The vote advanced the second half of the Willets Point plan, which would bring a 25,000-seat soccer arena to the long underdeveloped corner of Queens, plus 1,400 affordable apartments, a 250-room hotel, 80,000 square feet of retail and nearly 3 acres of public open space.

“This is a monumental project and vision because it’s going to take obviously some years to accomplish it,” said Vice Chairman Kenneth Knuckles. “But in so doing it’s my hope that the economic tide that this project represents will take with it certainly as many local businesses, minority-, women-owned businesses as is possible. It has a tremendous job creation potential, but I hope it [is] to the benefit of the local community.”

Willets Point’s transformation has been in the works for years and is spearheaded by NYCFC, the city’s Economic Development Corp. and private real estate giants Related Companies and Sterling Equities. It is projected to generate more than $6 billion in economic impact over the next three decades.

“The club is grateful that the City Planning Commission voted to approve a transformational project for Willets Point, unlocking the largest 100% affordable housing project in over 40 years, thousands of jobs and NYC’s first-ever, union-built soccer stadium,” NYCFC Vice Chairman Marty Edelman said in a statement following the vote.

“NYCFC committed 10 years ago to build our stadium in the five boroughs, and today’s vote gets us one step closer to bringing this promise to life in Queens — the World’s Borough will be our home for the World’s Game.”

Jeff Blau, CEO of Related, issued a statement on behalf of Queens Development Group, the joint venture between Related and Sterling.

“For over a decade, the City Planning Commission has championed the redevelopment of Willets Point and been committed to ensuring it delivers much-needed affordable housing and other critical elements that will make the area a dynamic neighborhood and destination,” Blau said. “We are grateful for their vision, their dedication, and for their approval of this vision that will deliver a vibrant mixed-use community built on the bedrock of thousands of affordable housing units.”

The preliminary stage of the Willets Point revamp is already in motion and will essentially create a new neighborhood a stone’s throw from Citi Field. The city broke ground on 1,100 affordable homes and a 650-seat public school in December, and the first 880 apartments are expected to be complete by the end of 2026.

New renderings shared with the Daily News show what the stadium could look like, including the planned grand entrance dubbed the “Cube” which will feature 11,000 square feet of LEDs.

Phase 2 of the Willets Point plan already got the requisite greenlights from Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and local Community Board 7. Approval from the City Planning Commission was the penultimate hurdle before the final City Council vote.

Council approval is likely given an informal practice known as member deference, under which the Council typically follows the lead of the local member on land use issues.

Councilman Francisco Moya represents the Willets Point area and has been one of the most vocal supporters of the stadium plan. He said the project could be approved “within the next two months.”

Ten Shot In Queens Mass Shooting

“Today’s approval from the City Planning Commission marks another milestone in the process of bringing revitalization, progress and housing to Willets Point,” Moya said in a statement. “It’s another overwhelmingly supportive vote showing the groundswell of support for this once in a lifetime project. When you have the right partners and engage the community early on, you can get projects done.”

If the second phase passes the full review process, construction on the stadium could start as early as this year and finish in 2027, while the hotel and housing would come in 2030, according to the city.

The City Planning Department’s 18-point “City of Yes for Economic Development” proposal could make it easier to fill vacant storefronts and allow for more types of businesses in new places, such as more corner stores in residential neighborhoods and more laboratories near hospitals and universities.

It also includes the largest expansion of available space in decades for “clean manufacturing,” including bakeries, microbreweries and jewelry makers, plus allowances for indoor agriculture in commercial areas.

“To continue driving New York City’s economic recovery forward, we must look to the future and not be bound by the past,” Mayor Adams said in a statement. “So many of our old zoning rules simply made no sense, but ‘City of Yes for Economic Opportunity’ will deliver long-overdue, sensible zoning changes that will unlock family-sustaining jobs for our neighbors, inclusive growth in our communities and a vibrant future for our city.”

City Planning Commission Chairman Dan Garodnick previously pointed to outmoded parts of existing zoning, including references to telegraph offices and relics of so-called “cabaret laws” that mean rules still technically prohibit dancing in many bars, clubs and restaurants.

