3 Signs You Are in an Emotionally Abusive Relationship ....19 NYC School Chancellor: Summer of Renewal for Students

8 A Summer of Renewal for Our Students

BY MEISHA ROSS PORTER NYC SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR

This year has demanded that all New York City families and students do so many things differently—they’ve had to think differently, learn differently, and connect differently with teachers, peers, and the whole school community. At the Department of Education, we know we also have to think differently as we look towards the summer. For the first time ever, we are inviting all students to join us for a free, funfilled, enriching summer program: Summer Rising. This year, we will serve any student in grades K-12 in July and August who wants to participate, and I am excited to be partnered with the Department of Youth & Community Development to reimagine what summer can be. Our children’s days will be filled with innovative academic support, social-emotional learning, and engaging enrichment activities. These programs will be designed by school teams in partnership with local community-based organizations and offered in hundreds of sites across all five boroughs. After all the trauma and disruptions caused by the pandemic over the past 15 months, our children need a chance to reboot their education in fun and supportive ways as we approach the full reopening of our schools in September. It is time to begin regaining what the pandemic took away. Summer Rising is an opportunity to do just that, creating spaces for students to learn, grow, play, and explore the City around them – from field trips to Central Park and museums to dance and art classes. Summer Rising will also provide an enormous relief to families by keeping children safe, supported, and productive this summer. After enduring months when so many of our students were isolated from their teachers and peers, the opportunity to rebuild those face-to-face relationships will do so much to support their healing process and prepare them for returning to school in the fall. All K–8 students participating in programs will have access to academic classes and enrichment programming, including field trips, arts activities and outdoor recreation. Students will also engage in daily community building and social emotional learning activities. We know some students with disabilities may require additional supports to participate in Summer Rising, and those supports will be provided as needed. In addition, Summer Rising is a chance for high school students to complete courses in progress, make up credits to march towards graduation, and participate in academic acceleration opportunities. They will also be able to engage in important work experience and internship opportunities, like the Summer Youth Employment Program. As always, health and safety remain a top priority. Summer Rising will follow the rigorous health protocols that succeeded in keeping our schools among the safest places in the city this school year. To support these efforts, parents will need to complete a testing consent form for their child so we can keep everyone healthy and safe! Summer Rising will be the start of revitalizing the powerful joy of learning together as we head toward a strong reopening of our schools and warm homecoming for our students in the fall. I strongly urge the families of every child who can join us over the summer to sign up now. To learn more about the options available for your child or to sign up, go to nyc.gov/summerrising. All programs are free, in-person, and have something to offer for everyone.l

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9 Common Problems When Dealing with a Workers' Compensation Claim

BY JARED RICHARDSON

Workers' compensation can be incredibly helpful if you were injured on the job, but that is only when it works out in your favor. Some claims are rejected, while others are accepted, yet not every successful claim results in the injured party getting the benefits that they need and deserve. If you are considering a workers' comp claim and are worried about possible problems that you may encounter during the process, here are several common questions and answers:

What if your claim is rejected?

Many individuals worry about what would happen if their claim were rejected, but there is fortunately a system in place that can assist with that. There is an appeal process that allows individuals to strengthen their cases and ask for approval again, which means that you will be able to include any details that you may have missed the first time around. Furthermore, the denial of your claim should be accompanied by specific reasoning as to what went wrong and what you might be able to do in the appeal to change the ruling. If you feel that your claim was rejected unfairly, then it might be time to get some legal help and hire an employment lawyer to assist you.

What if you don't get your benefits in a timely fashion?

If your claim was granted, but your benefits aren't arriving as quickly as they should, then you may need to take legal action to speed up the process. However, benefits are divided into two separate categories, so it's important to understand how they are different and how that might affect the problems that you are experiencing.

Firstly, you have medical benefits, which should be granted immediately. As long as you have properly documented the entire process and filled out a workers' comp claim as early as possible, your medical bills should be covered. In many cases, medical benefits are granted before a ruling is even made on the claim. Secondly, you have non-medical benefits, which are not quite as immediate. These benefits often become available after your claim is granted and you fill out some additional paperwork, which means that it can take weeks or even months to start receiving non-medical benefits.

How can you maximize your chances of getting a successful claim?

Ultimately, your best course of action is going to be to talk to a lawyer that is specialized in the field. Not only can they help you understand the law and what you are required to do in a workers' comp claim, but they can also help you get a better idea of just how strong your case is and how much you stand to win. If you aren't sure that you want to commit to a lawyer and the fees that such a course of action would entail, then you can probably get a free consultation to determine the best course of action and whether you even need serious legal aid in the first place.l

Battle Over Rent Hikes Turns to Who’s Suffered More: Tenants or Landlords?

