NYC NOW - June 22, 2023: Midday News

Episode Date: June 22, 2023

Governor Hochul touts New York State’s efforts in seizing more than $9 million dollars in cannabis from illegal weed shops over the past two weeks. Also, a New York State Supreme Court judge prevents Mayor Adams’ administration from sending more asylum seekers to Orange County. Finally, rent-stabilized tenants in the city wake up to a new reality this morning after the Rent Guidelines Board votes to increase rents. The vote happens every year, but this year, both tenants and landlords sound the alarm over what they say will be dire consequences. WNYC’s Michael Hill sits with public safety reporter David Brand to discuss.

NYC now. Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Thursday, June 22nd. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. Governor Kathy Hochle says New York State sees more than $9 million in cannabis from illegal weed shops over the last two weeks. She touted the state's efforts this morning in Manhattan. I want to send a message loud and clear, this state. If you're operating illegally, you will be caught and you will be stopped. The governor says state authority sees more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana products from 31 stores across the state. The NYPD estimates there are more than a thousand unlicensed shops in the

city alone. There are six legal dispensaries in the five barrels. Governor Holker says the raids will continue to ramp up. A New York State Supreme Court judge is preventing Mayor Adams' his administration from sending more asylum seekers to Orange County, the judge says she'll let the 186 people who've already been relocated there to remain, but she barred the city from sending more migrants without complying with state social services law and further permission from the court. 64 and cloudy right now. Shows today a high near 66 and a light breeze on this first full day of summer. Shows likely and possibly a thunderstorm tomorrow and up to seven. Rent-stabilized tenants in the city are waking up to a new reality this morning.

Last night, the Rent Guidelines Board voted to increase rents. The vote happens every year, but this year tenants and landlords are sounding the alarm over what they say will be dire consequences. Joining us now to break down how tenants and landlords are going to deal with this is WNYC's housing reporter David Brand. The Rent Guidelines Board vote happens every year, as we said, How is this year any different than previous years? We're still coming out of the pandemic and the shaky economic recovery from that.

Inflation is high, prices are high. People are hurting. So last night, the board actually issued a lower increase than last year on one-year leases. It's going to be 3%. And then on two-year leases, well, it's time to get your calculators out. For the first year, landlords can raise rent by 2.75%. and then the second year, they can add on an additional 3.2% from the previous year's rent. So that factors out to about a 4.5% increase.

So rents are going up by up to 3% for one-year leases, and it's a little trickier for two-year leases, right? Exactly right. There are roughly a million rent-stabilized apartments in the five boroughs. How are tenants reacting to this decision, David? Well, gone are their days when the rent guidelines board would actually freeze rents and that happened three times under mayor Bill de Blasio you know the board over the past two years has increased rents nearly as much as de Blasio's

boards did during his entire tenure and I'm saying to Blasio's boards and now we have mayor Eric Adams because the nine members on the rent guidelines board are all appointed by the mayor and and seem to vote for increases or in some cases freezes that are favored by the mayor but no one's happy Michael tenants don't want to pay more, especially tenants who are already barely hanging on. You know, the median income for rent-stabilized households in New York City is about $47,000. That's not a lot, and it's a lot less than the median income for households overall. And we spoke to Natalia Marquez. She's a rent-stabilized tenant who described the scene last night as mournful.

Honestly, it feels like a funeral today. It feels like they voted on this increase. without any input from tenants. We didn't vote for this increase and we didn't vote for the people voting for this increase. She went on to say that she feels like despite the testimony of public hearings, the board doesn't listen to tenants when they say they can't afford the hikes.

And what about landlords, David? Are they happy or disappointed with the board's action? Well, they're not happy either. They want a higher increase to offset their rising costs. You know, landlords are fundamentally in a better financial, situation and the vast majority of renters, they own the property, they collect the income on rent. But that income has decreased on rent-stabilized units in recent years, and that's happening at the

same time as prices increase, so insurance, fuel, the cost of making repairs. So there's an imbalance, but most landlords agree that they wanted a higher increase from the board. David, the increase most affects people, as we said in rent-stabilized units. What about tenants and market rate departments and those landlords, does this decision influence them in any way? Well, in many areas, particularly some of the more affordable areas in New York City, usually further from Manhattan and midtown Manhattan, landlords use rent-stabilized guidelines as kind of a guidepost for what they can charge on market rate unit. So, you know, charge whatever the market will bear, but a lot of times it's comparable and, you know, further on the

edges of New York City. And then there are plenty of buildings with a mix of rent-stabilized and non-rent-stabilized units. And their owners say they raise rents on non-rent-stabilized units to make up for the revenue caps on those regulated apartments. So basically they're saying that the non-rent-stabilized units are like the cash cow for the building. And so they say the rents are higher there. David, just a few seconds left here. What can tenants do if they're officially priced out of a rent-stabilized unit as of this morning? Well, that's a tough spot to be in, and I'm sorry for anyone experiencing that. And that can especially happen for people on fixed incomes.

You know, if you're an older adult or a person with a disability, you can apply for what's known as the senior citizen rent increase exemption or the disability rent increase exemption. It's scree or dray. It's through the city's Department of Housing, Preservation, or Development, and that could allow you to freeze your rents. You know, you could try to negotiate with your land. Lord, that increase isn't set in stone. They don't have to do it. It's just what they're allowed to do under

the rent laws. And if you are facing eviction, go to housing court, respond to your paperwork, try to talk to an attorney at the court. You can also call 311 and see if you qualify for representation based on your income. That's WNIC's David Brand. David, thank you for breaking all this down. Thanks a lot, Michael. Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us Every weekday, three times a day for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. More this evening.