[NYtenants-online] NY Tenants Online -- RGB Hearings/Vote next week
Tenant
tenant@tenant.net
Fri, 11 Jun 2004 12:10:24 -0400
NYtenants Online/TenantNet 6/11/04
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IN THIS ISSUE ...
1. NYC Rent guidelines Board Meetings & Hearings and Info
2. Protest 6/14: Demand that Mr. Markus Resign From The RGB!
3. Protest 6/14: Demand that Mr. Markus Resign From The RGB! (spanish)
4. Picket the Rent Guidelines Board! Public Hearing 6/15; Vote 6/17
5. Picket the Rent Guidelines Board! Public Hearing 6/15; Vote 6/17 (spanish)
6. Rent Control News
7. Board Proposes Rent Increases of Up to 7.5% for Two Years (NY Times)
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NYC RENT GUIDELINES BOARD MEETINGS & HEARINGS
The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) is mandated to establish the lease renewal
guidelines for the nearly one million dwelling units subject to the Rent
Stabilization Law in New York City. The Rent Stabilization Law sets forth
the factors that must be considered by the Board prior to the adoption of
rent guidelines. The Board holds an annual series of public meetings and
hearings to consider research from staff, and testimony from owners,
tenants, advocacy groups and industry experts.
Members of the public are invited to attend meetings and hearings held by
the RGB.
RENT GUIDELINES BOARD SCHEDULE
Public Testimony
Tuesday, June 15, 10:00a.m.-10:00p.m.
The Great Hall at Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th St.
Take the N/R to 8th St, or the #6 to Astor Place
Final Vote
Thursday, June 17, 5:30p.m.-9:30p.m.
The Great Hall at Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th St.
Take the N/R to 8th St, or the #6 to Astor Place
PROPOSED GUIDELINES
On May 10th, the RGB's preliminary vote resulted in proposed increases
available at the following links. See the New York Times story below for
more information.
http://www.housingnyc.com/guidelines/proposedapt.html (for apartments)
http://www.housingnyc.com/guidelines/proposedhotel.html (for hotels)
RGB 2004 RESEARCH
2004 Mortgage Survey (Released 4-13-04)
http://www.housingnyc.com/research/pdf_reports/04ms.pdf
2004 Income and Affordability Study (Released 4-20-04)
http://www.housingnyc.com/research/pdf_reports/ia04.pdf
2004 Price Index of Operating Costs (Released 4-27-04)
http://www.housingnyc.com/research/pdf_reports/pioc04.pdf
2004 Income and Expense Study (Released 4-27-04)
http://www.housingnyc.com/research/pdf_reports/ie04.pdf
2004 Housing Supply Report (Released 6-3-04)
http://www.housingnyc.com/research/pdf_reports/hsr.pdf
Changes to the Rent Stabilized Housing Stock in NYC in 2003 (Released 6-3-04)
http://www.housingnyc.com/research/pdf_reports/changes04.pdf
PUBLIC NOTICE (from the NYC RENT GUIDELINES BOARD)
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE NEW YORK CITY RENT GUIDELINES BOARD will
hold one public hearing on Tuesday, June 15th, 2004 at the "Great Hall" at
Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street at the corner of 3rd Avenue, New York, NY
10003 to consider public comments concerning rent adjustments for renewal
leases for apartments, lofts, hotel and other housing units subject to the
Rent Stabilization Law of 1969 and the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of
1974. These adjustments will affect renewal leases commencing between
October 1, 2004 and September 30, 2005.
