Roosevelt Island's Westview and Island House Rent Hearings Postponed Until August

Image from Saving Mitchell Lama - Working Together To Save Our Homes

From Assemblymember Micah Kellner's newsletter:

Westview and Island House Rent Determination Hearing Granted 60-Day Extension

Several weeks ago, the residents of Westview and Island House were informed that the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) would be holding hearings on Roosevelt Island to consider a rent determination request from the lanlord for rent increases of up to 88%. This is outrageous and completely out of line with the affordability that these Mitchell-Lamas are supposed to provide to the hundreds of families that call them home. These are already the most expensive Mitchell-Lama buildings in New York State. Also, a significant amount of the rent increase is supposedly justified through the need to pay arrears on debt for the buildings, but it is totally unprecedented and unfair to raise rents to pay a landlord's debt.

The hearings were originally scheduled for this month, but in order to give the tenant associations the time they need to hire accountants to review the proposal and prepare a thorough response, I wrote to DHCR Commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen and requested an extension to this process. She granted that request and the hearings will be rescheduled to August. I will continue to advocate for the hearings to be at a location, time, and date that allow working Roosevelt Islanders to be able to attend and make themselves heard.

For more information here is the Westview Task Force web site. Also, check out Saving Mitchell Lama which includes a 2006 Main Street WIRE article on Westview and Island House.