Mayoral Candidate Bill de Blasio Supports Rent Freezes

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has cleared up a recent report that he, as one of the most liberal candidates in the mayor's race, was opposed to freezing rents on rent-stabilized properties. The recnet news report quoted a de Blasio aide expressing the public advocate’s concern about the potential impact on small landlords, and reported that he had not called on the Rent Guidelines Board to keep rents from increasing. All of his Democratic rivals had made such a call.

However, Mr. de Blasio quickly issued a statement that blamed a spokesperson for having “mischaracterized” his position on rent increases. He said he actually believes just the opposite. “At a time when nearly half of our city’s residents are living in or near poverty, we cannot continue to put additional financial burdens on poor and working New Yorkers,” Mr. de Blasio said in the statement. “The Rent Guidelines Board must freeze rent increases when it meets next month. And I renew my call for the RGB to hold hearings in the five boroughs, instead of its one planned meeting in Manhattan. If the RGB’s members could hear directly from the people, as I have, they would know we cannot place additional hardships on renters in New York.”