Over 100 people turned out in the Bronx to march and rally in favor of a rent freeze before the Rent Guidelines Board’s public hearing on June 12.
The group, including some seniors using canes and walkers, marched from Bronx Borough Hall to Hostos Community College, where the RGB would hear five hours of testimony from the public.
Several local groups were represented at the rally, including the Bronx Defenders, New York Communities for Change, New York State Tenant Bloc, Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association and Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA) New Settlement, all calling on the RGB not to increase rents for the city’s 2.4 million rent-stabilized tenants.
As they marched, the group chanted, “Fight, fight, fight! Housing is a human right!” and “People, not profit!” and some passing drivers in rush hour traffic honked their horns and waved in support.
The rally came as the mayor-appointed RGB is set to vote later this month on whether to increase the rent, and if so, by how much. The board’s proposed increases range from 1.75% to 4.75% for one-year leases and 3.75% and 7.75% for two-year leases, starting this October.
Many property owners argue that an increase this year is necessary to keep up with the costs of building operations, which have gone up 6.3% since last year.
To owners, a rent freeze is “unrealistic and nonsensical,” said Ann Korchak, board president of Small Property Owners of New York, in a statement last month. “The city doesn’t freeze our property taxes and water rates. Much of the rent-stabilized housing stock is already in severe distress, and operating, repair and maintenance costs are constantly increasing. A rent freeze will result in foreclosure and abandonment, and push tenants into housing instability.”
But tenants who rallied say that no increase is acceptable, arguing that landlords’ profits have been rising.
Mercedes Escoto, a retired city social worker who has lived in her rent-stabilized apartment in Highbridge for 16 years, told the Bronx Times that a rent freeze is her number one priority.
Escorto said between the high cost of food, medication and other necessities, she hasn’t been on a vacation in 15 years. She also said she has been forced to cover expenses that should be the landlord’s responsibility, such as replacing a broken refrigerator and exterminating bed bugs.
As the RGB has increased rents each of the past three years under Mayor Eric Adams, “What happened to all the money I paid?” Escoto said.
Another Highbridge resident, Nereida Figueroa, said she’s having a hard time making ends meet as a single parent of two children. She often works up to 60 hours per week just to cover expenses.
“It’s hard,” she said. “It affects me and my community.”
Figueroa is currently battling her landlord to fix water leaks in the bathroom ceiling, which she said has weak spots where the pipes show through.
But beyond her own situation, Figueroa expressed concern about how rising rents would affect her Bronx neighborhood as a whole. Increasing the rent would likely lead to more homelessness and displacement of people like her in favor of “fancy people,” she said.
Addressing the large crowd that assembled outside Hostos before the hearing, City Council Member Pierina Sanchez, who chairs the Committee on Housing and Buildings, said that building owners should seek funds from the government — not their tenants — if they face difficulty covering operating costs.
“When people are struggling, you don’t find the weakest and try to fix the problem on their backs,” she said.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said a rent freeze is “the morally right thing to do right now.”
Despite RGB rent increases under the Adams administration totaling 9%, he said many owners don’t seem to have used the funds to improve the condition of their buildings.
“The housing stock has only gotten worse,” only “adding insult to injury” for tenants, said Williams.
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson spoke at the hearing and said the rent stabilization system is “one of the cornerstones of affordable housing that we have left in our city.”
Gibson called on the board to freeze the rent, saying the proposed increases would have a “devastating effect” on many Bronx residents, especially seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.
Gibson said the board should “absolutely reject these proposed increases so that we can keep all these residents living in the Bronx,” to applause from those in attendance.
She also asked the board to listen carefully to tenants throughout the hearing. Every day, “I get the calls” from people complaining about mold, pests, landlord harassment and discrimination, said Gibson. “The Bronx deserves better, and we need your help.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
