By Philip Newman
The New York City Rent Guidelines Board has voted to preliminarily approve some of the lowest rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments in the agency’s history with the possibility of an unprecedented rent freeze.
The board will hold public hearings, including one in Queens, throughout the next five weeks, then come up with a final decision June 23 at a meeting at Cooper Union in Manhattan.
The board voted 8-1 in favor of rent increases ranging from zero percent to 3 percent for one-year leases and from half of one percent to 4.5 percent for two-year leases.
A freeze in rents for the approximately 1 million rent-regulated apartments in the city was among Mayor Bill De Blasio’s campaign pledges.
The Rent Guidelines Board has been in operation since 1969 and has yet to order zero rent increases.
Representatives of landlords condemned the possibility of a freeze, suggesting landlords could not operate without a rent increase. But renters applauded the possibility of a freeze.
The state Department of Housing and Community Renewal said that in 2012 there were 144,000 rent-stabilized apartments and 5,000 rent-controlled apartments in the borough..
The Queens public hearing is scheduled for 5 p.m. June 19 at Queens Borough Hall on Queens Boulevard.
