NYC Leaders & Alliance For Tenant Power Rally For Stronger Rent Laws
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Several local leaders rallied Tuesday morning in a call for stronger rent laws to protect New York City tenants.
As 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported, the coalition has taken a page from the Pre-K play book to fight the battle in Albany, where rent regulations expire in June.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said that like the successful campaign in Albany for universal Pre-K funding, "We are going to be united and very visible with regard to the importance of the preservation of rent regulation and the strengthening of those laws."
NYC Leaders & Alliance For Tenant Power Rally For Stronger Rent Laws
Assemblyman Keith Wright, who heads the Assembly Housing Committee, has vowed to stay the course.
"We will put human need ahead of human greed," he said.
The rally's organizer, Alliance for Tenant Power, said 2.5 million people live in rent regulated housing in New York City and that while rent is rising, affordability is shrinking, Papa reported.
"It's really about preserving affordability and about preserving diversity in the City of New York," Public Advocate Letitia James said.
City Comptroller Scott Stringer said he won't accept a city where only the rich need apply.
"If we allow people to be run out of town, and if this city becomes a city where the entrance fee is a $1 million dollar condo the energy and creativity will drain away," he said.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has now called for the repeal of the law that gives the state control.
"You should not have out-of-town legislators deciding how home regulations should take place in the City of New York," he said.
Adams added that power should be with the City Council, Papa reported.
During the rally, the Alliance for Tenant Power outlined its plan to shore up rent regulation laws that are up for renewal in June.
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