Rent freeze debate begins
Deliberations kicked off this week about rent increases for New York City’s rent-stabilized apartments, which make up over one million units across 50,000 buildings.
On Wednesday, the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board reviewed new data on landlord financing in preparation for the final vote in June. The data, which analyzed properties’ generated revenue after operating expenses, covers buildings with six or more units constructed before 1974 and property that receives tax breaks or government financing.
The report revealed that net operating incomes rose by 6.2% from 2023 to 2024. This marks the third consecutive year of increases, with a 12.1% jump from 2022 to 2023. Staten Island and parts of Manhattan saw the greatest increases, while the Bronx saw net operating incomes decrease by 0.1%.
“Landlord incomes continue to rise while tenant wages stay stagnant and the cost of everything from food to transportation keeps going up,” Sumathy Kumar, New York’s tenant bloc director, wrote in a statement. “A rent freeze is the common sense first step to making sure that the New Yorkers who keep this city running aren’t priced out of our homes.”
Landlords, however, are pushing back, citing the report as only one part of a bigger picture. They maintain that the findings are “grossly inaccurate” and that many smaller buildings that fall into the rent freeze category are still facing financial strain.
The Rent Guidelines Board has the authority to implement a rent freeze for rent-regulated units — an outcome Mayor Zohran Mamdani promised in his campaign. Although the mayor can’t make the decision himself, Mamdani appointed the majority of the board’s members. Under former mayor Eric Adams, the board approved a 12% rent increase.
Fatal tarmac crash at LaGuardia Airport
Two pilots were killed Sunday after a plane collided with a fire truck on a tarmac at LaGuardia Airport, causing one of the nation’s busiest airports to halt hundreds of flights.
The pilots, 30-year-olds Antonie Forst and Mackenzie Gunther, operated the Air Canada flight from Montreal to LaGuardia with 72 passengers and four crew members on board. After the aircraft landed around 11:40 p.m., it collided with the truck on the tarmac.
The truck turned over on impact, causing the aircraft to tilt backwards with the cockpit almost fully removed. Emergency responders transported 41 people to the hospital, where most were released, except for 10 who sustained serious injuries.
The fire truck had been cleared to cross the runway for an unrelated issue on another plane 20 seconds before the collision, despite the plane already getting the clearance to land. The National Transportation Safety Board revealed that a ground radar system failed to notify crew members and the truck lacked a transponder.
“I am grateful to our first responders, whose swift actions saved lives,” Mamdani wrote in a X post. “The NTSB is investigating the incident, and the city is in close contact with federal, state and local partners.”
After LaGuardia canceled more than 600 flights, airport operations resumed Monday afternoon with one runway reopened.
Maduro appears in Manhattan court
Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro appeared in a Lower Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday for his first hearing, facing narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges.
Maduro — who was taken into U.S. custody in January— is currently being held in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn. He appeared with his wife Cilia Flores, who is charged with the same offenses. They have both pleaded not guilty.
During the hearing, attorneys deliberated on whether Maduro can access Venezuelan funds to pay for his legal defense. His lawyers argued that U.S. sanctions block his ability to use those funds, while prosecutors argued that government resources should not be used. The case’s judge, Alvin Hellerstein, has not given a decision to the claims.
The case drew public attention outside the courthouse, where people gathered both to protest against Maduro and show their support for him.
“This is an important day for the nation, as with love and patriotism we will demonstrate the innocence of our leaders,” Venezuela’s ruling party said.
No trial date has been set, and Maduro will remain in custody in Brooklyn while the case proceeds.
Contact Natalie Deoragh at [email protected].