Mayor de Blasio’s cynical water ploy
Mayor de Blasio recently accused the Rent Stabilization Association, which I lead, of blocking a $183 water tax credit for one-, two- and three-family homeowners. But there are two sides to every story.
In fact, RSA is fighting against a rate freeze for those homeowners because de Blasio places the actual cost of funding his water credit squarely on the shoulders of the association’s 25,000 members — owners of buildings that house 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, who are the largest providers of affordable housing in the five boroughs.
The truth is de Blasio is reeling from a court decision that caught him violating the law and interfering where he shouldn’t have — which have been recurring themes of this administration.
Not only did de Blasio exclude these 25,000 building owners — the majority of which are family owned and operated, mom-andpop businesses — as well as owners of condominiums and cooperatives, from receiving this one-time $183 water tax credit, he also raised all water rates by 2.1% to create a source of funding for the water credits of the select group of owners of one-, two- and three-family homes.
The city Water Board’s action was so blatantly illegal that the judge heard arguments and decided the case on the same day it was argued. Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead ordered that the water rate increase and the water bill credit be annulled and vacated immediately. Even she viewed this water tax credit as masking a de Blasio political ploy.
In her decision last June, Edmead wrote: “The bill credit is unrelated and bears no reasonable correlation to the costs of water service, and is designed to accommodate the mayor’s political agenda to provide a windfall to certain homeowners.”
The Water Board’s provision for a rate increase and bill credit was “unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion,” according to her ruling.
She pointed out that there was “no factual analysis or rational basis to support a difference in the cost of delivery of water services” to one-, two- and three-family homes as opposed to larger buildings. The city, of course, appealed the Supreme Court decision — and is awaiting a ruling.
In his recent rant against RSA for defending the rights of 25,000 building owners, de Blasio conveniently excluded those facts, as well as the reality that he would benefit from the water tax credit — not once, but twice — with $183 credits on each of the two homes he owns in Brooklyn.
Unfortunately, the rental housing industry is all too familiar with the “Tale of Two de Blasios” — where politics and hypocrisy override sound housing policy.
On one hand, de Blasio needs and wants the assistance of apartment building owners of rent-stabilized apartments to advance his affordable housing agenda, and to take families out of the homeless shelter system. We couldn’t be more supportive of such initiatives.
Yet on the other hand, de Blasio raises property taxes and water rates while simultaneously imposing two consecutive rent freezes through his puppet Rent Guidelines Board — where he appointed all nine members. This denies the only source of income that landlords rely upon to maintain, repair and improve the quality affordable housing they provide to millions of families.
It costs money to maintain affordable housing. De Blasio should know, because while he was freezing the rental income of rent-stabilized owners, he was raising the rents of his own tenants to cover his costs.
Landlords don’t take rent increases and buy themselves steak dinners. They reinvest rent money back into their buildings for repairs and improvements, creating tens of thousands of jobs for local residents and work for thousands of neighborhood businesses.
It’s time for de Blasio to throw cold water on his political machinations and work with the only industry organization that can help him implement his affordable housing agenda.