Costs Threaten New York City Mayor’s Rent Plan

Families, minorities pushed out by waves of tenants who can pay more. June 25, 2014 By Solvej Schou For renters’ rights advocate Jean Folkes, the fight to maintain stabilized rents in increasingly pricey New York City—where rents average a massive $3,000 a month—is not only political but personal. The Brooklyn tenant has spent months passionately…

July 28, 2014 Rents have become increasingly unaffordable in New York City. NYC has been in a housing crisis for decades. A housing crisis, defined as under 5 percent vacancy rate, in NYC triggers an elaborate system of rent regulation. Rent regulation is not a subsidy program, but a system in which rents are regulated…

Did you know that 80 percent of poor renters in rent-regulated apartments pay rent that is more than 50 percent of their income, up from 64 percent in 2005?* Statistics like these illustrate the pressing need to address the issues surrounding affordable housing and renters’ rights. In the August 3 episode of “Represent NYC,” State…

The mayor faces serious challenges to his agenda on affordable housing, rezoning and neighborhood development October 01, 2014 By Adam Pincus Nobody ever said the job would be easy. But as Mayor Bill de Blasio moves deeper into his tenure, the challenges he’s facing on the real estate front are coming into greater focus. Despite…

Over in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, a group of protestors led by the Alliance for Tenant Power recently staged a rally against 626 Flatbush Avenue, a luxury high-rise currently taking shape near Prospect Park. The event was held in part to protest the ever-controversial 421-a tax abatement program, which developer Hudson Companies falls under. According to Gothamist,…