“This is a truly momentous step forward for the future of small businesses in New York City,” said Garodnick. “For too long, New York City’s entrepreneurs, mom-and-pops and commercial corridors have been held back by outdated zoning rules. … New Yorkers are tired of walking past empty storefronts, and it is a bad look when the city’s own rules are preventing us from filling them.”

The “Economic Opportunity” initiative got a mixed reception from community boards across the five boroughs before reaching the City Planning Commission, with 32 of the city’s 59 boards voting against the measure.

‘s Vacant retails spaces are pictured along 125th St. Wednesday, June14, 2023, in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)Some expressed worry about changes that would allow New Yorkers more flexibility to run a business out of their home. City Planning included a number of modifications in response to that and other concerns, such as reinstating rules capping the amount of space that can be used for home-based businesses.

Several commissioners echoed those worries Wednesday, including Gail Benjamin. She said she was “troubled” by certain aspects of the proposal, particularly what she saw as the “incursion” into residential districts.

“I am going to cast a vote for ‘Yes,’ with the hope that somewhere along the line someone takes a look at how these businesses really operate,” she said.

“Economic Opportunity” is the second of three “City of Yes” initiatives from the Adams administration. The first prong, dubbed “Carbon Neutrality” and aimed at boosting climate-friendly works, was enacted in December; the third and arguably most contentious is “Housing Opportunity,” a sweeping suite of changes intended to create 100,000 new homes across the city that’s currently under public review.

A final vote by the City Council on “Economic Opportunity” is expected this spring.

The Legal Aid Society filed the lawsuit in Bronx Housing Court on Tuesday on behalf of about two dozen tenants of 2201-05 Davidson Ave. in University Heights.

It names Romad Realty, Inc., 2201 Davidson NY Holdings, LLC and landlords Dov Guttman and David Kornitzer, who records show owe the city $24.7 million in unpaid taxes. They could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to the suit, the circa-1929 rent-stabilized property has been “in a state of serious disrepair” for over a decade. At a press conference on Tuesday in the building’s garbage-filled lobby, tenants described living with mold, vermin and an elevator that’s been out of order since August.

“The consistent neglect has continuously made a huge negative impact on this building and my apartment for over 50 years and there needs to be a positive and immediate change,” said Jenel Young, 27, who grew up in the building and whose grandmother lived there decades before shoddy conditions forced her out.

“If the building’s damages continue there will be nothing out of what could be a beautiful opportunity for a historic complex,” Young said.

The building has almost 500 open violations with the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and 83 violations with the Department of Buildings.

“This hit me right here in the heart and in the gut, to see a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old walking by with a wall of black mold, with a hole in their ceiling,” said Councilmember Pierina Sanchez. “That ain’t right. That’s not what the city of New York is supposed to be about.”

Tenants say that besides seeking repairs, they want the city to intervene and place the building under new ownership — ideally with a nonprofit, or with the tenants themselves. It’s a demand they’ve been making for years, but a confluence of factors has kept that from happening.

The city’s Third-Party Transfer program is one avenue that could allow for such a transfer. The program, which allows buildings that owe back taxes or other debt to the city to be transferred to new owners, has been on hold since 2019, when it was found to unfairly take property ownership away from communities of color. Sanchez said the city is “very seriously” looking into reforming the program so it can be used in cases like this one.

“It’s not that the city’s enforcement programs don’t work. They just don’t work for the worst owners,” Sanchez said. “Buildings like this will do absolutely nothing until the property is taken away.”

Bankruptcy proceedings tied up the city’s effort to foreclose on the building in 2015. The city and the tenants moved in 2018 to dismiss the case, in the expectation the dismissal would let the city foreclose on the building to recover millions in unpaid property taxes.

But Kornitzer and the other investors never paid up, Legal Aid says — a claim confirmed by city records.

Meanwhile, the Davidson Avenue complex has been in Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Alternative Enforcement Program, earmarked for the city’s “severely distressed” buildings, for over a decade — with no discernible improvements, residents said.

