Sam Charney

What’s the latest with the Charney Companies as we end 2025 and enter 2026?

We come close to wrapping construction on 99 Claremont, 251 Douglass, and 310 and 340 Nevins — all of which should finish in the late first quarter of 2026. We also have started foundations on 95 Rockwell, 175 Third Street and our Court Square Tower. We continue to look at new development deals and expand our third-party brokerage and property management platforms, both of which have seen massive growth in the past 12 months. 

 What deal has defined your organization over the last two years? 

I’d say 175 Third Street. We communicated with the seller for close to two years to express our interest, and stayed disciplined and diligent to get to the finish line. Couldn’t be prouder of the team for their execution in bringing this deal home to us, allowing us to add 1,100 apartments to the Gowanus Wharf portfolio we have created.

What is the state of multifamily today in New York?

Same story as in previous years: Rents are higher than ever due to lack of supply, and we still don’t have a viable tax abatement to make a dent in the housing supply constraints. Additionally, we have aging units that aren’t being put back into the supply chain due to government constraints on rent growth, while real estate taxes, insurance and operating expenses continue to grow. 

If you could change one law in New York City to benefit your business, what would it be? 

I would kill the dwelling unit factor of 680 square feet per unit that exists in the boroughs. The City of Yes zoning overhaul eliminated it in Manhattan and certain districts in the boroughs, but to truly create more housing we need to expand micro-units and build more density on available parcels, and this is the biggest way to do that. 

If you could see the federal government pass a law to benefit the American housing industry, what would that be? 

I would create urban renewal legislation to replace old, dilapidated and less dense federally owned low-income housing projects with higher-density, mixed-income-tiered housing. In essence, we would upzone to allow for two to three times the current density, developers would purchase the land from the feds, and some of the proceeds would be given to existing residents as housing vouchers to live elsewhere while construction takes place. After construction is completed, everyone has the right to move back in at similar rent to what they were paying for brand-new housing. Their housing in the building is subsidized by the middle-income and market-rate renters, and you’ve effectively created a diverse socio-economic ecosystem and urban utopian environment within a building. 

How do you feel about the likely privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

Makes perfect sense to me. I rarely feel that the public sector does a better job with things like financing than the private sector would do. 

A new New York City administration will start Jan. 1. What would you like to see from City Hall?

The continuation of incorporating the best and brightest into the administration. The outgoing Adams administration had an unbelievable group of thought leaders and intellectuals that will be hard to replace if the new administration plans on doing so. 

Lighting Round:

Your pick for Fed chair `26?
Warren Buffett. 

Borrowing costs up or down by late 2026?
Down.

More excited about — an interest rate cut or Taylor Swift’s engagement?
Rates. 

Last vacation and where?
Portugal in August. Absolutely loved it. 

Like in ‘Freaky Friday’ you swap bodies with Jerome Powell. What would you do?
Retire. 

What’s your kryptonite?
Analysis paralysis. Just make a decision and move on already.

How are the tariffs going to affect your Thanksgiving shopping?
I can’t imagine my turkey is coming from abroad, so I should be covered. But, in all seriousness, I’ll probably buy gifts that are already on U.S. soil. 

You appear on the kisscam at a concert. Who’s performing?
My wife and I don’t love all the same artists, so it would probably be a Weezer or a Beck show where I’m making out with a beer. 

If Stephen Starr asked you which restaurant he should next reopen, what would it be?
Babbo, but I believe it’s already coming back.