Mayor de Blasio’s generosity with other people’s money knows few bounds — least of all between his political ambitions and the city Rent Guidelines Board’s pretend independence.
The mayorally appointed panel of tenant, landlord and public representatives voted 7-0 Monday, with two abstentions, to freeze rents for more than 1 million tenants for a second year running.
Touted by the mayor in emails and talk radio call-ins, zero hikes on one-year leases and 2% increases for two-year leases are the product of political calculation, dressed in thin-gauze economics.
That too many New York City tenants pay too much in rent is not in doubt. The typical rent-stabilized household makes about $41,000 a year and spends more than one-third on shelter.
The rent board is charged with annually setting new rent levels using objective standards that are fair to landlord and tenant alike, even while demand for apartments exceeds supply.
The staff use elaborate computations to gauge the cost of operating apartments and tenant budgets. Board members then propose and vote on increases they judge warranted.
Rarely if ever in the board’s 47 years were tenants or landlords satisfied with the outcomes. But never had city leaders floated the notion of rigging the results — until Public Advocate Bill de Blasio ran for mayor.
De Blasio promised to deliver an unprecedented rent freeze with “wages stagnant and tenants struggling to pay,” as explained by his campaign spokesperson.
That was the rationale then. Since, as detailed in the board’s own reports, tenants’ economic situations have brightened, with average wages up 5.4% over the last two years and New York City employment at a record high.
So, de Blasio devised a new rationale for this year’s rent-freeze reprise: “What the numbers showed was, you know, the price of fuel had been way down over the last year,” he told NY1’s Pat Kiernan Tuesday. “There was not a reason for a rent increase for a one-year lease.”
He left unmentioned sizeable hikes in his administration’s property tax assessments and water and sewer fees — and a projection that costs will rise 5.5% in the coming year, just as tenants are signing zero-increase leases.
Fatter landlords will do okay. Leaner ones will be hard-pressed to keep up services and maintenance, immiserating tenants.
No matter, when a $1 million ad campaign touts “NYC rent security,” courtesy “Bill de Blasio, Mayor.” Bill de Blasio, mayor, swears that next year his board will again decide rents solely on the numbers — those being the vote count.
Incredible.