Don't Raise NYC's Rents, Manhattan Leaders Tell Guidelines Board

NEW YORK CITY — A slew of Manhattan elected officials are pleading with the city's Rent Guidelines Board not to raise rents for thousands of stabilized tenants, saying the planned increase would come at "the worst possible" time.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine is making the demand along with eight of the borough's 10 City Council members, according to testimony shared exclusively with Patch. The plea will be made formally at Wednesday evening's board hearing — one of several that the RGB has scheduled before holding a final vote later this month.

Last month, a divided board voted 5-4 to consider raising rents between 2 and 4 percent on one-year leases for stabilized units, and between 4-6 percent on two-year leases. Rents had never risen by more than 1.5 percent during former Mayor Bill de Blasio's eight-year tenure, and were often frozen entirely — but Mayor Eric Adams has appointed more landlord-friendly members to the panel.

Levine and the Council members acknowledge concerns raised by landlords that rents need to rise in order to help offset the costs of maintaining their properties — but say that tenants' lives remain precarious due to fallout from the pandemic.

"This is not the time to increase rents for rent stabilized tenants, and it is our strong belief that there should be no increase," reads the testimony.

The officials also disputed the board's calculation that property upkeep costs have risen by 4.2 percent, saying the formula used to determine that figure relied on audits last done 30 years ago.

Upper West Side Councilmember Gale Brewer and Harlem member Kristin Richardson Jordan were the borough's only lawmakers that did not sign onto the testimony.

With New York City's real etstate market remaining white-hot, study after study shows Manhattanites facing stiff competition for a limited number of available apartments. An April report by StreetEasy found that Manhattan's asking rents had risen to an all-time high of $3,695, with the number of available units shrinking.

The Rent Guidelines Board will host in-person public hearings on the proposed increases on June 13 in Jamaica, Queens, and June 15 in the South Bronx.