It makes no economic sense for the property owners to invest the necessary capital to make these apartments livable because of changes the New York State Legislature made to rent regulation laws in 2019. The state capped the amount that owners could recoup for renovations, now allowing them to pass through, at most, $50,000 in such costs over time. It also ended the deregulation of higher-priced vacant units and tightened restrictions on rent increases for lower-priced vacant units.