Discussion

To analyze the influence Major Capital Improvements (MCIs) had on tenants of Harlem, the survey found that three (50%) residents of Harlem responded that it somewhat presented issues to their living costs. One (16.7%) resident responded that MCIs strongly presented issues to their living costs and One (16.7%) resident responded that it presented a very strong issue to their living cost. Based on the data retrieved from the survey, the majority of tenants (83.33%) were impacted negatively by MCIs. This supports the hypothesis that Major Capital Improvements would have a negative impact on tenants. It is evident that many tenants who are affected by MCIs would likely not believe that it is beneficial for them as it presents more issues to them rather than assisting them. From the online research that was conducted, many tenants also found that MCIs were not as beneficial as it should have, since these improvements should be made to improve the living conditions of tenants, however, landlords use MCIs to their advantage by making MCIs profitable. 

One (16.7%) resident responded that MCIs did not have an effect on their living cost. This is intriguing as this response may have been influenced by the recent Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and may possibly be the solution to preventing future negative effects such as displacement or present issues to affording rent. The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 is definitely the first step in preventing landlords or property owners of residential buildings from exploiting tenants because it reduces the rent increase from 6% to 2% annually of the total rent. The reduction disincentives landlords to make actual improvements to the residential buildings as the investment will not be as profitable as it was previously. However, this will allow landlords to take responsibility for maintaining their residential buildings rather than aspire for profit. In the future, MCIs will have a decreasing impact on tenants because of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. 

Prior to the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, many tenants were already displaced such as Nathylin Flowers Adesegun who was forced out to the streets due to MCIs would not be able to return to their original apartments(Gaffney, 2019). Overall, MCIs are an exploitation method that landlords invest in, for profit. Thus MCIs should not be covered by tenants because landlords are the ones who make these improvements and should take responsibility for maintaining their own properties. In addition, MCIs only affect rent-stabilized and rent-controlled residential buildings, therefore the rent should not be able to continue to increase once the cost of improvements is covered.