Res 0185-2014

By Council Members Chin, Koslowitz, Ferreras, Johnson, Arroyo, Constantinides, Dickens, Eugene, Gentile, Gibson, Koo, Lander, Levine, Rose, Vallone, Wills, Van Bramer, King, Vacca, Palma, Levin, Barron and Rosenthal Whereas, In 1970, New York City instituted the senior citizen rent increase exemption (SCRIE) program to shield low-income seniors from rising housing costs by offering landlords a property tax abatement in exchange for freezing the rent of eligible senior tenants; and Whereas, Tenants are eligible for the SCRIE program if they are at least 62 years old, have a total household income that does not exceed $50,000 as of July 1, 2014, reside in a rent controlled or rent stabilized apartment, rent regulated hotel, or an apartment owned by a Mitchell-Lama development, and spend more than one-third of monthly income on rent; and Whereas, More than 53,000 senior households are protected from rent increases under the SCRIE program; and Whereas, Income eligibility requirements for SCRIE are set forth in State law and thus can only be amended with the approval of the State Legislature and the Governor; and Whereas, The State has only acted to raise the maximum income levels for SCRIE eligibility twice in the past ten years; and Whereas, Allowing the maximum income level for SCRIE to remain static leaves seniors vulnerable to losing program eligibility due to increases in inflation and cost of living adjustments to entitlement programs such as Social Security; and Whereas, In January 2013, New York State Senator Bill Perkins and Assembly Member Joan Millman introduced S.1218 and A.1790, legislation that would provide for an annual adjustment of the maximum income threshold for eligibility for SCRIE to reflect any increase in the consumer price index (CPI); and Whereas, Linking SCRIE to the regional CPI would ensure that thousands of New York City seniors are able to remain in the program without relying on State action; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign S.1218 and A.1790, legislation that would link income threshold increases for SCRIE program to changes in the consumer price index. KET 4/7/14 11:36AM LS 1004/2014 2