The Blame Game: Lawmakers Respond to Expired Rent Regulations

As one state lawmaker put it, “Ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent.”

After weeks of build-up, the rent control laws for New York City expired last night at midnight after leaders in Albany failed to reach an agreement. State Senate Republicans, who hold a narrow majority in the upper house, refused to pass a two-day extender the Assembly approved earlier Monday and instead voted along party lines for their own legislation, which features an eight-year extension of rent laws and codification of the state's tenant protection unit. The Republicans' bill includes language that critics say is favorable to landlords, including mandatory verification of income and residency of tenants in rent-regulated units.

As legislative leaders continue their negotiations behind closed doors, here’s what lawmakers said Tuesday about the expired rent control laws:

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx)

“You know, I’ve been very clear from the day I got elected speaker, it’s rent, rent, rent and more rent. ... Sen. Flanagan is trying to raise what he thinks gives him leverage. ... Albany sometimes performs miracles. 24 hours is sometimes a lifetime. We’re going to keep trying, but I’ve again made it clear to the governor and to Sen. Flanagan, I hope finally understands it’s rent. It’s rent for the conference. ...It’s difficult to look at other issues right now because I’m worried about 2 million people who don’t know about the stability of their homes. So some of these other issues are still being discussed, but for us it’s all about rent.”

State Sen. John DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse)

When asked if the state Senate Republicans would tell the Assembly to take their bill or leave it:

“Let me put it this way: You never say never in this business, that’s No. 1. But No. 2, we’re trying to get an agreement. We had a real bill, that if the negotiations started, the bill that was for an eight-year extender, the time frame of the extender could change, certain provisions could change, but you’ve got to get true negotiations where everyone’s participating and trying to get to a result. From my understanding, we haven’t gotten to that point.”

State Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn)

When asked about the criticism he and the state Senate Republican Conference has received because of the expiration of the rent control laws:

“We passed it. We say the Assembly should have stayed and passed it. I mean, the Assembly went home. Shame on them.”

Asked if last night’s bill was a “take-it-or-leave-it” bill:

“I should say it’s a take it bill. They’ve got to take it. We have a bill that we put on the floor last night, and we’re very serious about the bill that we put out. This is not a game. We’re talking about people’s lives. People are looking for longevity. Eight years is longevity. Eight years is real. There’s always room for negotiation when you have two or three days left.”

Assembly Housing Committee Chair Keith Wright (D-Manhattan)

When asked how he felt about the rent regulations expiring:

“Disappointed, angry, annoyed, vexed—what’s another adjective? I think it’s totally irresponsible that the folks in the Senate would allow this to happen. I think it’s political and legislative malpractice.”

Assemblyman Dick Gottfried (D-Manhattan)

When asked about his opinion on the rent laws expiring:

“Even though it’s a temporary lapse in the law and will not have any real effect, the fact that the Senate allowed that to happen, I think, reflects a real lack of concern for the welfare of tenants. I think the governor has a real responsibility to play a much stronger role to get the law, not just renewed, but strengthened. And unfortunately, I think all observers don’t see him having a clear strong position.”

State Sen. Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan/Bronx)

“For a conference whose leader in the (Senate) Housing Committee doesn’t have one unit of affordable housing to hold hostage the whole City of New York and the entire state where there are rent-regulated apartments I think is unbelievable. I hope cooler heads will prevail. We cannot keep tenants in a state of anxiety, at the very least. I know they will not be impacted now, but come September, if this was to be a drawn-out problem, many people will be in trouble.”

State Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan)

When describing concerns he has heard from constituents:

“There’s a real, palpable fear that Albany isn’t going to do its job and I think we’ve let a lot of people down. I think we’ve spent a lot of time talking about other issues and we’ve had several years to get this one right and the fact that we haven’t been able to do it—or even had a public hearing or committee hearing on this issue—is astounding, given it affects more than 2 million people.”

- with reporting by Jon Lentz