Why the Push to Abolish Rent Regulation is Irresponsible

The Gothamist: 

Why the Push to Abolish Rent Regulation is Stupid and Irresponsible. 

by Steve Wishnia

What would happen if New York State repealed its rent-regulation laws?

New York Times Magazine economics columnist and NPR Planet Money co-founder Adam Davidson thinks it might be a good idea.  . . . Most people who live in rent stabilized apartments are above the poverty level, he says, and the poor could be protected more efficiently by giving them housing subsidies.  

These arguments, which are common among critics of rent controls, are utterly clueless about New York City's housing realities.  

Click here for the rest of the article:

http://gothamist.com/2013/07/31/abolishing_rent_regulation_is_stupi.php

Where Democratic Mayoral Candidates Stand on Tenant Issues

Met Council on Housing's Tenant/Inquilino

Much at Stake for Tenants in Mayoral Election, With Runoff Likely

By: Kenny Schaeffer

Published:  July 2013

Not since 1977 has the outcome of an election for mayor of New York City been so hard to predict.

There are now eight Democratic candidates and three Republican ones competing in the Sept. 10 primaries, and a sizeable number of voters in both parties are still undecided. It seems likely that no Democrat will win 40 percent of the primary vote. In that case, the top two will face each other in a runoff three weeks later, on Oct. 1—and the same thing could happen in the Republican primary. 

The Democratic and Republican winners will face a third candidate in the general election on Nov. 5: former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, who has secured the endorsement of the corrupt Independence Party.

Click here or below for a brief roundup of the main Democratic mayoral candidates in alphabetic order, especially their positions on housing and tenants’ rights.

Responses to the NY Post Editorial

The NY Post again wrote that rent regulation is responsible for the lack of affordable

apartments.  Several tenants set the record straight:

The Issue: Whether rent regulations truly help the middle class and poor find affordable places to live.

***

Letter from Michael McKee:

“The Apartment Complex” got it exactly wrong (Editorial, July 10).

Rent regulation is the result of a housing shortage, not the cause.