For the Many: On Same Night that NYC and Nassau Order Rent Increases, Kingston Rent Guidelines Board Votes to Keep Rents Frozen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 21, 2023

CONTACT: Aaron Narraph Fernando, aaron@forthemany.org, (646) 732-1518

On Same Night that NYC and Nassau Order Rent Increases, Kingston Rent Guidelines Board Votes to Keep Rents Frozen

Kingston tenants and homeowners outnumbered landlords at Saturday’s hearing to call for a rent freeze while last year’s 15% rent reduction makes its way through the courts. 

Ulster County’s recently released 2022 Rental Housing Survey found that, since 2020, rents have risen dramatically across the board: 27% for a studio, 36% for a one-bedroom, 44% for a two-bedroom, and 50% for a three-bedroom.

Minutes after Kingston’s board voted to keep rents frozen 5–3, tenant representative to New York City’s board Adán Soltren contrasted Kingston’s action with the NYC board’s decision to increase rents for two million tenants by 3% for one-year leases.

KINGSTON, N.Y. - On Wednesday night, as New York City and Nassau voted to increase rents for millions of tenants, the Kingston Rent Guidelines Board voted 5–3 to freeze rents for over 1,200 rent-stabilized households for the coming year. This comes after the board’s vote last November for a historic 15% rent reduction, which is currently making its way through the courts. The board’s Wednesday decision upholds the status quo for Kingston tenants until the legal case is resolved by an appellate court. A full recording of the Kingston hearing can be found on the city’s YouTube channel here. Photos of the board’s members with tenants and advocates are attached to this email.

That same evening, the New York City and Nassau Rent Guidelines Boards went in the opposite direction of Kingston and voted for rent increases. As tenants in the audience cheered and chanted in support of a rent rollback, tenant representative Adán Soltren said, “I do want to quickly shout out the Kingston Rent [Guidelines] Board. They just passed a rent freeze [by] 5–3. So it is doable and is possible, and they’re onto something.” The New York City Rent Guidelines Board then voted for a 3% increase for one-year leases, with the four dissenting votes favoring even higher increases. A full recording of the New York City hearing can be found on their YouTube channel here.

At the Kingston meeting, the owner representatives first motioned to increase rents by 5% and 7% for one- and two-year leases, and—at owner representative Anthony “Junior” Tampone’s suggestion— by 1% and 3% respectively for leases that do not include heat. In her statement presenting the motion, Tara Perry criticized Board members for asking landlords about their failure to register properties with DHCR, saying that the line of questioning, “only creates more of a divide between the Board, the tenants, and the landlords.” The motion failed 3–5, with only Perry, Tampone, and public member Arlene Puentes voting yes.

The tenant representatives motioned for a 0% rent adjustment, which would keep rents frozen. Carol Soto presented the motion, stating, “Longtime residents and families are being priced out of Kingston. As a human being, my job is to stop this from happening. As a member of the [Rent] Guidelines Board, it is my job to weigh the information presented and make a fair assessment for the vote, for the best option possible for everyone. As a tenant representative and a member of the [Stony Run] Tenants Union, I see close-up guile lies and continued old business, that almost nothing is ever completed or fixed in our buildings. I see no alternative other than to vote for a rent freeze for this year.”

Tenants’ motion passed 5–3. Soto, tenant representative Michael Tierney, chair Noah Kippley-Ogman, and public members Mie Inouye and Diana Lopez-Martinez voted yes. Perry, Tampone, and Puentes dissented. (Public member Michael Brown was absent.)

The vote comes after Saturday’s Kingston Rent Guidelines Board hearing, where tenants and homeowners outnumbered landlords more than 2-1 in support of a rent freeze, with many speakers expressing support for last year’s rent reduction. Pro-tenant speakers included members of the Stony Run Tenants Union, Tenants PAC, Mid-Hudson Valley DSA, and For the Many, as well as Mayor Steve Noble, Ulster County Legislator Phil Erner, and Alderwoman Michele Hirsch.

At the hearing, Stony Run Tenants Union member Charlotte Lloyd also testified in support of last year’s 15% rent reduction, a rent freeze for the coming year, and explained how her tenant organizing has encouraged her to run for Common Council in the June 27th Democratic primary. Her supporters were also in attendance at Wednesday night’s meeting. Lloyd’s full testimony can be found here.

Lloyd is running to succeed Alderwoman Hill in the open Ward 1 seat and is endorsed by the Stony Run Tenants Union, For the Many, Mid Hudson Valley DSA, Tenants PAC, Run for Something, Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, and Ulster County Legislator Phil Erner. Lloyd has outraised her opponent with twice as many overall donations, more donations from Kingston, and an average contribution amount that is half as large. 

“We are pleased that tonight, the Kingston Rent Guidelines Board voted 5–3 to keep rents frozen for over 1,200 apartments, " said For the Many Communications Lead Aaron Narraph Fernando. “Keeping rents frozen will continue to provide rent-stabilized Kingston tenants with the relief they desperately need. But Kingston does not exist in a vacuum, and the rest of New York State is taking notice. We hope that the courage the Kingston Rent Guidelines Board showed will serve as a model for the rest of the state.”

“However, there’s still more work to do. We are optimistic that the courts will ultimately uphold the 15% rent reduction. But until then, the Kingston Common Council must take steps to make rent stabilization permanent, so that there is no risk of it expiring in the future. In addition, there are thousands of Kingston families whose rents are not governed by the Rent Guidelines Board. After the Common Council was forced to repeal its Good Cause Eviction law earlier this month under threat of a lawsuit from landlords, they are now at risk of evictions and large rent increases without cause. To keep them in their homes, the state legislature must pass statewide Good Cause.”

“Finally, tenants must make their voices heard on all levels of government, starting with the most local. That’s why we’ve endorsed Stony Run Tenants Union organizer Charlotte Lloyd for Kingston Common Council Ward 1 in next Tuesday’s Democratic primary. A victory for Charlotte would be a victory for Kingston tenants and the statewide tenant movement.”