By IMANI HALL

Soledad Franco has called the Bronx home for over 40 years, having raised her children and grandchildren in the same apartment. But rent has ballooned dramatically for Franco, who was compelled to testify at the only Rent Guidelines Board meeting in the Bronx. 

“I came here to ask you guys to please approve a rent freeze,” Franco told the newly-appointed board members. “These landlords are getting away with murder and I think it’s time for us to have a rent freeze.”

The RGB meeting was held so that Bronx residents could give testimonies regarding the rent increase. Each person who testified was given three minutes. But despite a turnout of hundreds of Bronxites to push for a rent freeze, the board voted the proposal down 5-4, instead opting for a one percent increase on one-year leases and a 2.75 percent increase for two-year leases on rent stabilized apartments. These increases are the lowest in city history.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. commented on the increase, seeing the silver behind the uptick. Still, Diaz said the extremely low hike “does not go far enough.” “It is therefore vital to offer more relief to the poor and middle-class of our city, given how many residents are struggling and have not seen their own paychecks increase over the past few years,” he said.

RGB Meeting at Hostos
A week before the vote, residents gathered at Hostos Community College to voice concerns over the rent, fearing they will eventually be priced out of the five boroughs. Many came on their own, some belonging to special interests groups. A large portion of the audience was members of Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA), where many held signs reading “People Before Profit” during the meeting.

Jacqueline, who withheld her last name during the public meeting, was one of the lone members who stopped by the public hearing. “We simply cannot afford another increase. It is my hope that the Rent Guidelines Board will choose to make a difference in the lives of so many tenants in New York City by placing yourselves in our shoes,” she said. “We are not looking for a handout, we’re looking for a hand up.”

Bronx resident Linda Cap has been living in her apartment for 47 years. She is the president of the tenants association in her building. She gave her testimony at the meeting on behalf of other Bronx residents. “We have grandparents who are now taking care of their grandchildren because their children can’t afford to move out,” Cap said. “I live in the 15th Congressional District, which is considered the poorest con district in the United States, she added. “How can they continue to come in without our income rising to tell us every year our rent must be increased?”

Rent Freeze
In May, the RGB approved a proposal that would have potentially increased rent by up to three percent for tenants with one-year leases. Tenants with two-year leases would have seen a rent spike of up to 4.5 percent.

But one landlord went on the defensive, justifying an even bigger increase than what the RGB initially proposed. Much of his justification lay in the dwindling rent roll he receives from his tenants. Those monies would help pay for the overhead and maintenance costs. “If you look at the way the world rolls and the reality that we live in, it takes money to improve,” the landlord said.

“In order for the buildings to continue to run so that the Bronx or Harlem or northern Manhattan doesn’t look like it used to look in the ‘70s, I think that you guys should look at a rent increase with a minimum of  four percent for one year and 7.5 percent for two years.” His comments were poorly received by members in the audience who booed loudly after he spoke.

Though it was denied, the borough president didn’t completely dismiss the possibility of a rent freeze. “In the future, in order to address the city’s growing income inequality, we should consider a rent freeze combined with a property tax decrease so that the people of this city have more money in their pockets, while also providing relief to property and homeowners,” he said. “New York City should be a place everyone can afford to live in and we should utilize every opportunity to preserve affordability for all New Yorkers.”

Editor’s Note: Read what folks have to say about the latest rent hike in the Inquiring Photographer section on page 4.