Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer (credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images)Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer (credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A proposal by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer would give small businesses a year-long reprieve if their landlords try to boot them out.
As WCBS 880’s Alex Silverman reported, Brewer still mourns mom-and-pops that closed years ago.
“Rent mediation has been bandied about for many years, decades even, but in a different way,” she said.
Under Brewer’s proposal, if a landlord seeks to jack up a store’s rent, a mediator would try to work out a deal. If one cannot be reached, the business would receive a one-year extension so that it has time to find a new space. In the meantime, its rent would increase by no more than 15 percent.
“And we think it holds up legally,” the borough president said.
