Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Albany Fiddles While NYC Rent Control Laws Prepare To Burn
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 12, 2015
Modified Jun 12, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
James Constant / Gothamist
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 12, 2015
Modified Jun 12, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
On Monday, New York City's rent stabilization laws will expire. If that happens, every one of the city's one million or so rent-regulated apartments will face massive rent increases as soon as their leases runs out. As Mayor de Blasio put it in a call with AARP members earlier today, "That means, literally, tens of thousands of people, maybe hundreds of thousands of people, will ultimately be displaced from their apartments. That's how bad it is."
The mayor added that the expiration "would be the beginning of the end of New York City as we have known it as a place for everyone. And so, that’s the stakes in Albany—that’s why it’s outrageous that anyone in Albany to say that there’s not enough time to get to a deal."
Governor Cuomo supports strengthening the rent regulation laws, and modifying vacancy decontrol, the measure that allows landlords to remove rent protections after meeting certain thresholds.
Senate Republicans aren't terribly concerned with this. They have instead turned their attention to saving 421-a, the tax abatement program that has given billions of tax dollars to developers for luxury housing with very little affordable units to show for it.
According to Capital, the Republicans are modeling their measure to save 421-a after Mayor de Blasio's plan to reform the tax break, minus a Mansion Tax and the mayor's aim to remove condos from eligibility. Developers would have to make 20 to 30% of their units affordable depending on where they build.
The governor supports keeping 421-a the way it is, and has argued that the legislature should pass an extension, at least until the finer points get hammered out (he has promised to extend the legislative term beyond its end on Wednesday until all this gets addressed). "421-a is a very complicated beast and it just doesn’t lend itself to throwing together a new program in several hours," Cuomo told reporters yesterday.
If all of this drains what little faith in our state government you might have, Assembly Democrats are having a "conference" on Sunday evening to address the laws. That should do it.
Tagged
421-a
governor cuomo
real estate
rent control
rent regulation
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man found dead, police say, and injured woman is his mother, neighbors say
Police are investigating a related incident in which a 62-year-old woman was found injured beneath the Van Wyck Expressway.
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 7:39 p.m. ET
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
News
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .