A 450% Rent Hike Hangs Over One of the Last Affordable Buildings on Billionaires’ Row

Welcome to Rent Nation, where no one owns and no one is free

For generations, homeownership has been a cornerstone of the American dream. It meant stability, responsibility, and the chance to pass wealth to the next generation. It gave people a stake in their communities.But that dream is slipping away. And it’s not by accident.If we want Americans to remain free and self-governing, they must be able to own their homes and their futures.We are drifting into a rental society. Fewer families can afford to b…

A 450% Rent Hike Hangs Over One of the Last Affordable Buildings on Billionaires’ Row

Richard Hirsch, 61, likes to joke that he lives on Thousandaires’ Row. For decades he has made his home at Carnegie House, a midcentury brick building on West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan. From his doorstep, Hirsch can see the ghostly outlines of the gleaming Billionaires’ Row supertalls that tower above Central Park.

Living at Carnegie House Is Now 450 Percent More Expensive

After a decade of bracing for impact on a land-lease reset, residents of the Billionaires’ Row co-op Carnegie House will see their ground rent skyrocket 450 percent, an amount that will more than double the monthly fees that residents pay.