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May 16, 2008 7:26 pm US/Eastern
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Patersons Criticized Over Rent-Stabilized Digs
New York Governor, First Lady Live In Gorgeous 2-Bedroom Apartment That Costs Half The Going Rate
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
David Paterson is one lucky New Yorker. The governor has got a steal of a deal on his New York City apartment.
Paterson and wife Michelle Paige Paterson call Lenox Terrace home. It is part of a sprawling complex in west Harlem, and just one of nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments throughout the city, places housing advocates say were intended to help low to moderate income families.
"Rent regulation allows tenants who would not be able to afford rents under a free market system to live here and work here and send their children to school here," said Chloe Tribich of Housing For Here And Now.
But does Paterson need the break? Last year, the governor and his wife had a combined income of $270,000.
The Patersons pay only $1,250 in rent for a two-bedroom apartment. By comparison, an unregulated two-bedroom in the same complex rents for up to $2,750, more than double what the governor pays.
So he would appear to have quite a deal.
On the Upper East Side, the average two-bedroom is $4,051, and Downtown – in SoHo/TriBeCa – a two-bedroom jumps to $5,636.
Some New Yorkers are crying foul.
"Can I get an apartment their? Manhattan resident Stuart Singer asked. "That's what I think. I'd love to live there."
"I think those provisions were intended for people that don't have large incomes," Manhattan's Sarah Selc said. "It seems that they have a large income so he is depriving someone in need of an apartment."
The governor's finances have been in the spotlight before. Just last month it was reported that he and his wife gave only $150 – in used clothing – to charity. In an exclusive interview with CBS 2 HD, the new first lady said that was nobody's business.
"It doesn't mean we're not charitable," Paige Paterson told CBS 2 HD's Kristine Johnson. "This is personal business."
In a town where a real estate deal is everything, some say good for the governor.
"He's lucky," Phoebe Alvarado said. "What's fair got to do with it? This is New York."
Added Pam Wheeler: "I don't see a problem. At least he's paying rent."
A spokesman for the governor released a statement, which said:
"The governor's family's income and the rent charged on their Harlem apartment do not meet any threshold that would preclude them from living there under New York City's rent regulations."
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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