Scott Sommer spoke with Marcela Mitaynes, State Assembly member for election district 51, about the campaign for a rent freeze and proposed legislation to extend more rights and protections for tenants, as well as proposed legislation to protect immigrants. With a report from the campaign for a rent freeze and listener call-ins.
Housing Notebook is a production of the Metropolitan Council on Housing, New York's oldest citywide tenants union.
Met Council hotline: 212-979-0611, M & W 1:30-8 PM, F 1:30-5 PM; www.metcouncilonhousing.org, thetenant.org; info@metcouncilonhousing.org; Facebook & Instagram: search for Met Council on Housing; email: housingnotebook@wbai.org – no housing problems please! X: @met_council, @wbai.org @scottmsommer (also on threads & bluesky); wbai.org – live stream, find archive, join radio station there or go to buddy.wbai.org to become a WBAI buddy – be sure to scroll down to choose Housing Notebook as the show you want to support! Or call 833-922-4692. Mail a check made out to WBAI-Pacifica to WBAI Radio, 388 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn NY 11217.
Tuesday walk-in clinics: 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, downtown at 6:30 pm at Trinity Commons, 76 Trinity Place in Manhattan; 2nd and 4th Tuesdays uptown at 6 pm at 5030 Broadway. For more information, click here. For all Met Council events, find the calendar here.
Heat & hot water: Heat law is in effect starting October 1 and continuing until May 31: from 6am to 10pm, when the outside temperature is below 55, the temperature everywhere in your apartment must be at least 68 degrees; from 10pm to 6am, the temperature everywhere in your apartment must be at least 62 degrees, regardless of the outside temperature. Hot water at a minimum 120 degrees at the tap must be provided 24 hours a day, year round. Go to portal.311.nyc.gov or call 311 to report lack of hot water, for NYCHA call 718-707-7771; outside NYC call dept. of health or buildings. Call Met Council hotline (212-979-0611) for help with organizing; for more information and to get a heat sheet, click here.
Other useful information: New rent guidelines taking effect 10/1/24: New York City, 2.75% for a 1-year lease and 5.25% for a 2-year lease; Nassau County 1.5% for 1 year, 2.5% for 2 years; Rockland County 2% 1 year, 3% 2 years; Westchester County 2.5 for 1 year, 3.5 for 2 years; City of Kingston 0 and 0! City of Poughkeepsie TBD. If you're in a rent-stabilized apartment in Kingston or Poughkeepsie, contact For the Many for more information.