New York landlord says rent freeze echoes Cuban regime seizing grandfather's property

What was said

"Castro was sweet talking everyone into believing in his ideals and his his agenda. But then, you know, things turned when they essentially went up to my grandfather and said, 'Now, all of this, your ship, your property belongs to the government.' So, he he saw that there, lived through it, survived it, escaped it, and then essentially came back into another environment that evolved into what he lived through back in Cuba."

José Tour, a 31-year-old Cuban American landlord in Washington Heights, draws a direct parallel between New York City's new rent freeze policy and the Castro regime's seizure of his grandfather's property in Cuba. His grandfather José Antonio escaped Cuba after the revolution and bought two buildings in New York, but now the family business faces insolvency due to rent caps preventing cost recovery while Mayor Mandani announces plans to seize buildings from struggling landlords. With six of his 45 units sitting empty because $30,000 renovation costs can't be recouped under rent stabilization laws, Tour says he's barely making payments and has no way to keep up with rising costs when the October 2026 freeze takes effect.