Open Forums Scheduled by NYC Council to Discuss and Review Pending NYC Rent Regulation Laws set to Expire on June 15th

RHere is a very important forum coming up to discuss New York's rent regulation laws set to expire on June 15th. The letter is an open invitation by various NYC City Council Chairs including Speaker Christine Quinn and our very own Bronx Councilwoman Helen Foster. It should be a great opportunity to express yourself and become informed on the latest pertaining to the estimated 1 million rent regulated apartments in NYC.

Gregory
********
April 29, 2011

Dear New Yorker,

We wanted to alert you to some key dates important to NYC tenants.

First, as you may know, New York's rent regulation system is set to expire on June 15th.

On Monday, May 9, 2011, at 1 p.m. in the 16th Floor Committee Room at 250 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, the City Council's Housing and Buildings Committee will be holding a public hearing on the renewal of New York's rent regulation laws.

The Committee will also be discussing City Council Resolution No. 700, which calls on the NYS Legislature to renew and strengthen these critical protections covering more than a million rent-regulated apartments in NYC alone.

If you can't make it to our hearing on May 9th but would still like to weigh in on this critical issue, you may do so via our website by clicking on the link below:

http://council.nyc.gov/html/action_center/rent_law_extensions.shtml

On another related front, this past week the Rent Guidelines Board held the first in a series of meetings that will ultimately determine the fate of rents in NYC in the coming year. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3rd. Details are listed below:

Tuesday, May 3rd, Preliminary Vote, Cooper Union, Great Hall, 7 East 7th Street (near Third Avenue) in Manhattan. Deliberations on rent increases set to begin at 5:30 p.m.

More meetings are scheduled to follow in June, culminating with a public meeting and final vote on Monday, June 27th, at Cooper Union. For additional information, please log on to http://www.housingnyc.com/html/about/meetings.html.

Thanks for allowing us to share this important news with you. We will continue to keep you updated on our rent reform efforts and alert you to any actions you may take.

In the meantime, please feel free to contact Carlos Carino in the Council's Community Outreach Unit if you have any tenant-related questions or concerns. He can be reached by telephone at (212) 788-9121 or by e-mail at ccarino@council.nyc.gov.

Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council

Erik Martin Dilan
Chair, Housing & Buildings Committee
NYC Council

Helen Diane Foster
Chair, State & Federal Legislation Committee
NYC Council

Margaret Chin
Council Member & Lead Sponsor of Resolution No. 700
NYC Council

Quinn, Recchia, and Vallone Comment of Mayor's Preliminary Budget Proposal: 540 NYPD Cadets Put on Hold

Here is a response form NYC Council members Quinn, Recchia and Vallone on the Mayor's proposed "indefinitely delay", related to the NYPD's cadet program scheduled to start this month. 540 cadets will be told to hold off on their plans to join the NYPD if the Mayor has his way. The obvious concern is the effect on public safety.

Gregory
************

April 14, 2011

Dear New Yorker,
We would like to share some important news with you regarding the NYC Council's response to the Mayor's Preliminary Budget Proposal.
As you may already be aware, the NYPD announced earlier this week that it has delayed indefinitely a class of 540 police cadets that was scheduled to start this month. It's our understanding that this action was taken in an effort to meet budget-cutting requirements being imposed for the next fiscal year. This decision is deeply troubling for several reasons.
Further delaying or possibly even eliminating a class this size could jeopardize our continued efforts to keep New York City the safest big city in the country. As you know, protecting the strength and effectiveness of our police force has been a top priority for the NYC Council. Throughout nine rounds of budget cuts we have consistently fought to preserve funding for cadet classes. The class in question was initially scheduled to begin in January and had already been postponed for three months.
On a related note, the Preliminary Budget, as proposed, would have a grave impact on the FDNY, with the proposed permanent closings of 20 fire companies throughout the City. The NYC Council does not agree with nor will we comply with writing the Administration a "blank check" to close these companies.
Continued delay or elimination of these vital services will only serve to undermine our previous efforts, and could have untold consequences for the safety and well-being of New Yorkers. We have and will continue to find places to cut spending, but we must do so without sacrificing the critical services that keep our city safe, strong, and growing.
We have urged the Mayor to reconsider this rash and misguided decision, in keeping with the general commitment to ensuring the safety of all New Yorkers.
The full budget response can be found here:
http://council.nyc.gov/html/budget/PDFs/2012/budget_response_fy_2012.pdf.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Andrew Grossman in the Council's Finance Division at 212-788-9173 or agrossman@council.nyc.gov.
Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,

Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council

Domenic M. Recchia, Jr.
Chair, Finance Committee
NYC Council

Peter F. Vallone, Jr.
Chair, Public Safety
NYC Council