Young places blame for the situation squarely with the building’s landlords. She said she’s had to spend thousands of dollars of her own money to fix up her apartment, and she and her sister have been forced to rely on a toaster and small electric stove for meals since their stove broke down.

But looking at happy childhood photos she said she is determined to repair her home rather than move away.

“I see those kinds of pictures, I’m like, ‘No, you gotta come back and fix her apartment,’” Young said. “You can’t just take the easy way out and run and go to Brooklyn.”

The city’s only casino, located by the Aqueduct Race Track, hopes its plan to spur 10,000 jobs will sweeten their bid with the state when applications formally open up later this year. A license would allow them to expand their machine-based operations to include lucrative table games such as blackjack and poker.

The team behind the bid presented their vision at the casino with an event featuring Queens-bred rapper Nas, celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson and a long list of local politicians including Borough President Donovan Richards and State Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr.

“The new Resorts World is going to completely change New York City for the better, but nowhere more than the surrounding communities,” said Addabbo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering. “It encompasses job creation, parks and entertainment, all located right here in Queens. This isn’t a pipe dream or some far-off proposal; it’s a tangible development with a positive impact that the city and state should be able to witness as soon as possible.”

Resorts World was opened in 2011 by Malaysian conglomerate Genting and has over 5 million visitors a year.

The vision detailed Thursday includes expanding the casino floor to 350,000 square feet, which would make it one of the largest in the world, according to Resorts World. It would also add 1,600 new hotel rooms to the 400 opened in 2021 at the adjoining Hyatt Regency JFK Airport.

There would be an additional 350,000 square feet of conference and entertainment space that would include a 7,000-seat arena; a sports academy named for two-time NBA Champion Kenny “The Jet” Smith; a health center; and 10 acres of publicly accessible green space including trails and running paths. The expansion could create 5,000 permanent union jobs in gaming and hospitality and 5,000 construction gigs as early as this year — if and when they get a license from the state.

“It’s an honor to be here, to be a part of this with Resort[s] World, realizing the future, seeing what this can be and what it will be,” said Nas, who also referenced his track “Queens Get The Money.”

Resorts World and another existing “racino” — Empire City Casino in Yonkers — are widely expected to get two of the three licenses, though that’s not guaranteed.

Resorts World also launched a separate but intertwined proposal dubbed “Aqueduct Park” that would be contingent on the “future consolidation” of horse racing at Belmont Park on Long Island. That would allow the state to kickstart a process to redevelop the rest of the Aqueduct land in what could be another $5 billion project, according to Robert DeSalvio, President of Genting Americas East.

He said they hope to build “a new 24/7 community to complement the existing neighborhood” if they get access to the land. That would include 3,000 units of “workforce housing,” 50 acres of parkland and unspecified mass transit improvements for connections to JFK and Manhattan.

“We’re proud to have grown with the Queens community for over a decade,” DeSalvio said. “When we stood here more than a dozen years ago to break ground on Resorts World New York City, our vision extended well beyond that already-ambitious original plan – today, that vision can soon become reality.”

But before that can happen they’ll need a license.

Resorts World will face stiff competition from across the five boroughs, including a rival Queens bid from Mets owner Steve Cohen; one apiece in Brooklyn and the Bronx; and five spread across Midtown Manhattan, one of which is backed by Nas’s former rap rival Jay-Z.

The state is expected to open up license applications some time in the near future.

The Brooklyn Democrat first unveiled the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act last June, but the measure wasn’t given a hearing last year in the face of stiff opposition from the powerful real estate lobby.

The bill would not ban or restrict broker fees but would instead ensure that whoever hired the broker is responsible for paying them. As it stands, tenants pay the broker’s fees when moving in even if they were hired by the landlord, or if the tenant did much of the work themselves, a situation all but unique to New York.

Council Member Chi Ossé

“I think it’s a bill that’s common sense to a lot of people that hear about it,” Ossé told the Daily News. “This bill is just replicating how the broker industry and economy works in every other city within this country: whomever hires a broker will pay the broker fee.”

