Tenant advocates and elected officials are urging the Rent Guidelines Board to do more than approve a rent-freeze, they’re asking the board to reduce the rent on stabilized units.
Landlords, on the other hand, are trying to persuade the board to increase the rent, Capital New York reported. The groups converged on Monday during a hearing.
The Rent Guidelines Board has proposed a rent increase up to 2 percent for one-year leases on rent-stabilized units, according to the website. Since its creation in 1969, the board has voted to increase rents every single year.
“While last year I pushed for a rent freeze … this year I am joining with the tenant advocates in calling for a rent rollback,” City Council member Margaret Chin said as cited by Capital. Council members Corey Johnson, Dan Garodnick, Ben Kallos, Jumaane Williams, Helen Rosenthal and Mark Levine also attended the meeting and called for a rent rollback.
Before the Rent Guidelines Board is scheduled to take a final vote on the matter on June 24, hearings will be held in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. [Capital NY] — Claire Moses