anyone else feeling squeezed in a co-op lately? trying to understand what’s driving it
i’m in a co-op downtown and over the past couple years it just feels like everything is getting tighter at the same time
maintenance keeps creeping up
underlying costs (insurance, labor, etc) are rising
some units sit empty longer than you’d expect
and it feels like there’s not much support or even recognition of co-ops in policy conversations
i get that a lot of the focus is on renters vs landlords, but co-ops are kind of this weird middle space that doesn’t really get talked about
one thing i’ve been trying to understand better:
i keep hearing that a lot of rent-stabilized units across the city are sitting vacant because the numbers don’t work to renovate them under current rules
if that’s true, does that indirectly affect co-ops too?
like less overall supply → more pressure on everything else → higher costs across the board?
also curious how people here are thinking about quality of life stuff lately:
e-bikes / delivery traffic
congestion around busier areas
general wear and tear on neighborhoods
it all kind of adds up when you’re paying into a building and thinking long-term
i was looking into the assembly race and came across corinne arnold — one thing that stood out is she’s actually managed a 500+ unit building for years, so she seems to understand how these costs and pressures play out in real life
she’s also been talking about how co-ops/condos and the middle class are kind of missing from the broader housing conversation, which honestly tracks with how this all feels lately
not saying she has all the answers, but it was the first time i saw someone with that kind of direct building-level experience even acknowledge this space
curious if others here are seeing similar pressures or if this is more building-specific