The bill may get a boost this time around due to support from unions including DC 37, the city’s largest public employee union and one of several groups he said are backing the FARE Act.

The use of brokers is common given the city’s historically tight rental market and broader housing crisis. But there are no caps on broker fees, which can run into the thousands of dollars.

The real estate industry has largely balked at Ossé’s proposal, with some critics predicting it could undermine brokers and make rents more expensive in the long run.

Perhaps the strongest opposition has come from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), an influential trade group.

“This bill would make the process of renting an apartment more costly and challenging for New Yorkers, while negatively impacting the livelihood of hardworking agents,” a spokesperson for the board said in a statement. “REBNY is focused on data-driven policy discussions to address New York City’s housing supply crisis.”

Ossé in turn pointed out that about half of New York apartments are rent-stabilized and predicted any rent increases for market-rate apartments would be minimal if they happen at all.

“Rents are set by market forces, not landlords,” he said. “You know, if they could raise it by $1,000 tomorrow or however much they said they would if they were to bake the broker fee in, landlords would do that already.”

The FARE Act previously secured support from a majority of the City Council, which Ossé said it still has despite REBNY campaigning hard against it in 2023. The News reported in August that the group had struck a deal with then-Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez to block the bill from being heard in the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection, which she chaired at the time; Velázquez, at the time, acknowledged she had spoken with REBNY but objected to the characterization of her actions as a deal. She lost her Bronx seat to newcomer Kristy Marmorato in the November election.

Ossé said having union support and more time to push the bill are cause for optimism.

“Last year was the closest we’ve ever gone to reforming the broker fee system within New York City,” he said. “I think this will be the year that we get it past the finish line.”

“Ghetto 4 Life,” the controversial mural in the South Bronx, was removed by a work crew on Monday afternoon and transported to Bridgeport, Conn., where it will eventually be put on public display, according to a representative for the owner.

The painting depicts a young boy graffitiing the words “Ghetto 4 Life” in bubble letters as a butler offers him a tray of spray cans. The Melrose building it was part of for over a decade, 651 Elton Ave., is currently being demolished to make way for a charter school.

“They’re going to restore it, make sure that they bring it back to its original state,” said Derrick Asante, the project manager. “And then once it’s done, we’re going to enclose it nicely.”

Oleg Kushnirsky of Fine Art Shippers was charged with removing the mural and described it as an “extremely” difficult engineering task that involved cutting the wall around it and making a hole under the ground. His company also moved another Banksy mural from a Midwood, Brooklyn gas station in 2019.

“Ghetto 4 Life” is temporarily relocating to the courtyard of 800 Union Ave. in Bridgeport, two hours away from its original home. The circa-1940 factory complex turned business hub is owned by Kiumarz Geula of Pillar Property Management, who also owns the Elton Ave. property and other parcels in Bridgeport.

Asante said the property is private but houses a tap room and events space that would make the mural publicly accessible, to a degree.

“I guess maybe at some point the owners would consider making a show or something to display it, because he really wants people to come take pictures,” he told the Daily News, adding that “Ghetto 4 Life” would likely be enclosed in non-reflective glass.

The mural was publicly visible for the first time in years earlier this month when workers uncovered it to ready it for transportation after being kept behind scaffolding and a metal gate.

On Monday the roughly 10-ton, 9-by-20-foot slab was loaded vertically onto a truck by a crane with the help of about a dozen workers; the mural itself was secured behind wood and steel.

“Ghetto 4 Life” proved contentious when it was popped up in October 2013 as part of Banksy’s monthlong “Better Out Than In” series around New York City. Then-Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and some locals criticized it at the time, claiming it perpetuated negative stereotypes about the neighborhood.

Steve Jacob has been in the area for decades and runs an electronics shop across the street. He and other locals are sad to see it go.

“We are not happy. [Banksy] did the drawing for the community, and now you’re taking it away from the community,” he said. “This is supposed to stay in the Bronx.”

