New Yorkers Never Came ‘Flooding Back.’ Why Did Rents Go Up So Much?

Ever question why your rent is so high? Lane Brown did, but instead of just wondering, he went on a mission to find out why. Carrying out meticulous research, he discovers that landlords may not be playing fair. An essay that teaches you not to accept the status quo.

In other words, New York City — which in the first pandemic summer had been declared “dead forever” — was back! As long as you had not personally been ejected from your home, you might have even found it inspiring.

There was only one problem: None of it made any sense.