BY GREG DAVID, THE CITY

While Aaron Weber waits for the city Rent Guidelines Board to decide whether he will be forced to freeze rents for the tenants in the 40 buildings he runs at WeberFarhat Realty Management, he ticks off the higher costs absorbed in the past year. Among them: rising water and electric bills as residents work from home during the pandemic, along with insurance premiums and property tax hikes. Then there’s intensified cleaning procedures job of the government, especially now “The scale of the hardships facing tenrequired due to COVID-19. that Albany’s federally funded $2.4 bil- ants and landlords are in no way equiva The overall jump in expenses: 15%. lion rent relief plan is accepting applica- lent,” said Sam Stein, a housing “And all of these cost increases have tions. The cost increases suffered by researcher at the Community Service been paired with lower income because building owners have been ignored for Society, in testimony to the Rent of unpaid rent, vacancies and lower rents too long, they say, and will lead over time Guidelines Board. for market-rate apartments,” Weber to a deterioration of the city’s housing added. stock. The Rent Guidelines Board is slated “We are tremendously sympathetic to this month to announce its final decision tenants in trouble and that’s why we on rent increases for leases beginning in advocated for aid,” said Basha Gerhards, October or later after establishing a senior vice president at the Real Estate range of 0% to 2% for one-year leases. A Board of New York. “We know owners vote is expected June 23, after two virtu- are in trouble too.” al public meetings. Tenant advocates agree that landlords Landlords are making a last-ditch argu- have faced steep challenges but contend ment that helping tenants in need is the renters are in a worse situation.

Last Year’s Pandemic Freeze

A combination of low rates of inflation and the appointment of more pro-tenant members of the rent guidelines board by Mayor Bill de Blasio has led to much smaller increases in rents over the past seven years than in times past. Three times since 2015 the board has frozen rents for one year-leases — including last year. In the other years, the board granted increases of 1.5%. For the first part of the de Blasio administration and reaching well back into the Bloomberg era, landlords generated income by both converting higher-rent apartments into market-rate units when they became vacant and by increasing rents after renovating units. But the 2019 renewal of rent regulations ended so-called vacancy decontrol and sharply curtailed the ability of landlords to recover money spent on renovations by raising rents. A REBNY study found a 48% drop in the number of filings for renovation filings in rent stabilized buildings from 2018 to 2020. REBNY expects data on the number of apartments deregulated in 2020, to be released later this year, to show a precipitous decline. “Rent laws impact our ability to keep up with expense growth,” said Marc Pollack, director of asset management for Greenthal Management Corp., which manages 2,000 apartments in Manhattan, half of them rent-stabilized. Landlords argue the Rent Guidelines Board has for years ignored the cost increases. Property taxes have gone up more than 3% each year as the city increases the assessment on buildings as have water rates and labor costs since his buildings are unionized, said Pollack. The key this year is that the Rent Guidelines Board, following tradition, is using 2019 data for making its decision, although members could take into account the extraordinary circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic. “We ramped up our cleaning services, contracted with new companies to professionally sanitize on a weekly basis and increased pay because the cleaners were essential workers,” said Weber, citing one pandemic-caused increase.

‘Sort of Injustice’

The finances of his owners have gone south, he said. In one case, the restaurant on the ground floor of a building Weber manages in Tribeca closed early last year. A problem with the façade forced expensive repairs. With minimal rent increases for six rent-regulated units, the owner lost $200,000 in 2020, Weber said. Stein of the Community Service Society pointed out in an interview with THE CITY that the board’s key measure of how landlords are doing, called net operating income, increased in 14 of the last 15 years, and 2.9% in 2019. He believes that the $2.4 billion in rent relief that became available starting June 1 will bolster owners’ finances substantially. He also notes that any landlord who accepts the rent relief will be obligated to freeze rents for that tenant for the next year. “A rent increase will only apply to those who don’t get relief money and that’s sort of injustice,” he said. Real estate groups disagree. They note that any increase will apply to tenants 12 months after the rent relief is received. “The state’s rent relief program will provide aid to eligible tenants and begin to address the crushing debt facing struggling property owners as a result of the pandemic,” REBNY, the Community Housing Improvement Program and the Rest Stabilization Association said in a joint statement to THE CITY. “This is an entirely separate issue and has no bearing on the [Rent Guidelines Board’s] obligation to provide fair rent increases to keep pace with rising operating expenses and allow for maintenance of quality housing for millions of New Yorkers.” Meanwhile, landlords have their fingers crossed that the board will at least authorize a 2% increase. “But it doesn’t help me to provide safe housing with a certain level of safety and service,” Pollack said.l