To The Editor:
While Republicans in the New York State Senate are dragging their feet, more than a million tenants living in rent-regulated housing throughout our city and state are sweating the approach of June 15 — the day when our rent protections expire, when landlords will jack up rents, and when middle- and low-income New Yorkers will be forced to leave their homes and communities. When hardworking, taxpaying families who maintain our great neighborhoods are squeezed out, communities fall apart.
The reality is that every day the Senate delays action, the affordable housing crisis in our city worsens. A recent study conducted by the Community Service Society of New York reveals that at least 10,000 rent-stabilized apartments are lost in the city each year. Through loopholes such as vacancy decontrol — and absent oversight or verification — landlords are permanently removing apartments from rent regulation.
On April 11, the Assembly passed legislation to extend the rent laws and to return to the rolls of rent-regulated housing, those apartments which were improperly removed. Our legislation would end vacancy decontrol, limit the rent increases landlords can impose after making capital improvements, and cut in half the percentage increase a landlord can charge after vacancy.
Last week, I stood with Governor Cuomo and Senate Majority Leader Skelos to announce a historic agreement to cap property taxes. And now, just as important, we must stand together to expand and strengthen our rent laws, because at their core both of these issues are the same — keeping people in their homes and keeping rents affordable.
Governor Cuomo has publicly called upon the Legislature to extend and to enhance the rent laws. The clock is ticking, so I urge all New Yorkers to contact their state senators and demand that they take action to strengthen rent protections in New York State. There is simply no good reason to delay.
Sheldon Silver
Silver, the New York State Assembly speaker, represents the 64th Assembly District
