Protesters say ‘loophole’ allows unlawful Brooklyn rent increases
Scores of residents and concerned housing advocates rallied in front of a Schenectady Avenue apartment building Saturday morning to demand protections for low-income tenants who fear they will soon be victims of illegal rent increases due to what they say is a “loophole” in the law.
Some 62 low-income families living in rent-stabilized Crown Heights apartments are facing imminent hikes that would double or even triple their rents, likely forcing their ouster. The increases are possible because of a “preferential rents” loophole, allowing landlords to conceal unlawful increases and engage in widespread rent fraud, protesters claim.
“The buildings are now in crumbling physical condition while the low-income, rent-paying tenants — leaders in the Crown Heights Tenant Union movement — are seeing unprecedented rental increases in one of Brooklyn’s most rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods,” said Kerri White, director of policy and organizing for the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board.