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c/o Met Council on Housing | 339 Lafayette Street, #301 | New York, NY 10012
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Sheldon Silver agreed to a staggering array of unnecessary and damaging givebacks to the Senate
and Governor Pataki that essentially gutted the rent laws.
In the most recent sunset year, 2011, the rent laws were at least renewed with no further givebacks
to landlords, but the renewal bill left intact the loopholes that allow landlords to remove vacant
apartments from the system, as well as all the loopholes that allow landlords to jack regulated rents
up to the point that many tenants can no longer afford, forcing them to move. Despite attempts
by Governor Cuomo to portray the 2011 extender as a great victory for tenants, at best the bill
represented a draw with the real estate lobby, while allowing further deregulation of a devastating
number of affordable apartments. Another victory like 2011 and it will all be over.
As you are surely aware, a straight extender, or an extender with minor improvements, would
be a terrible defeat for affordable housing. In particular, failure to repeal Vacancy Deregulation
amendments would cause the inevitable loss over the next few years of the largest affordable
housing stock in the state.
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This years opportunity for real rent reform might never come again.
With the media finally paying attention to the connection between real estate money and policy
outcomes, and with a spotlight turned on Glenwood Management at the center of scandals
involving the former leaders of both houses, as well as the single biggest contributor to Governor
Cuomo the time is now for a serious effort to restore our rent laws.
The world now knows that the existing rent laws are the product of a corrupt process that led to the
arrest of both former leaders of the legislature. Mr. Speaker, you have the power to reject and negate
this corruption with your actions in the coming weeks. You can be a hero to the tenants of New York
City and Nassau, Westchester and Rockland Counties. We urge you not to fail.
Sincerely,
Sarah Desmond,
Executive Director,
Housing Conservation
Coordinators
Alyssa Aguilera,
Executive Director,
VOCAL-NY Action Fund
Ava Farkas,
Executive Director,
Met Council on Housing
Dennis Hanratty,
Executive Director,
Mount Vernon
United Tenants
Jennifer A Flynn,
Executive Director,
VOCAL-NY
Frank Lang,
Director of Housing,
St. Nicks Alliance
Michael McKee,
Treasurer,
Tenants Political
Action Committee
Harvey Esptein,
Associate Director,
Urban Justice Center
Ramon Peguero,
Executive Director,
Southside United
HDFC - Los Sures
Michelle de la Uz
Executive Director,
Fifth Avenue Committee, Inc.
Steve Herrick,
Executive Director,
Cooper Square
Committee
Sue Susman,
President,
Central Park Gardens
Tenants Association
Pat Singer,
Founder,
Brighton Neighborhood
Association
Sue Susman
Marc L. Greenberg,
Executive Director,
Interfaith Assembly on
Homelessness and Housing
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Susan Steinberg,
Board Chair,
Stuyvesant Town-Peter
Cooper Village Tenants
Association
Stephanie Lasher,
President,
Community Free
Democrats
Nikki Ledger,
President,
30 Sickles St. Association
Nikki Ledger
realrentreform.org | 212-979-6238 x 203
REAL
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REFORM
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