New York, NY – Council Speaker Corey Johnson released the following statement in regard to the rent protection agreement reached in Albany:

“I applaud our State Legislature for reaching an agreement on stronger rent laws that will protect almost two-and-a-half million New Yorkers. Housing is the issue of our time, and this historic agreement will help us tackle the corresponding crises of affordability and homelessness that are threatening everything we love about New York.  

I applaud and thank Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for the leadership and relentless work that brought us to this remarkable agreement.

And I especially want to thank the advocates who refused to accept a system that disadvantaged working-class tenants. The power of the grassroots is real, and this is their victory.

I will continue to fight alongside those advocates for even stronger protections in the coming months and years. Today, let’s take a moment and celebrate all that we achieved together. We did it!”