Affluent elderly renters are unwillingly leaving Upper East Side apartments. Gail Amsterdam, who is trying to help her mother and uncle stay in their market-rate apartment says: "I don't understand why nobody is standing up for elderly people who cannot stand up for themselves." New York is a renter city; in Manhattan, three-quarters of all households rent. Manhattan's March vacancy rate was 0.75%. Building owners claim that they are allowed to evict market-rate tenants while the condominium conversion plan works its way through the approval process. Meanwhile, lawyers for tenants are in Housing Court challenging this interpretation.
