THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

OFFICE OF COUNCIL MEMBER 

JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS 

CONTACT: William Gerlich, 917-608-8784

wgerlich@council.nyc.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

3:00 P.M. EST, September 15, 2014

WILLIAMS APPLAUDS MAYOR'S PUSH TO REPEAL URSTADT; URGES ALBANY DEMOCRATS TO SUPPORT 

NEW YORK, NY: Today, Council Member Jumaane D. Williams (D-Brooklyn), Deputy Leader and Chair of the Council's Housing and Buildings Committee, released the following statement after several Albany Democrats expressed that they may not favor or refuse to commit to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's push to repeal the 1971 Urstadt Law.

STATEMENT FROM COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS

 

"As New York City prepares to embark on one of the most aggressive affordable housing agendas in our nation's history, I am disappointed to hear that some of our NYC Democratic leaders in Albany are less than enthusiastic toward Mayor Bill de Blasio's call to repeal Urstadt. It is my hope that Albany's resistance is just pre-election angst that will subside after November, because New Yorkers need for real affordable housing is great and immediate.

 

"In a city where rent has increased steadily for almost five decades, it is a shame that our state legislators have not done more to end this crisis. Urstadt has prevented New York City from strengthening rent regulation laws that are meant to protect the nearly 2.5 million tenants who live in rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartments. A full repeal of Urstadt would not only help stop the permanent loss of more than 150,000 rent-regulated units every year, but would fix a broken system that has allowed upstate districts who have no rent-regulated tenants decide the fate of our city's renters. All state legislators, including Republicans who pride themselves on local control, should support this.

 

"Just like how our former mayor gained home rule on education in New York City, I look forward to seeing Mayor de Blasio do the same for housing. As Chair of the Council's Housing and Buildings Committee, I am glad to see the Mayor become a vocal advocate to repeal this outdated law, and plan to work with the administration and our state elected officials to ensure the future of affordability for all."

 
Council Member Jumaane D. Williams (D-Brooklyn), Deputy Leader, represents the 45th Council District, which covers Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands, and parts of Midwood and Canarsie. He is the chair of the Committee on Housing and Buildings, and co-chair of the Task Force to Combat Gun Violence. He is a co-founding member of the Progressive Caucus, and a member of the Black, Latino & Asian Caucus. He was first elected to office in 2009 and re-elected in 2013.

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