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The REAL Rent Reform Campaign


It is time for real reform of the rent laws - not the phony, pro-landlord rent regulation reform acts that brought us the 20% vacancy allowance, the gutting of the registration system, vacancy decontrol and the rapid loss of affordable apartments that tenants have suffered since 1993. (See our 2 page summary of the legislative program English or Spanish.)
 

What reforms do we want? Repeal vacancy decontrol; Re-instate home rule for New York City's Council and Mayor over rent and eviction rules; Save affordable units in expiring Mitchell-Lama and Section 8 projects by putting them under rent stabilization and barring market-rate rent increases; and reforming the rent guidelines boards in NYC and the surrounding counties.

 

How do we win reform of the rent laws? First, by helping the Democrats win control of the State Senate in November of 2008. Are the Democrats going to save tenants? Maybe not, but there are more tenants in the districts that have more registered Democrats, so its harder for the real estate industry to buy those votes. Currently, the real estate industry gives most of its campaign donations to election committees controlled by Joseph Bruno, the Republican Speaker of the New York State Senate: in 2006, according to followthemoney.org, the real estate industry gave $10 million in state campaign donations --more than tobacco, insurance, pharmaceutical, and medical industries combined. Almost all of that money went to committees controlled by Joe Bruno. In return, Bruno promises the real estate industry that the Senate will not allow the passage of any strengthening amendments to the rent regulations. Want to get involved in the elections? Join TenantsPAC.org.

 

Second, we pressure our friends. Tenants must go to their Democratic State Senators and Assembly Members and ask them to support the campaign platform. Go to Who Represents Me? at nypirg.org to get contact information for your state reps.


Contact us to get involved. Email us at active at metcouncil.net

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