A New York City panel that regulates the rents for roughly one million rent-stabilized apartments yesterday approved the highest increases in almost a decade, after property owners said that they were being pinched by taxes and rising expenses, the New York Times reported. At a raucous meeting at Cooper Union in Manhattan, the Rent Guidelines Board voted 5 to 4 to raise rents on one-year leases by 3.25 percent in rent-stabilized homes, and on two-year leases by 5 percent. Many tenants argued for a rent freeze or rollback, while landlords were seeking even higher increases, but the panel had signaled its intent to support a middle-ground approach at a meeting last month. The increases affect roughly two million New Yorkers. New York City, already one of the most expensive places to live in the nation, has seen the cost of living rise amid a rebound from the worst of the pandemic. Soaring inflation has hit tenants and property owners, and the effect on landlords’ ability to maintain buildings was one of the major factors that the board considered. But the vote also intensified concerns about the shortage of affordable housing and the sustainability of the city’s recovery.
