News in New York – Asylum Seekers, State Budget, Rent Guidelines Board

Mayor Adams Plan to Shelter Asylum Seekers Outside NYC

Last Friday, Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to provide asylum seekers and option to shelter in surrounding New York counties, outside of New York City. In response to the city’s shelter capacity reaching the highest level in recorded history, the plan will provide up to four months of temporary sheltering to single-adult men seeking asylum who are already in the city’s care. The program will launch with two hotels located in Orange Lake and Orangeburg, with the potential to expand. The plan was met with swift backlash from officials from Rockland County, as they strongly rejected the city’s relocation efforts and declared a state of emergency to counter the Mayor’s plan. Orange County is also considering a similar declaration of a state of emergency.

Enacted FY24 State Budget

Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature passed and adopted the New York State Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Budget. The Enacted Budget totals $229 billion, an all-time high, and includes a number of major policy items. The Budget includes changes to the 2019 bail reform laws, aid to NYC to offset the costs of supporting asylum seekers, funding for enforcement efforts on cracking down on illegal cannabis shops, and a three-year plan to increase the minimum wage. The Budget also includes a record $34.5 billion in school aid and more than $30 billion committed to climate action. Notable issues that were not included in the final budget were the Governor’s plan to build 800,000 new housing units in the next decade, and the proposal to lift the charter cap in NYC. You can find all of the enacted budget bills and documents here.

Rent Guidelines Board Recommends Increased Rent

Last Tuesday, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) recommended allowing higher rent increases on rent-regulated apartments this year. The RGB sets rates at which landlords can raise rents on NYC’s nearly 1 million regulated units, and the board’s staff recommended increases of between 2-5% for 1 year leases and 4-7% for 2 year leases. This is the second year in a row in which the board has increased rent, following last year’s increase of 3.25% and 5% on 1 and 2 year leases. This is a stark contrast from former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s tenure, when the board supported a rent freeze for three of his eight years. The RGB will hold public meetings over the next months, hearing from both landlords and tenants, and will vote on the final rate increases by July 1.