"If the Board approves any increase today, it would be a failure, and an unsustainable burden on tenants across New York City. Rents are already at historic highs, and last year the Board approved the steepest increase in a decade. A further increase would only drive the city deeper into the housing and homelessness crisis, and drive New Yorkers from their homes.
"It is true that some property owners, particularly small-scale ones, are facing financial challenges. The city and state should make efforts to improve access to programs that provide them support. The solution cannot be demanding more and more money from tenants who simply do not have it, and doing so would ultimately harm everyone involved. Every year, landlords are going to ask for hikes – yet rather than addressing systemic issues, as we have seen, the greatest impact of increasing rent will be increasing homelessness.
"I urge the Board, which has conducted hearings citywide, to truly listen to the tenant voices that have echoed throughout those meetings, and vote to oppose any increase to their rent and their hardship."