RGB OKs preliminary hike that could boost rents by up to 7% at raucous meeting
Tenant groups angry at the prospect of the biggest rent hikes since the start of the pandemic interrupted a public meeting of the Rent Guidelines Board, clambering on stage to chant “shame on you” at the board’s designated owner members. The full board narrowly approved the motion, which could hike rents on two-year leases for rent-stabilized apartments by up to seven percent.
| 06 May 2023 | 02:44
Nestor Davidson, a Fordham University professor, is the chairman of the Rent Guidelines Board. Photo: Fordham University website.
In a raucous Rent Guidelines Board meeting, tenant advocates interrupted deliberation on a preliminary motion that approved hiking rents for two-year leases by up to seven percent.
A final vote is expected sometime in mid-June and will affect up to one million rent-stabilized apartments in the city. The motion approved by a 5 to 4 vote on May 2 called for two-year rent hikes of between four percent and seven percent and one-year rent hikes of two to five percent.
Additional public hearings will take place in coming weeks on the proposed hikes. The increases would apply to leases that are signed starting October 1.
Nestor Davidson, the chair of the guidelines board, stated “I encourage the public to join our annual process of public comment” before ceding the floor to the board’s owner members–Robert Ehrlich and Christina Smyth–to offer their rent hike proposal. Smyth stated “there have been many suggestions that this board should ignore the decline in net operating income in the core of Manhattan, where rent-stabilized buildings” are concentrated. Tenant advocates pushed back by clambering onto the stage shortly after Smyth spoke.
Holding signs bearing messages such as “Build Tenant Power” and “Tenants Demand a Rent Pullback”, the tenant advocates circled the seated board members and chanted “shame on you” as owner member Ehrlich cited inflation as a large part of his rationale for the preliminary rent hike. The protestors fell quiet or cheered when tenant member Adán Soltren read emails from the public calling for a rent freeze. Fellow tenant member Genesis Aquino took a turn at the mic to discuss “the affordability crisis driving [renters] out of the state in droves.”
For a final vote on the preliminary rent hike, tenant members suggested a zero percent increase of the maximum base rent chargeable on rent-controlled units. Some tenant advocates, still on stage, appeared to chant for a one percent reduction. Owner members suggested at least a two to five percent hike for one-year leases, and a four to seven percent hike for two-year leases. This was down from the landlords’ earlier push for a 16 percent hike. The “yes” votes for a hike ultimately carried the day by a margin of 5-4.
The upcoming schedule to finalize the rent hike has been announced, with a public hearing occurring at 9:30 AM on May 25th, located at the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building. The final vote will take place at 7:00 PM on June 21st, located at the Cooper Union.