91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Watch CBS News
Local News

Tenants make emotional pleas against rent increase at New York City Rent Guidelines Board meeting

By
Naveen Dhaliwal
Naveen Dhaliwal
Naveen Dhaliwal joined the CBS News New York team in April 2023 as a general assignment reporter covering stories of all kinds across the tri-state area. Prior to CBS New York, Naveen reported for WABC-TV. She was first to report the rash of South Asian attacks in the Spring of 2022. Naveen won an Emmy for her work during the July 2019 Manhattan blackout.
Read Full Bio
Naveen Dhaliwal

/ CBS New York

NEW YORK -- It was an emotion-packed meeting Thursday as tenants shared their grievances over the Rent Guidelines Board's plans to increase rent for stabilized apartments.

This was the last public comment before the board is expected to vote next week.

Their emotional pleas resonated in the room.

"Our landlords are already rich. They get money from our paychecks every single month," one person said.

Tenants tried to convince the city's Rent Guidelines Board to not increase their rents.

"I should not be paying $991 a month with three roommates in a rent-stabilized apartment," another person said.

Next week, board members are voting for a 2-5% increase on one-year leases and a 4-7% increase on two-year leases that are starting this October.

New Yorkers are fuming after already seeing the biggest rent hike last year in almost a decade.

"For the Rent Guidelines Board to consider rent hikes ranging as high as 7% is egregious," said New York City Councilmember Alexa Avilés.

Tenant advocates argue any increase will increase poverty and homelessness.

"People cannot afford the apartments they have. They can't afford these increases. We already have people facing evictions," one person said.

After a public comment meeting on May 2 where protesters stormed the stage, in a statement, the Rent Stabilization Association, comprised of landlords and building owners, advised their members to only testify during a virtual meeting earlier this week. The association further says, "Owners need adequate rent adjustments to keep pace with constant increases in property taxes, insurance and mortgage rates, and utility, energy, maintenance, and other operational costs."

But one tenant had this comeback: "If you can't turn enough surplus profit from your buildings to make it worth your while, then my advice to you is to do what so many of us here tonight have already done -- get a real job."

Officials say their final vote on the rent guidelines is scheduled for next Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Hunter College on the Upper East Side.

In:

© 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
const link = doc.createElement('link'); link.rel = 'stylesheet'; link.href = '/fly/fly/bundles/cbsnewscontent/css/cmp-banner.min.css?v=296763317a51cab90faa73f1bb146d5c'; doc.head.appendChild(link); doc.body.innerHTML = CONSENT_MESSAGE; } else { el.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', CONSENT_MESSAGE); } }); } function hidePrivacyMessage() { // Remove from the main document document.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); // Remove from inside any iframes document.querySelectorAll('iframe').forEach(iframe => { const doc = iframe.contentDocument || iframe.contentWindow.document; doc.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); }); } function activateGatedScripts() { // Handle both new format (cmp-gated-script) and old OneTrust/Ketch format (optanon-category-4) const gatedScripts = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('script.cmp-gated-script, script.optanon-category-4')); // Activate scripts sequentially with a small delay to avoid timing issues let delay = 0; gatedScripts.forEach(function(placeholder, index) { setTimeout(function() { // Skip if already processed if (placeholder.hasAttribute('data-cmp-processed')) { return; } placeholder.setAttribute('data-cmp-processed', 'true'); const newScript = document.createElement('script'); newScript.type = 'text/javascript'; // Try new format first (data-cmp-src), then fall back to old format (data-src) const src = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-src') || placeholder.getAttribute('data-src'); if (src) { newScript.src = src; } else if (placeholder.textContent) { // Inline script - just copy the content newScript.textContent = placeholder.textContent; } // Handle new format attributes (data-cmp-attrs) - for both inline and external scripts const attrs = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-attrs'); if (attrs) { const tempDiv = document.createElement('div'); tempDiv.innerHTML = '
<\/div>'; const tempAttrs = tempDiv.firstChild.attributes; for (let i = 0; i < tempAttrs.length; i++) { // For external scripts, allow defer/async. For inline scripts, skip them (not valid) if (src || (tempAttrs[i].name !== 'async' && tempAttrs[i].name !== 'defer')) { newScript.setAttribute(tempAttrs[i].name, tempAttrs[i].value); } } } // Copy other attributes from old OneTrust format for (let i = 0; i < placeholder.attributes.length; i++) { const attr = placeholder.attributes[i]; // Skip attributes we've already handled or don't want to copy if (!['class', 'data-src', 'data-type', 'data-cmp-src', 'data-cmp-attrs', 'data-cmp-processed', 'type', 'async', 'defer', 'src'].includes(attr.name)) { newScript.setAttribute(attr.name, attr.value); } } placeholder.parentNode.replaceChild(newScript, placeholder); // If external script, manually trigger window.onload handlers after it loads // This handles widgets that use window.onload for initialization if (src) { newScript.addEventListener('load', function() { // If page already loaded and script set a new onload handler, trigger it if (document.readyState === 'complete' && window.onload) { const originalOnload = window.onload; window.onload = null; // Clear temporarily to prevent loops originalOnload(); // Execute the handler } }); } }, delay); delay += 500; // 500ms delay between each script to allow full loading }); } cbsoptanon.onScriptsReady(function(cmp) { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (!allowed) { showPrivacyMessage(); } else { activateGatedScripts(); } }); cmp.ot.awaitInitialConsent(function(consent_model) { cmp.ot.addOnConsentChangedHandler(function() { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (allowed) { hidePrivacyMessage(); activateGatedScripts(); } else { showPrivacyMessage(); } }); }); }); });