City’s wish list
Pols want new blue Senate to focus on rent regs, elex reform
The Democrats have a wide majority in the upcoming New York State Senate. Now what?
City politicians at the Somos El Futuro conference in Puerto Rico are buzzing about what might get done for the city without a Republican-led State Senate blocking the way.
“We’ve spent so many years frustrated that none of the things we want would ever come true, and now we’re at the moment where we actually can get some real stuff for New York City, so it is a very exciting time,” Controller Scott Stringer, a former assemblyman, said.
At the top of his wish list, and that of nearly every other city pol in San Juan this week? Tougher rent regulations. The new State Senate will be seated just six months before the laws — which briefly lapsed in 2015 amid a contentious fight to renew them — expire once again in June.
“Step one, rent regulations, take a look at the Urstadt Law, there’s so much in that space that will determine the affordability of this city,” Stringer, referring to a law that allows rent-regulated apartments to switch to market rate, said.
Rent regulations were also at the top of Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s list.
“No. 1, we need to strengthen the rent laws,” he said.
On Wednesday, Mayor de Blasio also listed rent regulations as his top priority for the city in Albany.
And the woman set to run the Senate, too, said the laws will be at the top of the list.
“Obviously it has to be done this year, so obviously getting it done has got to be a priority,” incoming Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Friday. “We certainly have to make sure that we have a product that really ensures that the tenants have housing within New York City.”
For years, city Democrats and advocates have pushed for more tenant-friendly rent regulations, including the ending of vacancy de-control, a process by which a landlord can put a regulated apartment back on the open market when it hits a certain rent threshold, currently $2,700. They’ve also sought an end to allowing landlords to jack up the rents in exchange for “major capital improvements.”
Historically, the landlord lobby — and the Republican State Senate — have opposed those changes to the rent laws. John Banks, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York, was among the influential figures in the halls of the El San Juan Hotel this week.
Of course, it won’t just be rent regulations — with the long lines at the polls on Tuesday, elected officials are also hoping this is the year that voting reforms can pass.
Johnson said he wanted to see no-excuse absentee voting, mail-in voting and other changes.
“I think that the majority in the State Senate is actually a pretty progressive majority and you’re going to have folks who saw what happened, and say we need to do something,” Johnson said.. It’s kind of also a no-brainer, so I think we’ll see a lot of those reforms happen.”