Tuesday, May 3, 2011
ADVISORY: Tenant Activists Arrested At Rent Law Protest
ADVISORY: Tenant Activists Arrested At Rent Law Protest
Photos from today's
Rent-Law Protest!
Why were tenants arrested? What was this protest about?
At the site of the Rent Guidlines Board's Preliminary Vote on maximum rent increases for over two million rent-stabilized tenants, activists were arrested in a protest highlighting the rapidly-growing population of New Yorkers who lack any rent protections at all.
Over a million New York City renters live in apartments where there is no such thing as a maximum rent increase, and where they can be evicted for any reason or no reason whatsoever. Tens of thousands of apartments are deregulated every year through vacancy destabilization, and we're on track to lose rent regulations entirely through this planned phase-out. Deregulation has already depleted our city's affordable housing stock by 300,000 apartments since the late 1990s.
Our rent regulation laws expire on June 15th, leaving six weeks for our Governor and state legislature to fix them. The affordable housing crisis is NOW, and we demand that our rent regulation laws are expanded to protect all tenants, and that all forms of deregulation are eliminated.
Preserving the affordable housing that we already have will accomplish more to ease our housing crisis than any program aimed at building and/or subsidizing new housing. Policies aimed at further enriching landlords at the expense of the housing needs of New York residents are the result of lobbying by landlords, who are consistently the top-spending special interest group in New York.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that he will renew rent regulations for the 2.5 million people who currently live in these apartments, but he has not committed to ending 'vacancy destabilization'. If Cuomo does not push to end this loophole in the rent-stabilization system while renewing the laws, he will be promoting its demise.
New York's rent stabilization laws are the cornerstone of affordability in New York City. They protect twice as many people as every other affordable housing program combined - yet they require no subsidies.
Strengthen our rent laws to protect ALL
Photos from today's
Rent-Law Protest!
Why were tenants arrested? What was this protest about?
At the site of the Rent Guidlines Board's Preliminary Vote on maximum rent increases for over two million rent-stabilized tenants, activists were arrested in a protest highlighting the rapidly-growing population of New Yorkers who lack any rent protections at all.
Over a million New York City renters live in apartments where there is no such thing as a maximum rent increase, and where they can be evicted for any reason or no reason whatsoever. Tens of thousands of apartments are deregulated every year through vacancy destabilization, and we're on track to lose rent regulations entirely through this planned phase-out. Deregulation has already depleted our city's affordable housing stock by 300,000 apartments since the late 1990s.
Our rent regulation laws expire on June 15th, leaving six weeks for our Governor and state legislature to fix them. The affordable housing crisis is NOW, and we demand that our rent regulation laws are expanded to protect all tenants, and that all forms of deregulation are eliminated.
Preserving the affordable housing that we already have will accomplish more to ease our housing crisis than any program aimed at building and/or subsidizing new housing. Policies aimed at further enriching landlords at the expense of the housing needs of New York residents are the result of lobbying by landlords, who are consistently the top-spending special interest group in New York.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that he will renew rent regulations for the 2.5 million people who currently live in these apartments, but he has not committed to ending 'vacancy destabilization'. If Cuomo does not push to end this loophole in the rent-stabilization system while renewing the laws, he will be promoting its demise.
New York's rent stabilization laws are the cornerstone of affordability in New York City. They protect twice as many people as every other affordable housing program combined - yet they require no subsidies.
Strengthen our rent laws to protect ALL