JAMAICA, Queens (PIX11) — Tenants rallied outside a public hearing Thursday, demanding a rent freeze as the New York City Rent Guidelines Board considers whether to raise rents or hold them steady for millions of rent-stabilized New Yorkers.

The last time New York City renters saw a rent freeze was back in 2020, and now that possibility is back on the table as Rent Guidelines Board public hearings get underway. This comes as the average rent in New York City is more than $3,000, according to Zillow.

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Wanda Martinez is a tenant who attended the hearing. She is on a fixed income and said it’s sometimes a struggle to afford rising rent and paying for medical care.

“I have deductibles, I have co-pays, and medications are expensive,” Martinez said. “I happen to use inhaler and that can cost up to maybe $200 sometimes.”

Both tenants and landlords came out to the Jamaica Performing Arts Center to make their voices heard at the first of four Rent Guidelines Board public hearings. The nine-member board has already issued its preliminary vote on proposed rent increases, with a possible range of 0% to 2% for one-year leases and 0% to 4% for two-year leases.

Ann Korchak is a landlord and president of Small Property Owners of New York. She said the cost of keeping up apartment buildings continue to rise and she sometimes has to defer maintenance repairs.

“Instead of a capital improvement, instead of replacing a roof, you’re repairing a roof, and at some point, you can’t continue to put a Band-Aid on,” Korchak said. “You really need the extra revenue.”

A rent freeze was a key campaign promise from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, although he does not have direct authority over the decision. That power rests with the Rent Guidelines Board. He appointed six new members back in February. A final decision will come later this month as landlords and tenants make their case on both sides of the debate.

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“My family’s operating two buildings that were built 130 years ago,” said Korchak. “So, it’s expensive to upkeep old housing.”

“Everyone’s number one household burden is rent,” said Kit Lee, a tenant who attended the meeting. “That’s the biggest thing that comes out of our monthly paychecks, and so, it’s definitely a difference maker.”

The debate continues Monday with a public hearing at Hostos Community College in the Bronx, before a final vote comes down on June 25th.

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