Please support Rent Guidlines Board REFORM

The Following is a letter I received from Christine Quinn (City Council Speaker)

Dear Resident;

Last week the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) approved rent increases of up to 4.5 percent for one-year leases and up to 8.5 percent for two-year leases, effective October 1st.

Adding insult to injury, the board also approved - without any prior public discussion - a supplemental increase on tenants who have lived in their apartments for six years or more. Owners of buildings with such tenants will now have the option of charging them the approved increases, or a $45 monthly increase for one-year leases or $85 for two-year leases, whichever is greater. Essentially, this means that those with rents below $1,000 could be getting a higher increase.

The Council and I are extremely disappointed with the RGB's decision. Despite our loud and continued calls to refrain from any rent increases, it's clear that the RGB has grown increasingly callous and indifferent to the needs of real New Yorkers struggling to stay in their homes.

The residents of rent-stabilized apartments deserve a process that is more than just lip service from the RGB.

To ensure that we begin restoring faith in the RGB process from the ground up, I am pleased to report that Council Member Letitia James and I have co-sponsored a resolution in support of State Senator Tom Duane and Assembly Member George Latimer's Rent Guidelines Board Reform Bill (S.8235/A.11097).

This billmandates a number of important reforms to the RGB - changes that will make the process fairer for every resident living in a rent-stabilized apartment. These reforms include:

Changing the board's composition to 3 tenants members, 3 landlord members and 3 public members, ensuring real New Yorkers a greater voice in the decision-making process;
Expanding the qualifications for board members to include experience with affordable housing;
Requiring Council approval of Mayoral appointments;
Prohibiting landlords who fail to open their books to ask for or collect higher rents; and
Prohibiting rent increases for apartments with serious violations.

While the Rent Guidelines Board Reform Bill is an important first step toward fairer rents, what we really need is for the State to return power over rent regulations to New York City.

For too long we have been failed by the administrations in Washington and Albany, where Governor Pataki steadily worked to undermine rent protections over a dozen years.

With our strong support, legislation (S.1673/ A.4069) that would stop this trend in its tracks has been repeatedly passed by the State Assembly only to die in the State Senate. Passage of this measure into law would empower the Council to enact sweeping rent reforms. It's our city; we have a right to protect working families from unscrupulous landlords.

The Council and I will continue to aggressively call on the State Legislature to reform the RGB and return power over rent regulations to New York City. But in order to send the strongest possible message to Albany, we need your help.

Please contact your state representatives and urge them to pass the Rent Guidelines Reform Bill (S.8235/A.11097) and the local rent regulation bill (S.1673/ A.4069). Please also take a moment to share this information with your friends, neighbors or colleagues and encourage them to join us in the fight to save New York City's rent-stabilized apartments.

If you have any questions or concerns or would like to learn more about the Council's efforts to protect affordable housing, I invite you to contact Felix Palacios in the Council's Member Services Division at 212-788-0146.

Thank you.
Sincerely,

Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
New York City Council