Kenny Burgos is ready to represent the city’s property owners

Kenny Burgos knew that he wouldn’t stay in politics for decades when he was elected to the State Assembly in 2020 at the age of 26. But the Bronx Democrat still surprised Albany when he announced his resignation in July after only two terms in office.

Burgos’s new role, which leaked a few days later, as head of the New York Apartment Association – the new group created by the merger of the Community Housing Improvement Group and Rent Stabilization Association – will keep him intimately involved with New York housing, tax, and immigration policy. He officially starts on Thursday. Although state ethics laws prevent Burgos from lobbying the state for two years, he’ll still be involved in setting policy and ensuring the new organization meets the needs of landlords across the city. 

City & State caught up with Burgos to discuss his new job. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How did you get your start in politics?

I interned at the finance department at the New York City Council and really got a glimpse into the city budget and government administration at that level to see what we were spending and what the council’s priorities were. That’s where the bug started. Then I started working for my own councilwoman. From City Council, I worked for the Bronx Democratic Party, and in 2020, I decided to run for state Assembly.

Several long-serving members are retiring at the end of this term while others are leaving for other jobs. Why did you decide to leave the Assembly?

It was certainly a bittersweet decision. I loved being an Assembly member. It was a job made for my skills and personality. I got to represent a neighborhood I grew up in and still lived in.

I spoke to City & State a year ago and we talked about the length of officials in office, when Dick Gottfried resigned. I didn't think I’d be a 50-year official. I think we passed the era of a decades-long official. It’s the nature of work now. 

There was the thought in the back of my mind how much I can give to the legislature, to my district and to my constituents. I believe there’s a shelf life. You always want fresh ideas. I always had in the back of my mind (that) I wouldn’t be in elected office for decades to come.

And my next chapter began with my family. I had a newborn son. I saw how difficult it can be to raise a child while being in Albany half the year, and that was a heavily weighing factor in terms of leaving the legislature.

What was it about advocating for the city’s smaller property owners that interested you specifically? 

Growing up in the Bronx is a huge part of it. I have family who are small property owners, who have that experience, who try to maintain their homes and try to make it in the city. That issue is often conflated with larger landlords, and there’s been a heavy depiction of what a landlord is in New York City. That story and experience can vary widely, just like it can for a tenant. Working to help small property owners for me was a main focus for me because we have a housing crisis in the state and the city and it’s been this way for decades. 

Why are the Rent Stabilization Association and Community Housing Improvement Program merging to form the New York Apartment Association? How will that work exactly?

We can’t continue on this path of a housing emergency. NYAA will be focused on increasing and preserving affordable housing. We’re going to do that by reducing the cost of housing. There's a lot we can do to work with the government together including property tax reform, lowering insurance costs, and expanding voucher availability. That’s the main reason why NYAA was formed. 

We know there's a housing crisis and we want to work with everyone. Renters and housing providers are losing in this current system, and there’s an opportunity to align their interests and (ensure) the future viability of New York City.

Some landlords are concerned that their interests won’t be heard because of the merger. How will you work with owners in both groups to ensure their needs are met?

Real estate is a big industry in the state, and the goal of NYAA is to be a voice for all owners, small and large. I would say we’re about 95 to 98% on alignment on issues, but where they may have different needs, we're going to work with them. We have professionals here who have been working for decades to address their concerns. We’re not lacking willpower. We need to make sure we hear them out on all the unique needs that owners are experiencing.

How are you working to deal with a two-year ban on lobbying? 

We have our own internal procedures and operate fully by the law to make sure I'm completely walled off from these conversations. The organization handles a lot more than state legislative priorities. We have the federal government, City Hall, (the state Department of Housing and Community Renewal). One way NYAA has been described is triple-A for multi-family property owners because we deal with lease services and safety notices and other issues. I’ll be handling a lot of that work to provide value to owners, and we’ll have a team to make sure legislative priorities are progressing.

A version of “good cause” eviction finally passed after several attempts, but many landlords are expressing concern over how it will work. How can the law be tweaked to ensure that tenants can remain protected and landlords have stable tenants?

The housing package that was passed took some small steps on housing. “Good cause” is a new law and NYAA will help our members comply with it. We expect it will be a larger part of housing policy. We still have a lot of conversations to have with housing providers and renters, but we know it’s top of mind for renters.

You co-sponsored a bill with state Sen. Leroy Comrie to increase rents on vacant regulated apartments, which would affect some 26,300 units. Would you be open to making changes so that rents wouldn’t rise significantly but landlords can still get the funding they need to make necessary repairs?

One of our top goals here is to decrease costs on operating housing. Everyone is concerned to keep rent as affordable as possible which is predicated on decreasing the cost of housing. Whether it’s renovations, repairs, insurance, construction, regulations or anything else, we’re open to decreasing costs in order to create more homes.

What can landlords do to help the city tackle the migrant crisis? Will you be working with asylum seekers and shelters providers directly? 

We have thousands of property owners representing thousands of units throughout the city, many of which are vacant, which we should be making a priority to get back online. Any goal or initiative that increases the supply of housing is going to help tackle the housing crisis, however it relates to migrants or New Yorkers struggling to get an apartment. And NYAA can absolutely be part of that solution.

What do you think about congestion pricing? Should the governor unpause the program or should it be altered in any way?

Personally, I’m on record having many reservations on the congestion pricing policy. It has a significant impact on housing. I believe congestion pricing is going to continue to perpetuate a system we have in this city where it's a tale of two cities. Certain boroughs are expensive due to tolling, fee structure and regulations. It’s part of that and should be looked at not just in regards to transportation policy but housing policy.

What role will NYAA play on property tax reform going forward?

NYAA is going to be on record that the property tax system is broken, as many of our members have been saying for many years. It’s an unjust system. There have been lawsuits exposing the injustices of the property tax system. 

If possible we will propose legal action. It’s never out of the question. We saw the TENNY lawsuit exposing the property tax system for being unjust and how it affects our members. Property taxes have a significant cost on their buildings, and they continue to increase year-over-year. We can say without a doubt we’re unfairly bearing the largest brunt of the property tax system.

What will you miss about Albany?

I’ll miss Albany for speaking with colleagues. One of my favorite things was having a single Tuesday lobby day, where I got to speak with seven to eight different experts on completely different parts of the spectrum, from education to prison reform to housing in all of a span of a few hours. Being an elected member was insanely rewarding so I’ll definitely miss both of those things.

What advice can you give your successor?

I would give (Emerita Torres, the Democratic candidate for my Assembly seat) the advice of taking all the information you can, make your decisions and movements deliberately. And make sure your focus is never lost, and that’s the 130,000 people you represent.