Talks had not yet commenced today when the interview took place, and the spokesman said that he would have a better idea about the direction--and fruitfulness--of the talks later today. In the meantime, he confessed that he was "not optimistic."

Primary sticking points in the ongoing negotiations with the RAB are salary, the maintenance of various health-care programs and the need for more security training.

In a previous statement, union president Mike Fishman noted that, "The residential real estate industry is holding up well despite New York City's shaky economy. Property-value increases far surpass inflation.

The original strike deadline was this past Sunday, April 20, but union officials postponed the date to avoid the Easter and Passover holidays. It's estimated that some one million apartment dwellers will be affected if the union walks.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

John Salustri

John Salustri has covered the commercial real estate industry for nearly 25 years. He was the founding editor of GlobeSt.com, and is a four-time recipient of the Excellence in Journalism award from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.