On Monday night we made history!!!! For the first time in the 46-year history of the Rent Guidelines Board (the 9-member board that decides how much rents for rent stabilized tenants should be increased by), the board voted TO FREEZE RENTS for a one year lease and granted a 2% increase for a 2 year lease. This will afford more than 1.2 million tenants enormous relief. And, just as important, it has changed the conversation in our city from one about how much rents should increase by to one about whether or not increases are warranted, based on the data.
This has been a 3-year fight for CASA. We started by protesting the lack of hearings in the Bronx, holding a people’s hearing in 2013. Then last year we won outer-borough hearings, our very own Sheila Garcia was appointed to the board and we mobilized more than 400 tenants to the Bronx hearing. This year, we packed the Bronx Hearing again, with over 450 tenants. And close to 1000 tenants from across the City packed the final and very emotional vote on Monday night.
We have shown that organizing works and that tenants testimonies have power. See this amazing graphic that shows the impact tenant testimonies have on the RGB’s decision. CASA was also featured in the Daily News and the NYT.
For the past three years, everyone at CASA worked incredibly hard to make this happen, prepping folks to testify, mobilizing turnout, making videos and commercials, organizing marches, doing street outreach, phone banking literally thousands of tenants, using social media…everything we could think of. Members worked just as hard. And we are proud to be a part of a strong and growing tenant movement that made this happen!!!
CASA POWER!!! TENANT POWER!!!