Legislation will extend rent protections, in addition to urging Albany to repeal vacancy decontrol and restore home rule

City Hall – Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, together with Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, State and Federal Legislation Committee Chair Maria Baez, Council Members Sara Gonzalez and Melissa Mark-Viverito, and a number of tenants and housing advocates, today announced a legislative package designed to preserve and protect affordable housing across New York City.

The four pieces of legislation include:

2 emergency provisions that will extend both the rent-control and rent-stabilized programs through 2012;
A home rule message calling on Albany to repeal the State’s Urstadt Law and give back the City the right to control its rent and eviction laws;
A home rule message urging Albany to repeal the vacancy decontrol provision of New York State’s rent-regulation system. Under current law, vacant apartments are permanently removed from rent regulation when the landlord can raise the legal rent to $2,000, whereupon the landlord can charge market rates and the new tenants lose all protections.
Every three years, the Council is required by law to examine the housing supply in New York City to determine whether there is a continuing housing emergency that warrants the renewal of rent-regulation. Reports from the City’s Housing and Vacancy Survey show that there is a citywide vacancy rate of only 2.88%, down from 3.09% in 2005. Under state law, a vacancy rate of 5% or less permits the City to declare a housing emergency.

“The City’s Housing and Vacancy Survey proves that extending rent protections is more important than ever,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “But the fact remains that if New York City is going to be able to protect tenants, to end the displacement that has occurred as a result of the pressure to raise rents up to market rates, then we need to control our own destiny. It’s time for Albany to do the right thing and put control over our city’s housing policy where it belongs – in the hands of the local legislature.”

“Until that glorious day when we restore home rule, it is vital to extend the rent-stabilization laws by swift passage of the legislation being announced today,” said Councilwoman Sara M. González. “By extending these rent protections until 2012, we are safeguarding the homes of hard working families who represent the fabric of their communities and historically represent the people who have helped our city flourish. We must continue to do everything we can to ensure they are not pushed out of their homes. Failure to do so would result in our City becoming a city of only the very rich and the very poor.”

Since the State took control of NYC’s housing policy in 1971 under Gov. Rockefeller’s “Urstadt Law,” named after Rockefeller’s Housing Commissioner Charles Urstadt, the availability of affordable housing in the City has grown into a full-blown crisis. Under Speaker Quinn’s leadership, the Council has been a vocal advocate for the restoration of home rule, a change that would take control over the city’s housing policy out of the hands of upstate politicians and give it to locally elected representatives.

“Since 1971, the State has remained stagnant in the efforts to preserve and protect our cities affordable housing,” said State and Federal Legislation Committee Chair Maria Baez. “I am confident that Albany will repeal the Urstadt Law. With the current economic downturn, it is vital that we as a city have the authority to move forward and enact housing policy that will benefit those individuals and families living in rent-regulated apartments.”

Vacancy decontrol in particular has had a devastating effect on affordable housing in New York City. By some estimates, this practice has led to the loss of nearly 300,000 rent-stabilized units over the last 15 years. The bill in Albany, which is supported by the Council’s home rule message, will reregulate 90 to 95% of the units that have been deregulated in the last 15 years.

“Access to affordable housing is one of the most critical issues facing our City,” said Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito. “New Yorkers continue to get pushed out of their communities because of skyrocketing rents. It’s time for the local legislature to take control of the City’s housing policy, so that we can stand up to unscrupulous landlords once and for all. The legislation we are introducing today is an aggressive step in that direction and a giant step forward in ensuring that our City is affordable for all its residents.”

New York City rent-controlled apartments total around 50, 000 units and are occupied by mostly low-income seniors. Rent-stabilization covers about 1,000,000 apartments with tenants who have a median income of $30,000.

“It’s long overdue for New York City’s affordable housing laws to be brought into the 21st century,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer. “Four decades is too long for authority over city housing to reside in Albany. And second, whether we like it or not, $2000 hasn’t been a luxury rent in New York City for a very long time. New Yorkers need these home rule messages to be passed without further delay.”

“In my building, the owner came up with a business plan to convert 53% of our 1230 apartments to market rate housing by 2011, which would decimate our stable community,” said Nancy Alexander, Vice President of the Riverton Tenants Association in Harlem and member of Tenants & Neighbors. “His plan is based upon turning rent-stabilized apartments into market rate apartments through vacancy decontrol. We are thrilled that not only is the City Council stepping up to protect rent-regulation, it is rightfully calling upon our State Legislature to repeal vacancy decontrol and the Urstadt Law to bring control of our rent laws back where they belong – New York City.”

“If New Yorkers such as me do not join the Speaker and tenant advocates to strengthen our rent laws,” said Isaac Cortes, a tenant and member of Make the Road New York, “New York City will stop being the inclusive city that welcomes immigrants and working families.”

In addition to the home rule messages, the Speaker also announced legislation that will extend rent-control and rent-stabilization in New York City for an additional three years. The rent-regulation law is set to expire on April 1, 2009.

“Since the housing emergency in New York City continues to exist, I’m glad that the Council is taking steps that will help keep thousands of apartments rent-regulated for the people of this great city,” said Housing and Buildings Chair Erik Martin Dilan. “New Yorkers should not continue to be pushed out of their neighborhoods and communities simply because they can no longer afford to live there.”

The legislation announced today will extend the City’s rent-stabilization and rent-control laws until April 1, 2012, protecting hundreds of thousands of rent-controlled and rent-stabilized units for another three years.