Lawmakers rallied at City Hall yesterday in support of extending and expanding New York’s rent protection laws. Among those participating: State Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh (see photo), who represents portions of the Lower East Side. The current rent law expires in June. There’s been talk in Albany that the renewal could be tied to property tax relief. Governor Andrew Cuomo has been vague about where he stands on strengthening protections for New York City’s rent stabilized and rent controlled apartments.
According to some estimates, more than 10,000 Lower East Side apartments have been deregulated in the past decade. Last month, Kavanagh and his colleagues on the housing committee approved a bill that would:
... repeal provisions that permit deregulation of vacant units that would rent for over $2,000, restrict deregulation currently permitted when tenants’ household income exceeds $175,000 per year, prevent landlords from overcharging tenants for major capital improvements made while apartments are occupied or increasing rents dramatically when apartments are vacant between tenancies, and limit landlords’ ability to evict tenants ostensibly for the personal use of an apartment by the landlord or a relative.
