A 1994 City Council vote enabling landlords
to dodge limits on rent increases has had a
profound impact on the lives of New Yorkers.
EXCERPT:
How landlords gained the ability to remove apartments
from regulation has a surprising backstory. Over the
years, the Republican-dominated State Senate has often
flexed its muscle to weaken rent stabilization at the
behest of real-estate interests. Yet it was an overwhelmingly
Democratic body that made the most important and
far-reaching move. Shortly before Easter in 1994, by
a 28-18 margin, the New York City Council implemented
what is known as “vacancy decontrol,” which allowed a
landlord to escape regulation and charge market rates
once tenants moved out of apartments that cost at least $
2,000 a month. Then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani signed
the measure into law.
