Hudson residents urge council to back state "REST Act"; legal committee to review May 7

Residents and advocates urged the Hudson City Council to pass a resolution supporting the state "REST Act," saying it would make rent-stabilization tools more accessible to upstate cities.

At the council meeting, Robin, a resident and community organizer, told members that adopting a resolution would not itself impose rent stabilization on the city. "Adopting the resolution simply sits sends a signal to the state legislature that you support this piece of statewide legislation, and wanna see the rent stabilization once performed," Robin said. "This is really important. Cities need more tools to address the housing crisis."

The REST Act, as described by speakers, would allow municipalities to use publicly available data instead of conducting costly vacancy studies that can run "tens of thousands of dollars" and have been vulnerable to lawsuits. Speakers said vacancy-study requirements, written decades ago with New York City in mind, can exclude smaller buildings common in many upstate cities and leave thousands of tenants without coverage. "A lot of the housing stock in Upstate cities are a lot smaller," Robin said, noting the bill would let municipalities choose what building sizes to cover.

Why it matters: advocates said Hudson faces an acute housing shortage and that the state-level change would give local governments more practical tools to address displacement without forcing a municipality to adopt rent stabilization. Several residents pressed council members to center the needs of children, seniors and families in the council's review.

Council schedule and next steps: Crystal (staff legal counsel) told the council the legal committee would consider the proposal on May 7 at 6:00 p.m.; an informal meeting to introduce the item is set for May 12, and the full council is scheduled to take up the resolution at its May 20 meeting. Crystal also said the sponsor or a representative will attend the May 7 legal committee meeting to answer questions.

Concerns and questions raised at the meeting included whether removing the vacancy-study methodology in favor of unspecified "publicly available data" could invite legal challenges. One resident asked, "Why would a law that does not even have a methodology lined out ... be less susceptible to lawsuits than one that actually has a defined process?" Speakers replied that municipalities and bill sponsors expect to develop standard data sources — for example, American Community Survey or other census-derived measures — to reduce litigation risk.

Opposing considerations voiced at the meeting included landlord concerns about tax increases and rent-revenue impacts. Lloyd, speaking during public comment, said he had heard from a landlord considering selling property because taxes had outpaced rent increases. "I would much rather see something that was measured that was compatible with the increase in taxes," Lloyd said.

Speakers who addressed the council encouraged members to weigh impacts on tenants and communities as they prepare for the committee hearing. Multiple speakers noted other upstate cities that have passed local resolutions in support of the REST Act or similar measures, and supporters said the measure is currently in state legislative committee consideration.

The council did not take a formal vote on the resolution at this meeting; the item was scheduled for committee review and a future council vote.

Residents and advocates who spoke urged the council to consider the broader local impacts and to use the committee meeting to get technical answers from sponsors and legal staff before the May 20 council vote.