The Brick Underground Podcast

This episode is all about the numbers. Jonathan Miller, CEO and president of real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel, joins host Emily Myers to map out how the pandemic shifted buyers towards the suburbs and how renters are now being lured back to the city by deals. Is it a good time to buy? How long will rental concessions last? What is the lasting impact of the pandemic on NYC real estate? These are some of the questions explored in this week’s episode.

New York City has a complicated relationship with Airbnb and other short term rental sites. The city is keen to get out the message that renting your place for less than 30 days when you're out of town is illegal. Host Emily Myers is joined by Matt Murphy, Executive Director of the NYU Furman Center to consider the impact of home-sharing on the city's rents and affordability. Plus, are penalties too steep and how do you stay on the right side of the law as a host or visitor?

In the second episode of this season, The Brick Underground podcast takes you into the heart of the co-living phenomenon. Co-living companies remove a lot of the friction involved in renting with roommates—they stock the pantry, clean your linen and provide a ready-made community. Brick Underground reporter Mimi O’Connor shares her research on companies operating in NYC and we get into some of the legal issues that might arise with tenant and landlord attorney, Michelle Itkowitz.

Tenant rights advocates and lawyers have one big piece of advice for tenants facing landlord issues: Find others just like you. In this episode, we meet organizers of a tenants coalition who have banded together in downtown Manhattan.