Cezary Podkul

Reporter

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Cezary Podkul is a reporter for ProPublica who writes about finance. Previously, he worked as a reporter at The Wall Street Journal and Reuters where he specialized in data-driven news stories. His work with Carrick Mollenkamp for Reuters’ Uneasy Money series was a finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. He has covered energy and commodities and the private equity industry, among other beats, after leaving investment banking in 2008 to pursue journalism.

Cezary earned a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2006 and is a 2011 alumnus of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia Journalism School, where he won the Melvin Mencher Prize for Superior Reporting. He is fluent in Polish.

Paul Ryan Says ‘Death Tax’ Hurts Wisconsin Small Businesses. IRS Data Shows Otherwise.

As they push to abolish the estate tax, the House Speaker and President Trump may be exaggerating its harm to small businesses and family farms.

Trump’s New Bank Regulator: Lawyer Who Helped Banks Charge More Fees

Keith Noreika helped big banks avoid state laws protecting consumers. As head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, he now has the power to override those state laws.

New York Landlords Exploit Loophole to Hike Rents Despite Freeze

Thanks to a 2003 state law, owners of rent-stabilized apartments can arbitrarily boost rents to a legal maximum that they set themselves. The tactic fosters gentrification, eviction and homelessness.

New York State Subsidy Tracker

We’re tracking the state’s growing portfolio of business subsidies.

How We Analyzed New York State Subsidies

Here’s a deeper look at how we created the most comprehensive list of subsidies awarded by 12 major New York State programs from 2011 to 2014.

Is Preet Bharara Trying to Tell Us Something?

Only the fired U.S. attorney knows for sure.

Trump Said He Made $21 Million in Income From His New York Contracts. He Actually Made a Lot Less.

The president’s 2016 federal financial disclosure lists gross receipts for his dealings with New York City. If you subtract expenses and fees, the amount he earned from the deals is much smaller.

Gov. Cuomo's New Affordable Housing Proposal Would Make Some Rents Less Affordable

The governor’s initiative would water down a longstanding requirement that developers who receive a $1.4 billion-a-year tax break must cap rent increases in new apartment buildings.

For Trump’s Rich Appointees, Death May Be Certain But Taxes Aren’t

If Republicans succeed in repealing the estate tax, Rex Tillerson, Gary Cohn, Wilbur Ross, Jared Kushner, Steve Mnuchin, Betsy DeVos and their heirs may be able to defer capital gains taxes forever.

Why Developers of Manhattan Luxury Towers Give Millions to Upstate Candidates

A first-of-its-kind analysis shows just how tactical the real-estate industry is about bankrolling state legislators who will protect its $1.4 billion tax break and weaken rent laws.

New York City and State Step Up Enforcement of Wage Rules For Luxury Building Workers

Regulators have sent letters to property owners asking them to certify compliance with a 2007 law mandating higher pay to workers in taxpayer-subsidized apartment buildings.

Cuomo Said He’d Return 50,000 Apartments to Rent Regulation. He Didn’t Come Close.

A state effort to get landlords to comply voluntarily with a 2009 court ruling in favor of tenants appears to have fallen far short of its goal, newly available records show.

Tracking Evictions and Rent Stabilization in NYC

We’ve mapped more than 450,000 New York City eviction cases filed between January 2013 and June 2015. Look up your building to see its recent eviction cases and whether it may be rent-stabilized.

The Fateful Vote That Made New York City Rents So High

A 1994 City Council vote enabling landlords to dodge limits on rent increases has had a profound impact on the lives of New Yorkers.

De Blasio Says ‘Enough is Enough’: Landlords Getting Big Tax Break Must Cap Rent Hikes

The mayor’s statement, publicizing a crackdown on owners of more than 3,000 rental buildings, is his sharpest critique yet of enforcement lapses benefiting scofflaw property owners.

NYC To Put 3,000 Landlords On Notice: Comply With Law or Lose Tax Benefits

Reversing years of lax scrutiny, officials are seeking to enforce rent protections tied to the city’s single biggest housing subsidy.

NYC Lawmakers Push For Audits of Landlords Who Pocket $1.4 Billion Tax Break

Legislation introduced in City Council on Wednesday would require the city’s housing arm to audit 20 percent of buildings receiving the benefit. Violators would have to return the money.

Thousands of NYC Landlords Who Ignored Rent Caps Got Tax Breaks They Didn’t Qualify For

A new ProPublica analysis shows that two-thirds of more than 6,000 rental properties receiving tax benefits from the city’s 421-a program don’t have approved applications on file and most haven’t registered apartments for rent stabilization as required by law. That allows owners to raise rents as much as they want.

If You Live In These Tax-Subsidized Buildings, You Are Entitled to a Rent Freeze

Search for your building to see if your landlord has been approved for the program and registered your building for rent stabilization, as required by law. If not, you may be paying more than you should.

What’s The Rent? NYC Housing Officials Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development is flouting a rent-reporting requirement for apartments built under the city’s single biggest housing tax break. Mayor Bill de Blasio doesn’t seem to mind.

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