Bloomberg Extends Rent Laws

[Cranky Tenant]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2003
No. 79
www.nyc.gov <http://www.nyc.gov>

MAYOR Michael R. BLOOMBERG SIGNS LEGISLATION
EXTENDING RENT REGULATIONS

Remarks by Mayor Bloomberg at a Public Hearing on Local Law

"The first bill before me today is Introductory Number 367, sponsored at my
request by Speaker Miller and Council Members Provenzano, Quinn, Katz,
Addabbo, Avella, Baez, Brewer, Clarke, Comrie, Davis, DeBlasio, Fidler,
Gennaro, Gerson, Jackson, Liu, Lopez, Martinez, Monserrate, Nelson, Perkins,
Reed, Reyna, Seabrook, Sears, Stewart, Vann, Weprin, Moskowitz and the
Public Advocate Gotbaum.

"The rent control and rent stabilization laws governing New York City will
expire on
June 15th of this year. In order for the State Legislature to pass
legislation extending these regulations, New York City must declare that a
housing emergency exists. According to New York State law, a housing
emergency exists when the vacancy rate is at or below five percent. A
recent survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau, on behalf of the
City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development; found that the
citywide vacancy rate is 2.94% - well below the five percent threshold.

"For New Yorkers, this news comes as no surprise. The need for more housing
is evident to every New Yorker who has ever sought to rent an apartment -
the search is famously difficult. More difficult still are the rent
payments, which are driven upward by the scarcity of housing. In 2002, more
than a quarter of renter households in the City paid over half of their
income for rent and utilities, while half of all renters paid close to 30
percent.

"As the ambitious scope of my $3 billion dollar housing plan makes clear,
building new housing - and affordable housing - is a top priority for my
Administration. As we look for new and creative ways to accomplish this, we
must continue to use existing tools that help control housing costs. One of
the most important is rent regulation. This bill, by declaring a
continuation of the City's housing crisis, enables the State Legislature to
extend rent regulations, which protect over one million units - one million
units - of housing.

"I urge the State Legislature to extend the rent regulation laws, and I
thank the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Speaker
Miller, Council Member Provenzano and all who supported this legislation."