Res 0625-2015

By Council Members Williams, Arroyo, Gibson, Lander, Levin, Levine, Rodriguez and Menchaca Whereas, According to the 2014 Housing and Vacancy Survey, New York City is currently in an affordable housing crisis and has a vacancy rate of 3.45 percent; and Whereas, Unless there is a way for building owners to recoup costs, affordable housing units may fall into disrepair; and Whereas, The MCI rent increase system allows owners of rent-regulated units to apply to New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) for a building-wide rent increase based on a building-wide improvement; and Whereas, The rent increase for each unit is determined by dividing the cost of the MCI by 84 months (so that the cost is recouped over 7 years), dividing that number by the number of rooms in the building and then multiplying that number by the number of units in each individual unit; and Whereas, MCI rent increases remain part of the base rent, even after the costs of the MCI have been fully recovered; and Whereas, Rent increases approved because of MCIs may substantially increase the monthly rent for rent stabilized units; and Whereas, Once the rent in rent stabilized units reaches $2,500, the unit may be deregulated upon vacancy or upon tenant incomes reaching $200,000 two years in a row; and Whereas, Making MCIs a temporary surcharge would allow owners to recoup the cost of building-wide improvements, without contributing to deregulation; and Whereas, S.2830, currently pending in the New York State Legislature, sponsored by Senator Krueger, would establish a methodology for determining MCI rent surcharges based on a seven-year timeline, require that the surcharge be based on the number of rooms in the building and in the apartment, and require that this surcharge cease once the cost of the MCI has been recovered; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign S.2830, legislation amending the Administrative Code of the City of New York, the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 and the Emergency Housing Rent Control Law in relation to making the Major Capital Improvement (MCI) rent increase a temporary surcharge. SAK LS 4174 3/5/15-12:23p