BY JACKSON CHEN | During the month of October, City Councilmember Dan Garodnick is partnering with the Department of Finance to help as many East Siders as possible get a rent freeze on their apartments through two little-known city programs.
The Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) are two options through the city’s Rent Freeze program where tenants have their rent costs frozen and landlords receive tax credits for any allowable increase they could otherwise levy.
The SCRIE and DRIE programs apply to residents of rent-stabilized, rent-controlled, and Mitchell-Lama buildings making no more than $50,000 annually who spend more than a third of their monthly income on rent. For SCRIE, residents must be at least 62 years old, while DRIE requires tenants to be at least 18 and have a qualifying disability.
Despite rising rents being a common complaint in Manhattan, Garodnick said his Council district has “an unusually high number of people” who fit the bill, but have not enrolled.
“There is a shockingly high number of East Side residents who are eligible for this program but are not taking advantage of it,” the councilmember said. “We want to correct that.”
According a Department of Finance report from 2014, the Upper East Side falls within the agency’s top 10 under-enrolled neighborhoods, with 1,434 households signed up but 2,316 that are eligible but not enrolled.
“Our Rent Freeze program is a top priority for our agency and for the city,” Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha said in a written statement. “We are committed to making this exemption available to every senior citizen and disabled person who is eligible.”
In Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village alone, where the councilmember announced the push, the Department of Finance estimates there are roughly 800 eligible households that aren’t enrolled in either program. To address the low enrollment numbers, Garodnick teamed up with the city’s finance department and community institutions to schedule sign-up events.
The East Side effort kicked off at the Stuyvesant Town Community Center at 449 East 14th Street on October 4 and will continue at that location on October 6, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and October 7, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
From October 12-14, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., staffers from Garodnick’s office and Finance will be joined by members of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Community Affairs Unit to help applicants at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Senior Center at St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Avenue at East 54th Street.
Lenox Hill Neighborhood House at 331 East 70th Street will hold sign-up days on October 26-28, from 11 a.m. to 2p.m.
Garodnick said that staffers on hand will have the expertise to help applicants with any questions they may have as they complete the paperwork. According to the Department of Finance, review of the applications takes about a week and re-application is required with lease renewals.
“We are going to bring this program directly to the people who are eligible and strongly encourage them to participate,” Garodnick said. “They are simply leaving money and real protections on the table that matter.”