According to Asante, the owners had tried offering the mural to schools in the Bronx and even MoMA without success.

“What can we say, we can’t make everybody happy,” he said. “The best thing was to safeguard it someplace else, and the only place he could do it was Connecticut.”

In a rare interview with The Guardian in 2015, Banksy said he doesn’t “think much about it” when a work of his is resold or removed.

“But for the art form as a whole it’s unhealthy. When you paint illegally you have so much to contend with – cameras, cops, Neighborhood Watch, drunk people throwing bottles at your head – so adding ‘predatory art speculators’ to the mix just makes things even harder,” he said. “Graffiti is an important and valid art form, it would be a shame if it was killed by venture capitalism.”

With the removal of “Ghetto 4 Life,” the “Zabar’s Banksy” on the Upper West Side is believed to be the last remaining public piece by the anonymous artist within the five boroughs.

Investigations are ongoing into what caused the corner of 1915 Billingsley Terrace in Morris Heights to cave in on Dec. 11, but engineer Richard Koenigsberg was previously called out by the Adams administration for having misidentified a load-bearing column as decorative prior to the collapse.

The Department of Buildings had temporarily suspended Koenigsberg’s ability to inspect facades days after the incident. Under the new deal signed last week “related to his negligence” at 1915 Billingsley, according to the DOB, those inspection privileges will be withheld for two years.

The property had over 100 building violations prior to the partial collapse in December in which there were no deaths or serious injuries.

“Public safety in our city relies heavily on the competence and expertise of state-licensed private engineers, especially their ability to properly diagnose building conditions,” DOB Commissioner James Oddo said in a statement. “Decisive actions, like the one announced today against Mr. Koenigsberg, send a clear message to the industry that we will not tolerate sloppy work that puts our fellow New Yorkers in danger.”

Koenigsberg entered into the legally binding agreement with the city voluntarily in lieu of a formal disciplinary hearing. He declined to comment when reached by The News.

The collapse is still under investigation by the DOB, the Department of Investigation and the Bronx District Attorney, which could result in “further enforcement” against Koenigsberg.

Per the agreement, Koenigsberg will have four months to wind down any jobs he has in progress but can’t start any new ones. All facade inspections he submits will have to be reviewed by a third party and face extra DOB scrutiny. The department said it has already audited over 350 of Koenigsberg’s recent inspections reports “to ensure their accuracy.”

“Public safety is our administration’s top priority, and the signing of today’s agreement should serve as a reminder to all construction professionals about the importance of carrying out their duties professionally, competently, and, most importantly, safely,” said Mayor Adams.

More than 100 residents of the building were displaced after the collapse, some of whom are still unable to move back in. The Legal Aid Society filed a lawsuit on behalf of two dozen tenants against the city and the building’s landlords earlier this month alleging harassment and hazardous conditions. It named agencies including the DOB as well as owners David Kleiner, Yonah Roth, Moishe “Mo” Doe and 1915 Realty LLC.

“The city is fully responsible for this whole situation,” one resident told The News at the time. “It’s about to be two months already [since the collapse] and we’ve got no answers.”

Related Companies, the developer behind Hudson Yards, filed a rezoning application with the Department of City Planning on Tuesday that includes long-awaited details of its casino plans.

If Related manages to secure the requisite state gaming license, the firm hopes to develop the 13-acre site it owns above the MTA’s West Side Yard between 11th and 12th Aves. with a casino, hotel, offices, housing, public school and open space.

The proposal comes as the state is expected to open up applications for three downstate casino licenses any day now to the approximately 10 bidders around the Big Apple who have expressed an interest.

Related was the first developer to publicly enter the casino race in 2022 with partner Wynn Resorts, but has largely kept mum on the specifics of its proposal.

But the new City Planning filings detail how Hudson Yards could be transformed if Related wins the license jackpot.

“We are excited to continue engaging with stakeholders across the local community as part of the city land-use process for the undeveloped railyards,” Jon Weinstein, a spokesman for Related, said in a statement.

