Adi Talwar
The Rent Guidelines Board held its final vote Wednesday night at Hunter College.
In an unusual twist, the two tenant-aligned members of the Rent Guidelines Board, tenant lawyer Adán Soltren and organizer Genesis Aquino, voted in favor of Wednesday’s increases—3 percent for a one-year lease and a split two-year lease of 2.75 percent in year one and a further 3.2 percent in year two.
Bills aimed at helping rent stabilized tenants dig deeper into their rent histories to challenge suspicious increases sailed through the State Assembly, capping off an anticlimactic year for housing policy in Albany. One bill also amends rent regulation rules, limiting how much landlords can charge when they combine, or “frankenstein” apartments.
Unmentioned at Friday’s press conference and ceremonial signing is a new work requirement to qualify for a voucher—10 hours per week for adult-only households. Previously, adult households only had to demonstrate they had worked any number of hours per week for the last 30 days in order to qualify for a City Family Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement, or CityFHEPS, voucher.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday that he will eliminate a 90-day waiting period for New Yorkers in shelters to apply for rental vouchers, even as he declined to endorse a broader package of reforms recently passed by the City Council.
While Albany leaders failed to pass a comprehensive package of housing legislation this week, some advocates and high-ranking lawmakers have been working on a pair of bills they say could strengthen protections for tenants across New York City’s stock of roughly 1 million rent stabilized apartments.
Air pollution is an added stressor for vulnerable populations who already suffer disproportionately from underlying health effects, including the estimated thousands of unhoused New Yorkers living on the city’s streets.
Advocates hoped Adams would kick off his first term by appointing a deputy mayor for housing and homelessness—ensuring that previously siloed agencies would report to the same person. He didn’t, but departing administration member Jessica Katz was the next best thing, they say.
Brooklyn tenants are trying to dismantle barriers around a seldom-used 1960s-era law that can prohibit landlords from collecting rent when they fail to fix dangerous building conditions for months on end. The campaign just had its first breakthrough.
Albany’s inaction has made it more urgent for the council speaker to help pass a package of bills aimed at boosting the supply of homes accessible to, and controlled by, low-income New Yorkers, more than 100 groups said in a letter Tuesday. Some of the legislation has gotten a frosty reception from Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, as well as for-profit developers.
El alcalde defendió la medida y dijo que la ciudad tenía pocas opciones mientras lucha por mantenerse al día con una población en refugios en aumento. Pero los defensores dicen que el cambio socava la red de seguridad social de la ciudad y las protecciones para garantizar que las familias sin hogar con niños tengan acceso a condiciones seguras.
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