Rent Guidelines Board Holds Rents at Current Levels

Freeze vote first of its kind in Board history, applies to one-year leases in rent-regulated units.  On June 29, 2015 the Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-2 to not increase rents on one-year leases, affecting 1.2 million tenants of New York City’s rent-regulated apartments.  The vote marked the first occasion where the Board decided to freeze rents. The Board’s vote also increased rents on two-year leases by 2 percent, a historically-low rate.  The new rents will … <Read More>


Sunset Park rezoning approved

Community groups expressed concern that 128-block rezoning would displace low-income residents. On September 30, 2009, the City Council approved the Department of City Planning’s proposal to rezone 128 blocks of Brooklyn’s Sunset Park in order to address recent out-of-scale development inconsistent with the area’s predominantly residential character. The plan replaces the neighborhood’s R6 zoning with contextual zoning districts — R4A, R4-1, R6B, R6A, and R7A — that match the area’s context and also establish maximum … <Read More>



City Releases Details for “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” Zoning Text Amendment

On September 21, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams released the details for his “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” proposal. The proposal aims to increase the development of and access to affordable housing throughout New York City through changes to the City’s zoning code. The Mayor’s Office touts that the initiative could add 10,000 homes to expected housing production over the next 15 years, create 260,000 temporary and 6,300 permanent jobs, and provide $58.2 billion in … <Read More>


Mayor Announces Expansion of “Big Apple Connect” to 17 New NYCHA Developments

On August 1, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams and Office of Technology and Innovation Commissioner Matthew Fraser announced the expansion of “Big Apple Connect” to 17 new public housing developments across Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. The Big Apple Connect program provides NYCHA residents with a free bundle of high-speed internet, including equipment, basic cable TV service, and common area Wi-Fi hotspots. The program aims to enhance digital equity by enabling New Yorkers to have access <Read More>


City Commits $3.1 Million Over Four Years to Combat Source of Income Discrimination

On March 2, 2023, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced that$3.1 million will go towards efforts to combat source-of-income discrimination for New Yorkers who rely on rental assistance. Source-of-income discrimination is an illegal practice by landlords, owners, and real estate brokers who refuse to rent to current or prospective tenants seeking to pay for housing with vouchers, subsidies, or other public assistance.