“The opportunity to bring a world-class resort to Hudson Yards will catalyze the master plan for the broader Western Yards and $12 billion in total investment. As the state’s parallel process moves forward, we look forward to unveiling our full proposed plan which will provide thousands of jobs, billions in revenue and community benefits, a new park, affordable housing, a school and more.”

Related will have to construct a platform above roughly two-thirds of the rail yard, currently used by the Long Island Rail Road.

The development site west of the existing Hudson Yards is bounded on the north and south by W. 33rd and W. 30th Sts. and on the west by 12th Ave.

If Related gets its way, the project will include a 2.6 million-square foot casino and 1,750-room hotel resort complex by W. 33rd St. featuring a ballroom and conference space, amenities, retail, eateries and about 500 parking spaces. The casino itself would take up five stories of a “gaming/resort facility podium” with a maximum of 80 stories built above it.

The southern part of the site would include an 80-story, 1.2 million-square foot building with ground-floor retail and over 1,500 apartments, approximately 324 of which would be designated as affordable. The third facet of the site would feature a 74-story office building with space for retail, a day-care center, a public school and a “local cultural institution.”

Construction would take around five years and would likely be complete around 2030.

But for Related’s gamble to pay off, the firm would have to get lucky twice over — at the state level by securing a hotly contested casino license, and at the city level by winning its rezoning request.

While the rezoning documents also include an “alternative scenario” without a casino, Weinstein said that under current market conditions, the version with the casino is the only “viable” development for the site that would also deliver the promised public benefits.

Those benefits, including the school, were baked into the 2009 rezoning of the site Related is now trying to modify through the rezoning. That version called for a mixed-use development with six residential buildings being constructed above the western rail yard by 2025.

Related will be going up against at least eight other development teams across the five boroughs hoping to secure a lucrative license when the state starts accepting casino license applications.

One of those competitors is Silverstein Properties, which also hopes to bring a casino to Hudson Yards. Their proposal, dubbed the “Avenir,” would be further north, at W. 41st St. and 11th Ave. in Hell’s Kitchen.

Construction for Related’s plan would not interrupt LIRR passenger service, according to the docs, though some tracks might temporarily be removed. The southern section of the development site also includes a “below-grade tunnel casing” currently under construction as part of Amtrak’s Gateway Program.

Every morning Donald Trump wakes up, he now owes another $87,500 in interest on the massive legal penalties he received last week.

The pain is set to continue until he pays off the entirety of the nearly half a billion dollars in fines and interest in his Manhattan civil fraud case.

The devastating judgment handed down by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Friday against the former president and his longtime Trump Organization executives will increase by 9% annually until resolved.

That comes to $87,500 per day, according to the state attorney general’s office — more than most New Yorkers make in a year. On an annual basis, the interest alone puts a $32 million dent in Trump’s pocket, according to calculations by The Associated Press.

Engoron’s blistering ruling found the Republican front-runner for president, his former finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, company controller Jeff McConney, and sons, Eric and Don Jr., liable for six claims alleging they intentionally committed fraud by routinely lying about how much he was worth — often by billions of dollars — in deals with financial institutions. Engoron found Trump and his crew liable on the top fraud claim before the monthslong trial even started.

Trump is on the hook for the overwhelming bulk of the roughly $364 million in preinterest penalties laid out in Engoron’s ruling, which also barred him from heading a New York business for three years, among other restrictions.

Specifically, the judge’s decision ordered Trump and the entities he owns and controls to pay back a whopping $168,040,168. That represents the interest he saved from lying about his net worth in loans involving his Doral golf resort in Florida, the Old Post Office hotel in Washington, D.C., his Wall Street skyscraper and his Chicago hotel. The clock on the interest owed began the day the AG started investigating Trump, March 2, 2019, Engoron noted.

The judge added to Trump’s tally the $126,828,600 in profits that he made from the May 2022 sale of the Old Post Office, as the contract was secured years before with bogus valuations of his worth. Eric and Don Jr. each owe at least $4 million from their cut. The judge outlined that the interest began accruing on those fines when the deal was finalized.

