The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Empire State Plaza 1 Washington Avenue Albany, NY 12224

Phone: 518-474-8390

Dear Governor Cuomo:

We are asking you to demonstrate your concern for New York City tenants and residents, who are finding living in this city unaffordable. The best way you can do this is by eliminating vacancy decontrol and the vacancy bonus, the two things that cause the greatest loss of affordable housing. They also give landlords an incentive to harass rent stabilized tenants, many of them senior citizens, into leaving their apartments.

It is not sufficient simply to extend the rent laws It is also not sufficient to raise the financial level at which rent stabilized apartments can be decontrolled and their rents rise, to market rates. Whether the level is raised by hundreds or thousands of dollars, it is nearly useless in preserving affordable housing. Landlords will keep making enough Major Capital Improvements to bring the rents up to the new financial level set for the apartment going market rate. Previously, after the minimal gesture of raising the financial level for rent stabilized apartments going market rate, the rent laws were renewed and thousands of affordable rent stabilized apartments were lost to market rates.

Further, a change that could keep rents low in rent stabilized apartments is to make the increase granted for Major Capital Improvements last only long enough to cover the cost of repairs and improvements, not a permanent increase. This may also discourage landlords of market rate apartments from using MCI to further raise rents.

Ideally, you should do away with the tax break 421-a for luxury buildings. It robs New York City of billions of dollars needed to build affordable housing. At a minimum, you should use it as leverage to get all the tenant benefits demanded in this letter.

We hope you will begin to show as much concern for tenants as you have for developers. The old question of “Which side are you on?” is likely to be in the minds of political clubs and voters in the next primary season.

Sincerely.