Land Use and Housing

Articles: Speculation and Reuse

Vacant Land Usage and LLCs in New York City

LLCs are a way to combine the benefits of a traditional corporate structure with enhanced anonymity and reduced tax-liability, making them the ideal method for limiting risk while at the same time maximizing profits. This incentivizes land speculation rather than reinvestment in the land in the form of development. At the same time, LLCs provide no incentive to improve the properties they own, leaving many areas of NYC blighted and underutilized. This has obvious negative consequences for the neighborhoods in which they are located. Because LLC owners are anonymous, there is no way to exert pressure on them to either improve or sell their properties. This is why this tool is such an important means to increasing transparency and accountability in LLC ownership.

For there to be transparency and accountability, however, it’s important that the pertinent information is accessible to the public. Again, this is where the CPTR mapping tool comes in. It identifies vacant and underutilized parcels in NYC and illuminates them on an interactive map which allows anyone to see if a parcel is owned by an LLC or privately owned.

RSF Staff March 21, 2022

View more than 28,000 vacant and underutilized parcels found throughout New York City.

Articles: Financialization of Housing

Citadels of Privilege: How LLCs Funnel Land Rents Into the Pockets of Wealthy Investors

As housing costs continue their inexorable climb upwards in cities across the US, concern is mounting about the role played by corporate investors. Referred to as the ‘financialization’ of housing, real estate is being hoovered-up by massive investment funds with names like BlackRock and Blackstone.

While attention is often paid to the institutional investors, one overlooked component of this shifting economic quicksand is the growing presence of limited liability companies (LLCs) in the real estate market. This legal structure is favored by investors looking to profit by grabbing land, avoiding the tax collector, and dodging the ire of the public eye.

In this article we’ll describe how the LLC legal structure became a favorite weapon for real estate speculators, explain how they widen inequality, present our own research into their presence in New York City (NYC), and suggest some policy tools to uproot this pernicious weed ensnaring our cities.

Stephen Hoskins November 28, 2022