The local paper for Downtown wn WEEK OF JANUARY
8-14
NEW TWIST ON POP ART CITYARTS, P. 12 >
2015
OTDOWNTOWN.COM
OurTownDowntown @OTDowntown
RENT REGS IN TROUBLE AGAIN NEWS If lawmakers don’t act, rents could rise for regulated tenants BY DAVID KLEPPER
Cynthia Chaffee’s Manhattan apartment would likely go for more than $5,000 a month if the landlord charged market price. But Chaffee pays thousands less thanks to the city’s longstanding rent stabilization rules — regulations that will expire this year if lawmakers don’t act. The 63-year-old paid $300 a month when she moved into the one-bedroom space
in 1978. To Chaffee, the rules governing how much she and more than 2 million other New York City residents pay in rent protect the city’s diversity and character. “The city is changing enough as it is, and these laws are so important to so many people,” said Chaffee, who won’t specify how much she pays now. “If you want to have neighborhoods, if you want to have families and artists and elderly living in New York City, we need these laws. Can you imagine what New York City would be like without them?” The laws governing the rent paid by Chaffee and more than 2 million other New
In Brief London Terrace, a massive rental complex in Chelsea. Tenants protected by current rent regulation and stabilization laws could see changes if the state legislature doesn’t act. York City residents are due to expire June 15, and state lawmakers are preparing for what could be a bruising debate over whether to renew, strengthen or weaken them. The complicated set of rules determines the size of rent increases for nearly 1 million apartments built before 1973. Supporters say they are
critical to ensuring that New York City — a city of 2.2 million apartments — remains affordable to working-class and middle-class residents. Landlords, however, chafe under rules that they say keep rent artificially low and force them to charge more for unregulated apartments and forgo improvements.
Brooklyn landlord Chris Athineos manages some rent-stabilized apartments that go for as little as $500 to $700 a month — units that would go for $1,500 or $2,000 if unregulated. He said the rules are unfair to landlords and tenants who are forced to subsidize the lower rents of
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
MARIO CUOMO AND THE POWER OF WORDS REMEMBRANCE The former governor was about so much more than great speech-making BY CHRISTOPHER MOORE
As a kid in Jersey with a passion for politics, I followed the news through city tabloids. I found vast entertainment in the Mario Cuomo-Ed Koch follies. Their competitions in the city in 1977 and statewide in 1982 stuck in my brain and heart. They still do. I’m sitting here now with a copy of “Diaries of Mario M. Cuomo,” which is subtitled “The Campaign for Governor.” It’s hard to beat that first race for governor, when Cuomo was the decided underdog, for sheer political
drama. Granted, when I finally grew up and, as the editor of this newspaper, interviewed Cuomo, I found him to be a little bit crazy. His passion about what he was talking about seemed almost scary – and I couldn’t get him to stop. But that’s the hazard of a real-life encounter with an idol. And when his son was a would-be gubernatorial candidate in 2002, I took his dad’s book to an editorial meeting with Andrew Cuomo. He thought I was the crazy one. He seemed to retreat when he knew I was a Mario Cuomo junkie. Now I’ve had enough therapy to realize I was, by bringing the book, putting the son in a weird position. Oops. Obviously I’ve been thinking and reading about the senior Cuomo, as the Upper East Sider was laid to rest this week. So much has been expressed about the former three-term governor, and some of it’s even true. Much has been said about what he said – and the powerful way in which he said it. There’s been criticism that the legislative and administrative record never matched his rhetoric, as if that were even possible. Evidently we remain wary and distrustful of eloquence, as if we’re being set up for failure when a leader is able to use language to
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
DE BLASIO AND BRATTON ANNOUNCE LOW CRIME RATES Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced 2014 saw the fewest murders last year in recorded city history. The mayor and commissioner also announced the city saw the lowest murder, robbery and burglary rates in the past 10 years. In 2014, Overall Index Crime was down 4.6 percent since the previous year, Overall Index Crime in transit was down 14.8 percent over the previous year, and housing crime was down 6 percent over the previous year. In 2014, marijuana arrests dropped 10.5 percent over the previous year. In 2014, complaints to the Civilian Complaint Review Board also dropped 11 percent compared to the previous year. “The City of New York is the safest big city in America, thanks to the hard work of the members of the NYPD. This relentless dedication to public safety has resulted in historically low crime levels and a safer city where millions of people live and work. The NYPD will endeavor to further reduce crime through community relationships and the integration of technology,” said Bratton. The announcement came as de Blasio and Bratton have been working to repair the fractured relationship between the police and protestors, as well as tensions between the mayor and the NYPD rank and file.