Public comments regarding proposed rent adjustments for rent stabilized
apartments, lofts and hotels (including class A and class B hotels, SROs,
rooming houses and lodging houses) will take place between the hours of
10:00 A.M. and 10:00 P.M. on Tuesday, June 15th, 2004. Registration of
speakers is required and pre-registration is now being accepted and is
advised. Pre-registration requests for the hearing must be received before
1:00 P.M. on Monday, June 14th, 2004. Those who have not pre-registered can
register at the hearing location from 9:30 AM until 7:45 PM on Tuesday,
June 15th, 2004 and will be heard in the order of their registration. For
further information and to pre-register for the public hearing call the
Board at (212) 385-2934 or write to the Rent Guidelines Board, 51 Chambers
Street, Rm. 202, New York, NY 10007. Persons who request that a sign
language interpreter or other form of reasonable accommodation for a
disability be provided at the hearing are requested to notify Ms. Charmaine
Frank at the above address by Tuesday, June 8th, 2004 by 4:30 PM.
Proposed rent guidelines for all of the above classes of stabilized housing
units were adopted on Monday, May 10th, 2004 and published in the City
Record on Friday, May 14th, 2004. Copies of the proposed guidelines are
available from the Rent Guidelines Board staff office at the above listed
address.
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DEMAND THAT MR. MARKUS RESIGN FROM THE RGB!
Join Us Monday 5pm -- June 14th
at the office of Goldman-Sachs
85 Broad Street
(J,M to Broad Street or 2,3,4,5 to Wall Street)
Who is Marvin Markus?
He is the Chairman of the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB).
He works for Goldman Sachs, a major banking conglomerate.
He does not live in rent regulated or any rental housing.
He is wealthier than most New Yorkers ever will be.
Every year Markus supports huge rent increases!
Why Is This Man Chairman of the RGB, which determines rent increases for
over a million tenants? Every year Markus supports huge rent increases! RGB
Smashes Stabilized Tenants!
Sponsored by: Citywide Tenants’ Coalition, Belnord Tenants Assoc., Center
for Independence of the Disabled, NY, Centro Hispanico Cuzcatlan (Jackson
Heights), Chelsea Coalition on Housing, Chelsea Housing Group, Committee to
Protect Rent Controlled Tenants, Congreso Nacional Dominicano, Harlem
Tenants’ Council, Lower Washington Heights Neighborhood Assoc., Park
Terrace Gardens Tenants Assoc, Pueblo en Marcha, QLOUT (Queens League of
United Tenants), RENA (Riverside Edgecomb Neighborhood Assoc), Skyview
Tenants Assoc, Met Council on Housing
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DEMANDAMOS QUE MARVIN MARKUS RENUNCIE DEL RGB!
Unase a nosotros el Lunes 14 de junio a las 5PM,
Frente a la oficina de GOLDMAN-SACHS
85 BROAD STREET
(J,M to Broad Street or 2,3,4,5 to Wall Street)
¿Quien es Marvin Markus?
El es el presidente de la Junta Reguladora del alquileres (RGB).
El trabaja para Goldman Sachs, una compañia gigantesca de inversiones.
El no vive en un apartamento regulado.
El es más rico que la majoría de los New Yorquinos.
Cada año Markus apoye aumentos de alquileres muy altos!
¿Porque este hombre es el presidente del RGB, que determina los aumentos de
renta a más de un millon de inquilinos? RGB aplasta a los inquilos!
Sponsored by: Citywide Tenants’ Coalition, Belnord Tenants Assoc., Center
for Independence of the Disabled, NY, Centro Hispanico Cuzcatlan (Jackson
Heights), Chelsea Coalition on Housing, Chelsea Housing Group, Committee to
Protect Rent Controlled Tenants, Congreso Nacional Dominicano, Harlem
Tenants’ Council, Lower Washington Heights Neighborhood Assoc., Park
Terrace Gardens Tenants Assoc, Pueblo en Marcha, QLOUT (Queens League of
United Tenants), RENA (Riverside Edgecomb Neighborhood Assoc), Skyview
Tenants Assoc, Met Council on Housing
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DEMAND A RENT ROLLBACK!
PROTEST AT THE RENT GUIDELINES BOARD!
Public Hearing June 15 10AM-10PM
Great Hall at Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th St.
