Bill de Blasio Moves to Rein In Soaring Rents With Call For Sweeping New Tenant Protections

Juan González discusses his latest exclusive in the New York Daily News on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposal to enact the most sweeping expansion of tenant protections in decades for the city’s one million rent-regulated apartments. One part of the mayor’s plan calls for an end to a law that allows landlords to charge a tenant market rates once a rent-regulated unit passes a monthly threshold of $2,500. Over the past 20 years, more than 250,000 rent-controlled apartments have been deregulated in the city, many in gentrifying neighborhoods.

Below is an interview with Gonzalez, followed by a transcript:

AMYGOODMAN: Finally, Juan, you have a very interesting piece in the New York Daily News today about rent in New York. You interviewed Governor—Mayor de Blasio?

JUAN GONZÃ�LEZ: Yesterday, it was—yeah, it was yesterday. The mayor gave me an exclusive look at his proposal now to try to save affordable housing in New York City. About a million people in New York—a million apartments in New York City are rent-stabilized, rent regulated by the state, but they’re facing the possibility of the end of rent regulations on June 15th, and the state Legislature must come up with a new plan. The mayor has proposed the most sweeping new expansions of protections in—to the rent laws of New York state in decades, but the Legislature must approve this by June 15th. Luckily, in the last few weeks, the leader of the Senate and the leader of the State Assembly have both been indicted by federal authorities for extortion, getting landlords to pay them money in exchange for their passing pro-landlord legislation. So hopefully the sands are shifting in Albany with these new arrests, and hopefully now the mayor will be able to get his plan through.

AMYGOODMAN: And we’ll link to your piece at democracynow.org.