As New Yorkers' own love-hate relationship with the residentialversion of rent control has shown, such regulation comes fraughtwith so many problems, both macro and micro, that it can end uphurting the people it is supposed to benefit. Certainly this willbe the case with commercial rent control which is a foolhardyattempt to tamper with a real estate transactional market, a marketproviding a fundamental stimulus to local enterprise and to thelong success of our city as a world financial capital.

No one doubts that ours is a free market that runs in cycles.Through the 1990s and the early part of this decade, office spacein New York was relatively plentiful and reasonably priced for anytenant willing to look and negotiate. In the middle part of thedecade, office rents soared to unbelievable heights, causing alandlord's market and forcing some companies to relocate, close orsettle on an unwanted compromise.

Now, with the economic downturn, tenants are back in thedriver's seat and in a position to negotiate leases on the mostfavorable terms. While this tenants' market will not last forevereither, it is testament to why this market must remain unbridled bypolitically- motivated city legislators.