NEW YORK (PIX11) — The Rent Guidelines Board voted Tuesday night to consider increasing the cost of rent for stabilized apartments.
The vote was preliminary but it had hundreds of tenants absolutely frustrated and angry by the decision with many saying they can’t afford the increase.
“It’s in enraging,” said New York City public school teacher Dutch. “These landlords do nothing but steal from us. It’s infuriating to think that I work for the city, and they don’t do anything for us to help.”
In a close vote of five to four, the board chose to consider raising stabilized rates by a range of 2 to 5% for one-year leases and 4 to 7% for two-year leases. Many of the tenants at Tuesday night’s meeting were furious — they want these proposed increases to not just be canceled but also rolled back.
Ann Perryman, another tenant against the rent hike also represents a number of senior citizens in her Upper West Side apartment building.
“This whole thing of raising the rent like this actually pushes older people on a fixed income into programs, like SCRIE (the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption),” Perryman said. “Many people I know are too proud to want to take that. It makes them feel bad.”
Last year, the board approved the largest hike in rent for stabilized units in a decade. However, this year, the increase is being considered because landlords say they need money to pay for inflation and increased costs for repairs.
“Members of the RGB are tasked with making independent decisions based on all available data. However, I hope they will look at options below the top of these preliminary ranges to strike the right balance to keep New Yorkers in their homes while providing building owners with the resources they need to provide safe, high-quality homes,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement reacting to the vote.
A final vote on rent increases will not be held until June.
