This archive report was first published on 24 June 2021.
On June 23, 2021, the Rent Guidelines Board in New York City voted to approve modest rent increases for 2.3 million tenants, amidst a pandemic that has left many struggling to make ends meet.
Despite the challenges faced by renters, the board's decision was met with criticism from tenant advocates, who argued that the increases would exacerbate the housing crisis in the city.
Esteban Giron, a tenant advocate who lives in Crown Heights with his husband, spoke out against the increases, saying that they would be a 'long climb back' for families like his own.
According to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, landlords have filed over 57,000 eviction cases in New York City Housing Court since the start of the pandemic, despite a moratorium on evictions that has been extended until July.
Meanwhile, the New York State government has started accepting applications for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which provides up to a year's worth of past-due rent and utility arrears to eligible tenants. Over 110,000 applications have been submitted so far, according to the state's Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
