ALBANY – In the coming days, Gov. Kathy Hochul must render a decision about whether to sign a bill that would require limited liability companies in New York to publicly reveal who owns them.
The bill has primarily gained attention because, if such ownership were disclosed, greater transparency could curtail money laundering in Manhattan’s high-end residential real estate market.
But a recent report issued by the Buffalo Common Council also highlights how the measure could benefit tenants by revealing the identities of negligent landlords.
The decision is not a political easy one for Hochul. Among the supporters are influential state building trades union, which have complained that LLCs are used to cheat workers out of wages, as well as organized labor more broadly, community organizations and several district attorneys.
New York City’s real estate industry, which is a major campaign donor to Hochul and other top state politicians, is opposed to the bill. While stating it does not oppose disclosing ownership information to state government, the industry argues that public disclosure of the additional information could lead to identity theft.
Late last week, a spokesman for Brooklyn Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher, that chamber’s prime sponsor of the bill, believed Hochul was preparing to offer up amendments to the Legislature’s version. That raised concerns among the bill’s sponsors because the bill is relatively narrow.
John Kaehny, executive director of the government-reform group Reinvent Albany, expressed concern Hochul was planning to “gut” the bill based on the real estate industry’s concerns.
“Without a public database of LLC owners, the public will never know if LLC owners are following the law or the state of New York is enforcing it,” Kaehny said.
The bill’s Senate and Assembly sponsors did not respond to requests for comment this week, and it’s not clear if Hochul is indeed seeking amendments. The bill was…
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