Take the N/R to 8th St, or the #6 to Astor Place
To testify, call (212) 385-2934 ext.11
Since 2001, tenants' economic situation has worsened to the point where
many family bread-winners have lost their jobs. Rents keep spiraling out of
control and once again the Rent Guidelines Board will decide on rent
increases for rent-stabilized apartments. Every year they vote to raise
rents because they represent landlords and wealthy people. The “tenant
representatives” on the Board are a minority and have no power on the
Board. Regardless of how much profit the landlords made this year,
regardless of how their costs went down, the RGB is planning to raise your
rents! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Tenants can’t take endless rent increases!
RGB final Vote-Thursday, June 17th
Picket 4-5:30 PM
Vote: 5:30PM-9:30PM
CITYWIDE TENANTS’ COALITION: Belnord Tenants Assoc., Center for
Independence of the Disabled, NY, Centro Hispanico Cuzcatlan (Jackson
Heights) Chelsea Coalition on Housing),Chelsea Housing Group, Committee to
Protect Rent Controlled Tenants , Lower Washington Heights Neighborhood
Assoc), QLOUT (Queens League of United Tenants), RENA (Riverside Edgecomb
Neighborhood Assoc.),Retiree Teacher Advocate Caucus, UFT, Skyview Tenants
Assoc. (Bronx), and Met Council on Housing
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¡No Mas Aumentos De Renta!
¡Proteste A La Junta De Alquiler!
Audiencia Pública el 15 de Junio
Great Hall at Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th St.
Tome el N/R a 8th St, o el #6 a Astor Place
Para testificar sobre los aumentos en el alquiler de apartamentos, llamar a
(212) 385-2934 ext.11
La Junta de Alquiler otra vez va a votar sobre los aumentos de el alquiler.
Cada año votan por aumentos porque representan a los caseros y ricos. Los
“representantes de inquilinos” son una minoria y no tienen ningun poder en
la junta. El alcalde da los ordenes a los miembros como votar. ¡YA BASTA!
NO MAS AUMENTOS! ¡LOS INQUILINOS NO PUEDEN PAGAR MAS!
Piquete a las 4:00-5:30PM el Jueves, 17 de junio
RGB-la votación final en el mismo lugar a las 5:30PM-9:30PM
CITYWIDE TENANTS’ COALITION: Belnord Tenants Assoc., Center for
Independence of the Disabled, NY, Centro Hispanico Cuzcatlan (Jackson
Heights) Chelsea Coalition on Housing),Chelsea Housing Group, Committee to
Protect Rent Controlled Tenants , Lower Washington Heights Neighborhood
Assoc), QLOUT (Queens League of United Tenants), RENA (Riverside Edgecomb
Neighborhood Assoc.),Retiree Teacher Advocate Caucus, UFT, Skyview Tenants
Assoc. (Bronx), and Met Council on Housing
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RENT CONTROL NEWS
May 11, 2004 -- The Committee to Protect Rent Controlled Tenants has filed
a lawsuit challenging DHCR's so called "standard adjustment factor" of
17.2% for the 2004-2005 Maximum Base Rent (MBR) for rent controlled
tenants. The suit asserts that DHCR’s abandonment of the procedures that
were written into the MBR statute has meant that rents for rent controlled
tenants are driven by the very economic forces that the rent laws were
designed to avoid.
As rents for decontrolled apartments and for the 20% turnover escalate, the
"assessed value" of regulated buildings increases. This is one of the major
components in the MBR formula as used by DHCR. The suit argues that DHCR
has refused to take the available steps that would avoid this.
Perversely, greater profits for landlords result in higher rents for those
tenants least able to pay. Rent controlled tenants, by and large, are
elderly and retired, and generally are on fixed incomes. They are, for the
most part, not able to go back onto the work market. Those not eligible for
SCRIE and who have very moderate incomes are under a growing income to rent
ratio squeeze which will force them out of their homes.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT RENT CONTROLLED TENANTS
225 West 86th Street (Suite 503)
New York City, NY 10024
(212) 615-6835
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BOARD PROPOSES RENT INCREASES OF UP TO 7.5% FOR TWO YEARS
New York Times, May 11, 2004
By David W. Chen
In a sharp departure from tradition, which befuddled landlords and tenants
alike, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board last night opted not to
recommend a specific set of rent increases for one- and two-year leases on
the city's one million rent stabilized apartments.
