BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Elected officials in central Brooklyn are encouraging residents to be proactive in the fight to keep Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights affordable.
Council members Robert Cornegy and Laurie Cumbo are hosting a community meeting Thursday to raise awareness on rent overcharges, asking neighbors to connect with one another as well as legal experts.
“You know, community change doesn’t usually happen dramatically. It’s a gradual chipping away, created by a combination of individual choices, policy, economics and other forces,” Cornegy said.
“One kind of chipping away we cannot tolerate is the loss of affordable apartments through illegal rent overcharges. An illegal rent is never affordable, even if you can afford to pay it.”
Most recently, Cornegy’s office was approached by a new resident who raised concerns after noticing multiple units in her building were being renovated at the time of her move-in.
The tenant, who lives on the Bed-Stuy/Clinton Hill border and asked not to be identified, added that there was an influx of younger residents in contrast to older seniors.
The landlord had also mentioned that her unit underwent renovations after a previous tenant lived there for three decades, she said.
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The new resident requested her rental history and found that from 2014 to 2015, rent for the former tenant nearly doubled to almost $1,200. The reason for the increase was listed as “improvements” on the history.
At the time of her lease signing, the rent increased again by nearly $2,000.
With the help of Cornegy’s office, she is taking the next steps to file an overcharge complaint for the city to investigate.
“Too many stories about how Brooklyn is changing pit new residents against those who have lived in the community for years,” Cornegy wrote in a letter to local residents.
“This is a shame because we’re all in the fight against unfair and illegal treatment by landlords.”
Ongoing engagement can help ensure that affected residents are better informed about their rights and that those invested in the community are protected, Cumbo added.
Thursday’s event will provide information on requesting rent history as well as explanations from legal experts on how to discover and fight illegal rent overcharges, poor building conditions and harassment.
The community meeting will be held on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at Berg’n, 899 Bergen St. between Classon and Franklin avenues.
