juvenile striped bass, a favorite among anglers, [has hit its lowest point since 1985](. - Midtown community groups are [urging property owner Vornado to build housing]( — not private tennis courts and a giant billboard — on the empty lot where the PENN15 skyscraper was originally planned. - THE CITY found that a contractor linked to the bribery scandal at NYCHA charged one complex $4,250 to replace six LED lightbulbs, or [$708 a bulb](. - There's an app that lets you collect — for a small fee — throwaway food from New York City restaurants and markets. One writer [tried it for a week and kept a food diary](. - A new Beatrix Potter exhibit is now open [at the Morgan Library](. - Megabus is mad its buses [won't be exempt from congestion pricing tolls](. - AT&T is giving affected customers a $5 credit on their account to apologize for [a recent cell service outage](. - Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is [under investigation by the Saudi soccer authorities]( for making what appeared to be a masturbation gesture towards fans of an opposing team. - Peppa Pig is [a little brat]( and parents have had enough. - [Zoomers know]( When in South Korea, you gotta hit 'em with the [half hand heart](. - It's WcDonald's [now](. - Have some time for a game? [Play]( our mini local news crossword. - Sign up for reminders when we publish new games [here](. [“Glass is lethal.”]( - Dr. Dustin Partridge of the New York City Audubon on the need for [SAFER GLASS TO PROTECT BIRDS LIKE FLACO]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Did an insult spark clash with cops in Times Square? An ex-prosecutor says the question matters.]( "The police have to take comments and words and criticism for what they are," said Pace University Law School professor Ben Gershman. "They can't use police force and retaliate when they don't like what somebody is saying." [The lost master artist at the center of the Met’s Harlem Renaissance show]( William H. Johnson, a stunning yet largely forgotten New York City painter featured in the exhibition, embodies the collection's trans-Atlantic focus. [We Rely On Your Support]( [A New Yorker’s guide to jury duty]( Will I get in trouble for missing work? Do I need to call a babysitter? What if I don’t feel capable of serving on a jury? Here's what you need to know. [Why riders can easily trip emergency brakes on NYC’s subway trains]( In New York City, it only takes the pull of a handle to bring a subway train to a screeching halt. It’s so easy, in fact, that vandals do it hundreds of times per year. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.