Mayors, City, Town, and Council Officials from Every Region of the State Join a Growing Chorus of Support for Local Control to Adopt Rent Stabilization
NEW YORK — Today, more than 75 New York local elected leaders released a letter to state leaders, calling for the passage of the Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants (REST) Act (S4659C/A4877D) before the legislative session ends on Thursday. Elected officials from Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Syracuse, and more signed the letter which lays out the need to empower upstate communities to adopt rent stabilization to address the housing affordability crisis. The letter highlights the urgent need to address the housing affordability crisis around the state as the cost of living continues to surge and the majority of New York tenants struggle to make ends meet.
“As local elected officials representing New Yorkers in municipal and county governments across the state, we see first hand every day the toll that housing instability, evictions, and the high cost of housing have on our communities. Localities all around the state need more tools to make rents affordable and keep people in their homes long-term,” the letter states.
Momentum is growing to pass the REST Act before the legislative session ends on Thursday. The Albany Common Council will vote tonight on a resolution in support of the REST Act, following similar resolutions of support from the local legislatures in Ithaca, Kingston, New Paltz, and Poughkeepsie.
The REST Act is sponsored by Senate Housing Chair Brian Kavanagh and Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha. Recently, the REST Act was advanced by both the Assembly Housing and Codes Committees, and passed the Senate Housing Committee in March.
The REST Act “would modernize the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA),” the letter states in three key ways:
- By allowing municipalities to utilize public data to determine a housing emergency exists and opt in to ETPA without onerous vacancy study requirements.
- By bringing buildings constructed 15 years ago into rent stabilization on a rolling basis.
- By giving municipalities control to adjust the size of buildings that are covered by rent stabilization to as small as 4 units.
In an op-ed on the REST Act published in City and State NY on Friday, May 29, Assembly Member Shrestha and Kingston Majority Leader Michele Hirsch write, “What’s happening in Kingston – and the failed attempts at stabilizing rents in cities like Poughkeepsie, Newburgh and Albany – make it clear: New York’s rent stabilization laws are outdated, unnecessarily rigid and too vulnerable to legal obstruction. Upstate cities have the legal right to opt into rent stabilization so they can prevent massive rent hikes and homelessness, but current law makes it all but impossible to do so. We need to change that and pass the REST Act now.”
“Syracuse, NY has seen the highest rent increases in the nation. Massive displacement is a public safety, public health, and housing crisis. Stopping these massive rent increases is critical to securing our community’s future. I urge the legislature to pass the REST Act, giving communities local control over their own futures,” said Syracuse City Auditor Alexander Marion.
“Ithaca is tackling the housing crisis head-on; we’ve built 100s of new rental units and opted into Good Cause Eviction. Still, the cost of living continues to rise while our neighbors are pushed out in search of affordable housing. Ithaca Electeds are ready to deliver for our constituents as we have repeatedly; Albany must open the way for us to do so. The New York Legislature must pass the REST Act to make rent stabilization a real option for upstate. Ithaca cannot wait: we need REST,” said Ithaca Alderperson Jorge DeFendini.
“When I learned that more than half of Ithaca renters are rent burdened, I was disappointed but not surprised. This is a reality that Ithaca’s elected officials see every single day in our city. Rents continue to increase by unsustainable amounts while wages stagnate, forcing our neighbours to leave Ithaca. The REST Act would be a lifeline for our community, allowing working families to stay in their homes and helping our city flourish. Without the passage of REST, we cannot implement any meaningful measures to preserve housing affordability. As local elected officials, our job is to ensure that working people can afford to live and thrive in our city. With support from our legislators in Albany, we can do just that,” said Ithaca Alderperson Hannah Shvets.
“The housing crisis is impacting every region of our state. Tenants need tangible relief, but right now, local officials feel like their hands are tied. The REST Act will empower local leaders to help their communities by expanding rent stabilization, which is proven to reduce displacement and homelessness while also giving immediate reprieve to rent-burdened tenants. State leaders must take action and pass the REST Act immediately,” said Housing Justice for All Executive Director Sumathy Kumar.
Housing affordability has become a defining issue for voters – statewide polling shows an overwhelming majority of voters, 68%, would be more likely to support a candidate who backs rent stabilization.