Rent Control Impact - New York City has approximately 50,000 vacant apartments, with about 25% awaiting rent and the remainder effectively off the market due to legal rents not covering operating costs or renovations [1] - The 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) prevents resetting rents to market rates after a rent-controlled tenant moves out [2] - Under HSTPA, the maximum rent increase allowed is $347, setting the legal rent at $955 per month, while the unit requires roughly $100 thousand in renovations, making it financially unviable to renovate and rent [3] - Rent control primarily benefits long-term tenants, not necessarily the poor [4] Proposed Solution - The suggested solution is to eliminate rent stabilization, allowing rents to rise to meet demand and enabling landlords to reinvest in their buildings [4]