By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — After imposing rent hikes on the city’s 1 million rent-stabilized apartments last year amid the worst of the economic downturn, the Rent Guidelines Board will discuss its newest annual increases at a preliminary vote Wednesday night.
Last year, in the face of an ailing economy and a housing meltdown, the board voted to increase rents by 3 percent for one-year leases and 6 percent for two-year leases.
The move to hike rents last year angered tenant advocates who had called for a rent freeze during a time when market-rate rents were falling across the city.
“We believe and we are demanding that this year’s rent not increase due to the economy and loss of jobs and declining incomes,” said Wasim Lone, director of organizing at Good Old Lower East Side. “It’s the most appropriate year for a rent freeze.”
He cited the city’s high employment rate and lack of job creation as reasons to freeze rents this year.
The annual vote has often been colored by vocal protests from tenant groups advocating for low to no increases, especially last year given the economic climate.
RGB Executive Director Andrew McLaughlin would not comment on what kind of vote to expect this year, nor the kind of reception the board may get from the traditionally raucous crowds.
“I’ve given up predicting these things from year to year,” he said. “I don’t know what kind of action to expect, to be honest.”
The Rent Guidelines Board consists of nine members appointed by the mayor: two members representing tenant interests, two members representing landlord interests and five members representing the general public.
Former RGB chairman Marvin Markus resigned earlier this year after eight years at the post and was replaced by Jonathan Kimmel, a former staffer with the Mayor’s Office and City Council in the 1980s.
The preliminary vote will take place on Wednesday, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., at the Cooper Union’s Great Hall.
Public meetings regarding the proposed increases will occur next month, with the final vote scheduled for June 24.
