Forum on S.

2783-A
Sponsored by Senator Adriano Espaillat
Tuesday May 24~2011
Hearing Room C - Legislative Office Building

My name is Dennis Hanratty and I am the Executive Director of Mount Vernon United
Tenants (MVUT), the only funded and staffed tenants association in Westchester
County.

I'd like to thank Senator Espaillat for calling for and sponsoring this timely and
eminently important Hearing/Forum on the state's rent laws and the need for them to
be renewed and significantly strengthened. I'd like also to thank all of the other
Democratic State Senators who have come down this afternoon with a special thanks
to Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins from Westchester-Yonkers, who has always
been a friend and ally to tenants. Likewise I'd extend those same thanks to Assembly
member Linda Rosenthal and Assembly member Brian Cavanagh who have shown
such strong and principled leadership in their House. Kudos as well to Christine
Quinn, the Speaker of the NYC City Council and all of the members of the City
Council who joined her here earlier and were going to meet with Senate Majority
Leader Dean Skelos to make their (and our) case about the overwhelming need for a
quick and just resolution of the rent law issue, i.e. renewal and significantly
strengthening thereof.

Senator Espaillat and others, perhaps the main point I would like to impress upon you
is the fact that the rent laws do not only provide benefits for New York City tenants.
There are approximately thirty thousand (30,000) units covered in Westchester.
Similarly, many people view Westchester as this incredibly wealthy county, and while
there are many well-to-do folks in our county, there are also huge pockets of poverty
and other working class folks, most especially in our major cities, Mount Vernon,
Yonkers, New Rochelle and White Plains. And it is the rent laws that permits so many
to be able to afford to live in their respective communities. It is the rent laws that
contribute to the ability of our municipalities to maintain a diverse community, both
racially and economically. My community, Mount Vernon borders the Bronx and we
share many of the same characteristics, especially as it relates to housing
(un) affordability. In fact, Mount Vernon and Westchester may even be worse as we
were victimized by our Westchester Rent Guidelines Board (WRGB) which passed
"highest comparability" vacancy guidelines for eleven (11) out of twelve (12) years
which put incredible upward pressure on rents.

We must improve the laws by eliminating "Vacancy Destabilization", not by raising

the threshold and pegging increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This only
incentivizes landlords to try to raise the rent - legally or illegally to reach whatever
that magic number is. This has put relentless upward pressure on rents. That target
has to be removed! Two (2) former Republican Senators for Westchester, Guy
Velella and Nick Spano used to tell me repeatedly in 1997 regarding the $ 2,000
decontrol threshold, "oh don't worry, this is a Manhattan issue, it's not going to affect
us in Westchester." Well they were wrong, and we were right. It is affecting us. Units
are being decontrolled. While we have not been as adversely affected as New York
City where approximately 300,000 units have been de-regulated, we are losing units.
In Mount Vernon, one of the poorest cities in Westchester we've probably lost about
500 units. But what's even a greater threat is that there are literally thousands of units
that are on the cusp of deregulation, i.e. they're just one (1) vacancy from
destabilization. One complex downtown in Mount Vernon, the Plaza Buildings, have
over 700 units and many, if not the majority are approaching this danger. Our whole
stock of regulated units will be at risk of destabilization within a few years. It is
absolutely essential to eliminate vacancy destabilization. Our communities, our
neighborhoods, our tenants deserve nothing less.

Thank you for your support.