CB2 Land Use Committee to go on record criticizing Rent Guidelines Boardrecommended rent increases

The Community Board 2 Land Use and Housing Committee voted at its May 14 meeting to go on record criticizing the Rent Guidelines Board(RGB) recommended increases for rent-stabilized apartments. Committee members noted the RGBstaff recommendation posted publically called for a 4.7 percent increase for a one-year lease and a more-than-7-percent increase for a two-year lease; members said those increases are large compared with recent guidance and would place significant pressure on renters.

Committee members discussed the limits of CB2influence over the RGB outcome but said a record of the boardposition was worthwhile. The committee voted by voice to have CB2 submit a statement critical of the recommended increases and to circulate a draft text of that statement for sign-off. Chair Yoo Jin Yu asked that staff circulate a draft; members approved moving forward by unanimous voice vote.

What the vote means: CB2 will prepare a formal statement and circulate it to committee members before transferring it to the full board for consideration. The committee did not say it expected to change the RGBfinal vote but sought to register neighborhood-level opposition to the scale of the recommended increases.

Quotation: Committee member noted, "If we want it to be on record, we could be on record criticizing this, very high," and the committee approved placing the objection on the record by voice vote. The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript.