By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER MANHATTAN — Elected officials will meet with community members in Washington Heights Thursday to protest the looming end of rent regulation laws in the city.
State Sen. Adriano Espaillat called together the group of Northern Manhattan elected officials to discuss the approaching Albany deadline, when the state Senate will vote on a set of bills that would extend and strengthen rent regulation laws until 2016.
If not passed by the legislature, the rent regulation laws will expire on June 15.
Espaillat, whose district has the most rent regulated apartments in Manhattan, joined state Sens. Liz Krueger and Daniel Squadron last week in releasing a YouTube video that warns about the dangers of the having "over 1 million apartments deregulated."
"I'm very concerned that these rent laws will not be strengthened," he said to Washington Heights resident and Community Board 12 member Fe Florimon in the video. "We're fighting to strengthen them so that when your lease is up you'll have more power to renegotiate your lease so that…you will be able to stay in this apartment."
The Rent Regulations/Tenant Rights Forum will be held Thursday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the Church of the Intercession at 550 W. 155th St. For more information call 212-544-0173 or email eventsRSVP@adrianoespaillat.org.
