Despite Christine Quinn's cries of being a rent-stabilized New Yorker, the Rent Guidelines Board ignored her humble roots and raised rent increases by the highest percentage in nearly 20 years. The board meeting was a crazy one down in Cooper Union, but of course it is every year. Renters want the price of living kept down and the landlords want to make more money off of their properties. Nothing changes, especially the RGB's ability to go along with the landlords.
From The NY Times:
At a meeting punctuated by ear-splitting whistle-blowing and shouting matches between sign-waving tenants and landlords, the city’s Rent Guidelines Board authorized rent increases of up to 4.5 percent on one-year leases and 8.5 percent on two-year leases.
The board also took the unusual and controversial step of authorizing a supplemental rent increase that affected only tenants who have lived in their apartments for six years or more. Owners of buildings with those tenants have the option of charging them the approved increases, or a $45 monthly increase for one-year leases or $85 for two-year leases, whichever is greater.
The last time the board approved a set of increases that were higher was in 1989, when one-year leases saw a 5.5 percent increase and two-year leases a 9 percent increase. In 2003, one-year leases increased 4.5 percent, but two-year leases increased 7.5 percent. Last year, the board approved increases of 3 percent on one-year leases and 5.75 percent on two-year leases.
Now you could say that at least the RGB didn't raise rates 14% like the landlords requested, but we know better that those weren't the rates they were after in the first place. Renters and landlords screamed at each other and even blew whistles over the issue. The Times called it a circus atmosphere but the clowns here are the board members who approved these rate hikes.
Now Christine Quinn will have something to complain about as she gears up for her Mayoral campaign. The downside is that with all of the other candidates, she has to worry that someone might call her out for siding with the ringleader of the circus in the last few years, that being Mayor Bloomberg and his use of zoning tricks.
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