Broker fee battle touches off City Hall rally controversy
The battle over whether to shift broker fees from renters to landlords is landing on the City Hall steps Wednesday, but only after some behind-the-scenes intrigue forced one group off that coveted piece of New York City real estate.
According to two City Hall sources, City Councilman Chi Ossé attempted to book time on the steps for a rally supporting his bill, which would require that whoever hires a real estate broker pay their often exorbitant fees. Under current practice, landlords can shift that cost to renters.
But after Ossé was initially told he had made his request too early and needed to call back, the steps were instead reserved for a powerful pro-real estate group.
“Ossé’s office attempted to reserve the steps within the correct period, but they were denied because someone cut the line,” one source said.
A hearing Wednesday on Ossé’s bill, before the Council Consumer and Worker Protection Committee, will be preceded by two rallies — one hosted by Ossé in City Hall Park, and another on the steps that’s being hosted by the Real Estate Board of New York, which is opposed to the Brooklyn Democrat’s legislation.
Of those two locations, the steps are regarded as the prime piece of rally real estate because they’re connected to City Hall, while the park sits on the other side of a wrought iron fence.
Two sources told the Daily News that Ossé called the mayor’s office to reserve the steps for his June 12 rally more than a month before it was scheduled to take place. But he was told to call back because he couldn’t make such a reservation until the rally date was 30 days away or less.
A representative from the mayor’s office told Ossé the earliest he could make a reservation was May 13, a Monday, because no one would be available to take his call on a Sunday, according to the sources.
But when Ossé called early Monday morning to make the reservation, he was told the space had already been reserved by the mayor’s office the Friday before for a “residential” press conference.
Fast-forward to this past Monday. The real estate board announced that their group would host an event on the City Hall steps at 9 a.m. on Wednesday to oppose Ossé’s bill, which they say would “harm both agents and renters.”
Ossé declined to comment for this article, but has contended that his bill, dubbed the FARE Act, would rectify a situation in which “families are forced to pay for a service they did not contract.”
A spokesman for the mayor did not immediately respond to questions.
