Residents of Queens definitely made their voices heard Monday night at a Rent Guidelines Board public hearing on an impending rent hike.
It was the second night of four planned public hearings by the board to discuss the rise in rents. They are considering increases approved in a preliminary vote last month, which is between 2% and 5% for one-year leases and between 4% and 7% for new two-year leases.
Not many in the crowd were happy about that. Many in the audience at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center lifted signs as residents testified against the already high rents.
“What I do know now is you simply cannot get more rent from people who simply do not have it,” city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said.
“I see more and more of my neighbors being displaced because they are on fixed incomes and their income doesn’t rise. And the [board] passed a huge increase last year,” Queens resident Sabah Munawar added.
Many landlords, meanwhile, have wanted even higher rents than the proposals on the table, citing increasing building maintenance costs. Officials with the Rent Stabilization Association told them to not testify in-person. Instead, they were encouraged to testify during a virtual hearing Tuesday night.
“This will guarantee that their testimony will not be disrupted, silenced and drowned out. All voices must be heard in this process — especially the voices of small building owners, the largest providers of affordable housing in the five boroughs,” Michael Tobman, the director of membership and communications of the Rent Stabilization Association, said in a statement.