Representations Trump made about his bank balance when he threw his hat in the ring more than a decade ago to win a licensing agreement for his Bronx golf course at Ferry Point Park — and while maintaining it for years — led Engoron to decide Trump should have to pay back the $60 million he pocketed from its sale in June 2023, when the interest for that fine began accruing.

Trump, who has vowed to appeal, can’t stop the clock. He has until around mid-March to post the total amount in an account controlled by the court or secure a bond.

The penalties have enraged Trump, who’s cited his legal woes to rally his diehard supporters.

“This shocking and corrupt Interference in the Free Markets for political gain places every New York business transaction at risk,” the former president stated Friday on his Truth Social platform in reaction to the penalties. “We must make sure Corrupt Politicians and Judges cannot continue to abuse the power of their office, and violate the public trust.”

When added to the outstanding $88.3 million he owes writer E. Jean Carroll, whom he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming last year, Trump is barreling toward a billion-dollar debt.

1987

When the AG’s office deposed him in April 2023, Trump claimed he had about $400 million cash in his company accounts. Forbes reported he was worth around $2.6 billion last September when including his assets.

Gregory Germain, director of Syracuse University’s Bankruptcy Clinic, said there are three ways Trump could respond.

“If he’s able to post, if he’s able to come up with the cash that he needs to get a full bond, he’ll probably just do that,” he told the Daily News. “If he isn’t … he’d probably ask the appellate court to lower the amount of the bonding requirement. And if they refused and he can’t raise the money, then he’s in real trouble because the judgment creditors can enforce their judgments against his assets.”

If Trump can’t come up with the cash, Germain said Trump could be forced to follow in the footsteps of Rudy Giuliani, who filed for bankruptcy protection in December.

On top of his civil woes, the 77-year-old Trump has pleaded not guilty to 91 felonies in four state and federal cases, which combined carry more than 600 years in prison.

The lawsuits were brought by two landlord groups that argued that New York’s rent stabilization laws are unconstitutional and essentially “grant tenants and their successors an indefinite, infinitely renewable lease terminable only for reasons outside of the landlord’s control,” as the decision put it. Lower courts had also previously ruled against them on the matter.

It comes after the Supreme Court rejected similar cases challenging New York rent stabilization in October.

But Justice Clarence Thomas, a staunch conservative, hinted in a statement released alongside Tuesday’s order that the issue of rent stabilization could come up again.

“The constitutionality of regimes like New York City’s is an important and pressing question,” Thomas wrote, adding that “in an appropriate future case, we should grant certiorari to address this important question.”

The rejection nonetheless represents a setback for New York landlords, who have turned to the courts following the passage of additional tenant protection measures in 2019 they say put owners on the back foot.

One of the petitioners dismissed Tuesday previously said New York’s rent stabilization regulations “amount to the most onerous rent control provisions the United States has ever seen.”

The Community Housing Improvement Program and Rent Stabilization Association, two landlords organizations that had their own challenge denied in October, released a joint statement in response to Tuesday’s news.

“This was not terribly surprising. We do expect there will be many more challenges to this law, which remains irrationally punitive,” they said. “It is now clear that the future of rent-stabilized buildings is in the hands of the state government. Thousands of buildings housing hundreds of thousands of tenants are in financial distress. Without action, the homes of many hardworking New Yorkers will deteriorate.”

New York City’s Rent Stabilization Law dates to 1969, when rents were on the rise, and has been updated several times since. Today, about 2 million of the city’s residents live in rent-stabilized housing, protecting them from steep increases and giving them the right to renew their leases.

“Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court declining to review the 2nd Circuit’s well-reasoned dismissals of these lawsuits is in line with well-established precedent and puts an end to these cases attacking the legal protections depended upon by a million New York households amid an ongoing housing crisis,” the Legal Aid Society said in a statement along with other tenant groups that had defended rent stabilization in court.

Rent-stabilized homes have become especially coveted amid skyrocketing city rents and a historic scarcity of available apartments.