Rent Hikes Are Moderate

The Rent Guidelines Board voted on rent-stabilized apartment increases of 2.5% for one year leases and 5.5% for two year leases. Owners had been lobbying for higher increases (4%, 7%) because of increased costs of maintaining buildings, while tenants had been hoping for lower ones. The hearings have been rollicking; the Daily News reported that at last week's meeting, tenants demanded rents to be frozen, leading a board member to say, "Let's freeze real estate taxes."

In semi-related news, the city is looking to crack down on the worst landlords in the city by initiating teams to inspect buildings "from basement-to-roof." Newsday reports the program is designed to make sure building owners in poor neighbhorhoods react to problems in three months or face lawsuits.

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By Jen Chung in News on June 22, 2005 8:36 AM

Comments [rss]

la depressionada

well if you call living downtown for like, uh, free whining, sure. i love the young, white and rent-poor -- keeps my favorite restaurants empty. and that working stiff stuff is way overated too.

LES

You must be related to Margarita Lopez! Whine whine whine.....

la depressionada

hey my east village one bedroom is about to break $500! it's because of people like me people like you wanted to come and pay $1200 for a shithole of a studio. so shut the hell up and pay. it's the least you can do to thank me. you ruin the goddamn city and then whine about it.

i mean you guys will pay anything to be hipster yorkers won't you? anything the market will bear is my motto. raise the free market rents. raise 'em high and then raise 'em again. double raise anybody that's white, under 30 and comes from a suburb.

Chris

A lot of owners own more than one building and easy math tells us that they hike a rent to average out the small one. Also, I believe rents are high because THATS WHAT PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PAY. If you don't like it then you should boycott and leave the city, please. If you want to make it your 'home' and live there forever then you are better off buying it...

Cranky

One bedroom for 1,200, Where??? That's what I pay for my studio. Jeez.

rev pays

hey, how'd you know what I pays for me rent?

it isn't subsidized, I might add.

Jean

I totally agree yahoo. There is something terribly unfair about me paying $1200 for a market rate 1-bedroom and someone whining about his $500 subsidized 1-bedroom rising to $512.

yahoo

Get rid of the board. Free market. If you can't afford it, MOVE!

simon lok

amen!

xdfgdfgdf

Yes, because living in Manhattan is a RIGHT, emblazoned in the Constitution itself!

As sorry as I feel for the city and these people, I don't think anyone has a privilage to live anywhere. Manhattan included. Just because you've lived here longer than others, doesn't mean that newcomers (immigrants included) and other residents should subsidize your housing. Unless you qualify for the public housing.