Denisa Rodrigo, who lives in a stable rental studio apartment in Sunnyside, Queens, said any increase would be “unsustainable”. Rodrigo, 56, lost her job as a medical assistant when her personal doctor closed his office in 2020, during the worst of the pandemic. She said that she is still looking for a new job.
Ms. Rodrigo’s monthly rent is $1,050, an amount she has barely been able to pay since April 2020. A pandemic rent relief program has covered about $9,000 she owes, but she still has about $10,000 to pay, and any increase allowed by the board could put her in more debt.
“I paid what I could, from my savings, and spent almost everything I had,” she said.
She said she was worried she would be evicted and instead wanted the council to vote to reduce the rent.
The rent stabilization system, established in 1969, has become a huge and important source of affordable housing in one of the most expensive parts of the country. Average monthly rent is about $1,269, compared to $1,700 in unregulated houses.
More than one million stable rental units account for about half of the city’s rental housing supply.
Just over 40 percent of those tenants are Hispanic or Latino and more than 20 percent are Black, according to city estimateswhile the median household income of stable tenants in rent is around $44,000, 33% lower than the figure in unregulated apartments.
Nine members of the board of directors, all appointed by the mayor, include five representatives of the public, as well as two representatives of owners and tenants. The council’s annual votes represent one of the few ways the mayor can directly address the city’s housing costs, and Mr. Adams named three appointees since taking office. The other members were appointed by Mr. de Blasio.
