New Yorkers residing in rent-stabilized apartments can expect rent hikes of 1.5 percent or 2.5 percent for leases inked between this October and September.
The Rent Guidelines Board on Tuesday night approved increases of 1.5 percent on one-year leases and 2.5 percent on two-year agreements, infuriating hundreds of tenants who attended the meeting at Cooper Union in the East Village to loudly demand a rent freeze.
The board, which is comprised of nine members appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, narrowly approved the hikes by a vote of 5-4, drawing chants from the crowd of “Shame on you!” and “You’re making more people homeless!”
The vote occurred after Leah Goodridge, a tenant representative on the board, proposed a rent freeze – which would have been the city’s third in four years – but could only muster three of nine votes.
“My proposal tonight is we choose people over profits,” she said, drawing loud cheers from the audience.
There are 1 million rent-stabilized apartments in the city.
In 2017, the board approved a 1.25 percent hike on one-year leases and 2 percent on two-year leases after previously ratifying rent freezes an unprecedented two years in a row.
In April, board members set parameters for the new hikes following a raucous hearing where both sides left feeling they didn’t get what they wanted.
At the time, it was unofficially decided for one-year lease renewals, the rent increases would be somewhere between 0.75 percent and 2.75 percent, and for two-year re-ups, allowable hikes would be between 1.75 percent and 3.75 percent.
Landlords say the increases are needed to cover mounting expenses to maintain their buildings.