Instead, the board offered a tentative range of increases that will be made
final on June 17 - anywhere from 3 to 5.5 percent for one-year leases, and
5.5 to 7.5 percent for two year leases.
Ordinarily, the board makes a firm set of recommendations that does not
change between an initial vote and the final one. But last night, Marvin
Markus, the board's chairman, unveiled the concept of a range of increases
before a confused audience at Cooper Union, saying that he wanted more debate.
"I believe this board is not ready to make a final decision," Mr. Markus
said. Indeed, in a sign of how divided the board was in the 5-to-4 vote,
its two landlord representatives took opposite positions.
Whatever the final numbers - and Mr. Markus said in an interview that the
board would be within its purview to go beyond the suggested ranges - the
vote clears the way for a second straight year of what tenant groups
contend are unconscionable rent increases, but what landlord groups say are
justifiable adjustments to compensate them for rising costs.
Last year, the board raised rents by the biggest amounts since 1989 - 4.5
percent for one-year leases and 7.5 percent for two-year leases.
Last night began in typical fashion for the annual meeting. Outside,
tenants denounced any increases and criticized Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg,
who appointed a majority of the board's members; inside, tenants and
landlords wore competing baseball caps and traded verbal jabs. But Mr.
Markus's proposal seemed to catch everyone off guard.
Michael McKee, associate director of Tenants and Neighbors, a statewide
advocacy group, said, "I thought I'd seen every manipulation that Marvin
Markus could come up with, but this is a doozy." He said that the board
perhaps was trying to deflect criticism by avoiding specifics until the
last minute.
And Jack Freund, executive vice president of the Rent Stabilization
Association, an owners' group, said: "I don't think it's a good precedent.
I think there's more uncertainty."
Of the city's three million dwelling units, about two million are occupied
by renters. The national rate is one-third renters. Of those two million
rental apartments, about one million are stabilized and subject to the
rates set by the board.
Since it was established in 1968 to review rent rates for the city's
stabilized units, the board has never authorized a rent decrease or freeze.
During the high-inflation era of the late 1970's and early 80's, the board
sometimes ratified increases of up to 14 percent for two-year leases. But
for most of the last decade, rents for stabilized apartments have gone up a
few percentage points, in keeping with low inflation and, to a lesser
degree, with annual surveys measuring landlord costs and incomes.
In 2002, for instance, the board approved increases of 2 percent for
one-year leases and 4 percent for two-year leases, even though the Price
Index of Operating Costs, a summary of landlord expenses like utilities and
labor, dipped for the first time. But last year, the board authorized
increases that were dwarfed by a 16.9 percent jump in the index, the
biggest since 1980.
This year, landlord costs grew at a much slower pace - 6.9 percent. Even
so, landlord groups warned about the unknown impact of the city's new lead
paint law.
The law, which regulates the removal of lead-paint hazards, including dust,
from apartments built before 1960, goes into effect in August. City
officials and landlord groups contended that the cost could be millions of
dollars, but tenant groups said that figure was exaggerated.
At the end of the 90-minute session last night, the board also tentatively
approved a range of increases for lofts and residential hotels. For lofts,
the numbers were 2.5 to 5 percent for one-year leases and 5 to 7 percent
for two-year leases. For hotels, the suggested annual increase was 0 to 2
percent for one-year leases, the only kind offered.
On June 15, the public will have an opportunity to weigh in on the rent
increases during an all-day hearing, also at Cooper Union. The final vote
is scheduled for June 17; the resulting increases would apply to leases
that are renewed between Oct. 1 of this year and Sept. 30, 2005.