NBCNews.com. “Pandemic Strain on Mom-and-Pop Landlords Could Affect Affordable Housing.” NBC News, 4 June 2021, www.nbcnews.com/now/video/pandemic-strain-on-mom-and-pop-landlords-could-affect-affordable-housing-114298437928
Summary:
This is a 3 minute and 42 second video discussing the trouble and turmoil the pandemic has caused to mom-and-pop landlords. The reporter follows a landlord who has inherited his family’s building which they owned for almost 60 years. He talks about his life during the pandemic and how he’s only scraping by with his building in need of repairs that he can barely afford. The decrease in affordable housing is also touched upon. They address the fact that more and more family-owned buildings are selling out to larger corporations due to the rising costs and how the pandemic stimulated the process. The reporter also points to the fact that many people have lost their jobs over the pandemic making them unable to afford their rent. The landlord we’re following goes into depth about his financial struggle noting that he at one point only had 39 dollars in his bank account with his tenants owing him about 160k in back rent. The video ends with the landlord saying if he does have to sell his building, many of the tenants and long time friends may have to leave under the new ownership.
Reflection:
This video gives a great look at the perspective of a landlord and what they’ve gone through during the pandemic. We get direct words from a landlord in Brooklyn who has suffered through the pandemic. I agree with most of the topics brought up in the video. The point they bring up about the loss of jobs also affecting landlords is something I never thought of. I feel like this adds to my question of living costs and how the pandemic has affected it in NYC. Many people who have lived in New York all of their lives can’t afford to keep a roof over their heads since the pandemic struck. Many businesses had to shut down due to the rising rent costs and the inability to upkeep their service.
The genre of this is a news video displaying the struggles of a landlord in NYC who inherited the building through his family. The reporter goes to numerous sources displaying the decline in affordable housing using statistics and facts. This source helps answer my question by bringing the living costs of a landlord into light. The video is recent only coming from June of last year and is still applicable to today’s situation. This video was created by NBC News which is rated on Statista by viewers to be somewhat credible, with the news mostly liberal leaning with the attempt to be non-partisan. It is a major news network amongst the most popular networks in the U.S. .
Notable Quotes;
“Last month I had about 39 dollars in the business bank account”
“Mom and pop landlords tend to provide more affordable housing compared to their larger counterparts”
“About thirty percent of small landlords say that the pressure to sell their property has increased”
