New Yorkers paying thousands to live in luxury condos slam landlords who refuse to lower rents and offer free jigsaw puzzles to replace closed pools instead

Wealthy residents who stayed in their luxury apartments are finding no luck asking for rent reductions, Bloomberg reports.
Some argue that since the amenities which drew them to the high-end buildings are closed, they shouldn’t have to pay full rent.
New York City rents have started to fall as the pandemic continues to sweep through the nation.
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The ultrawealthy residents of some of NYC’s swankiest apartment buildings want a discount on their rent, Bloomberg’s Britton O’Daly reports.

This is because the pandemic has shuttered many of the luxury amenities that attracted them to these apartment buildings in the first place — the saltwater pools, arts and crafts rooms, and bowling alleys, to name just a few.

O’Daly reported that residents at one condominium building, 50 West, have been asking for a reduction of their monthly common fees, which can run up to $12,500 a month.

And though Time Equities, the developer of 50 West, has refused residents’ requests, Seth Coston, director of condominium operations, told Bloomberg that the building did bring on extra cleaning staff and implement other cleaning amenities. The building also has been screening movies and giving out free puzzles to the residents who remain in the building in an effort to “replace” some of the unavailable perks.

Another luxury building, QLIC, is also dealing with outcry from its wealthy residents. After backlash in a Facebook group for the building, QLIC began offering two months free rent to those who signed a new lease, but current residents who have also applied for the offer say they’ve been rejected, O’Daly reported.

Not all luxury buildings are refusing rent reductions. On July 17, Bloomberg’s Oshrat Carmiel reported that some NYC landlords are starting to cut rent, but mostly those located near office spaces that have since cleared out as non-essential work remains largely remote.

While some wealthy individuals stayed in New York City during the pandemic, Business Insider has previously reported on how many fled to second homes in places such as the Hamptons, Cape Cod, and Nantucket, to mixed reception from year-round local residents.