Janae Pierre: New York City's rent hike explained. Parks advocates say Mayor Adams' budget falls short, and clubhouses for New Yorkers with mental illness. From WNYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Janae Pierre. As you've probably heard by now, the city just approved a rent hike up to 4.5% for nearly a million New Yorkers living in rent-stabilized apartments. This year, the vote felt more political than ever. Tenants are calling for a freeze. Landlords say their costs are rising, and now mayoral candidates are jumping into the fight.

What is this board that makes the call, and why has it become such a political flashpoint? Joining me to answer those questions and more is WNYC's housing reporter, David Brand. David, remind us what the Rent Guidelines Board is and how it decides rent changes.

David Brand: There are a million apartments in New York City where rents are based on this vote by this nine-member board. It makes their decision so consequential. I always come back to a million apartments, that's almost hard to imagine, but that's how many places and more than 2 million tenants living in those apartments who are affected by this board's decision, not to mention their landlords. This nine-member board, everyone is appointed by the mayor. They consider a number of reports like the financial situation facing tenants, unemployment, social safety net program applications, so Medicaid, food stamps, cash assistance, median rents for tenants.

They also consider expenses for landlords, so their operating costs, how much does labor cost, how much is material and fuel for heating the building, as well as landlord profits. After that, they take testimony from members of the public, tenants, landlords, elected officials, housing experts, at a series of public hearings right up until this big vote that just happened Monday night. Also, got to say, on top of the reports, the data, the testimony, there's also some political pressure that they face.

Janae Pierre: Yes, definitely. I want to talk more about that because at the top, I mentioned that this entire process has become so politicized. Why is that, David?

David Brand: There's a lot at stake here. We talked about how many apartments this affects, how many people. For landlords who own rent-stabilized apartments, this is a way for them to try to get more money. There's a lot of wrangling. There's people on the tenant side and elected officials who want to appeal to tenants by showing that they're calling for a rent freeze or a small rent hike. Then you have industry groups and other elected officials who want to side with the landlord side, and then people who are splitting the difference and saying, "This is important for the future of our housing stock."

It's always a big political moment leading up to that final vote. This year, things really leveled up here. Last year, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who has built his career on advocating for tenants, he was at the vote last year. He actually got arrested protesting an increase of about 2.75%. Flash forward a year later, he's the now Democratic nominee for mayor, and he built much of his campaign and momentum off calls for a rent freeze. A number of other Democratic candidates for mayor jumped on the bandwagon, also called for a rent freeze.

It became a huge political issue to the point where Brad Lander, the city comptroller, he was there at the vote on Monday demanding that the board freeze the rent, and became something of a political rally, more than just a rally for a rent freeze or lower rents. At the same time, other candidates, Eric Adams, the current mayor, Andrew Cuomo, former governor, who finished second to Mamdani, they call that talk political pandering. They want to appeal to tenants, but are also siding with the landlords. Especially, they'll cite the experience of small landlords, saying that we need rent increases so that landlords can continue making money and fixing up their buildings.

Janae Pierre: Yes, we all know that rent in this city is already among the highest in the country. The people hit hardest by this increase are the ones making far below the median income. I'm wondering what does this mean for New Yorkers if this trend continues?

David Brand: There's going to be people with a range of experiences. There's people who are earning pretty decent salaries, people who are relatively wealthy. Then there's going to be people who are extremely low-income. Overall, the median income for a household in a rent-stabilized apartment is about $60,000. That's pretty far below the citywide median of $80,000. They also have lower rents than the median. It's about $1,500 for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments versus closer to $2,200 overall. The increase will have a particularly tough impact on tenants who maybe their wages aren't keeping up or they lost their job and are facing other financial hardships.

Janae Pierre: Yes. What about landlords? Are they happy about this increase? What are they saying in response?

David Brand: Here's something that landlords and tenants do have in common. They all hate the Rent Guidelines Board decision. We talked about the tenants saying it's too high. The landlords say it's not high enough given their own rising costs. There are state laws that really limit their ability to raise rent any other way. At the same time, they also say they just hate that system, overall. Many landlords don't believe rent regulation should exist in the first place, and they should be able to set their own prices. I wonder even if there was a massive increase, if there would still be cause for complaint because they don't like rent regulations.

Janae Pierre: That's WNYC's David Brand. In other local news, Mayor Eric Adams is calling the city's $116 billion spending plan the best budget ever, but parks advocates disagree. WNYC's Elizabeth Kim has more.

Elizabeth Kim: Although spending on parks has increased, advocates point out that roughly 700 positions lost to attrition and budget cuts were never restored. The jobs cover a wide gamut of roles, from trash collection to public safety to tree care. City Council member Shakar Krishnan, who chairs the Parks Committee, blames the mayor.

Shakar Krishnan: As we fight hard, on the other side, we have encountered resistance after resistance.

Elizabeth Kim: Administration officials point to new spending like a swim safety program and a newly built recreation center in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Adams, who's running as an independent in November, says he plans to increase park staffing in the"next term".

Janae Pierre: New York City is launching new clubhouses for people with serious mental illness. More on that after the break. New mental health community centers are opening across New York City, and others are expanding with the help of millions of dollars in city funding. They're called clubhouses, and they aim to help people with serious mental illnesses avoid social isolation. Clubhouses have been around for decades, but many New Yorkers are still unfamiliar with the model. WNYC's Caroline Lewis takes us to Elements House, which opened on the Lower East Side back in January.

Caroline Lewis: I'm in the clubhouse commons space, where a handful of members are conducting a Zoom interview with a potential staffer.

Male Speaker: Claire, nice to meet you all.

Claire: Nice to meet you, too. Hi.

Caroline Lewis: Clubhouse member Gerald Sutton has this question for the job candidate.

Gerald Sutton: Do you have some feeling about maybe you might have to go wash some dishes or even pick up a broom? I mean that's what the clubhouse is about, teamwork.

Caroline Lewis: At clubhouses, people can get a meal, participate in activities, and go on trips. What sets them apart is that members help run the centers alongside staff, working the front desk, planning projects, cooking lunch.

Rich Osoria: We're learning. We're learning together, and that's what I love about clubhouses.

Caroline Lewis: Rich Osoria is the assistant director of Elements, which is run by the nonprofit New York Disaster Interfaith Services. It's one of 13 clubhouses across the 5 boroughs that are either opening or expanding through new contracts inked with the city health department last year. Osoria and the clubhouse members have big plans for the space, which is still under renovation.

Rich Osoria: Soon, this room will be padded, it'll be renovated, and it'll be a really nice state-of-the-art podcast studio.

Caroline Lewis: Clubhouses also connect members with outside employment and social services, and studies show they can help keep people out of the hospital. Temis Mo is new to Elements, but spent 20 years as a member of a different clubhouse in Queens.

Temis Mo: I got a peace of mind to come to a place that I enjoy, and I get to socialize with other members, and I get to have jobs.

Caroline Lewis: Under Mayor Adams, clubhouse funding has doubled to about $30 million a year, but with a catch. The city health department wants to expand enrollment from about 5,000 to 15,000 New Yorkers over two years. Elements has about 30 members so far, but it's striving for 600. Historically, most clubhouses have been much smaller, so now Elements is casting a wide net.

Peter Gudaitis: It's a very slow process, of course, in the beginning.

Caroline Lewis: Peter Gudaitis is the executive director and CEO of New York Disaster Interfaith Services.

Peter Gudaitis: We've been getting increasing numbers of referrals from hospitals and community health centers and LGBT organizations, veterans organizations.

Caroline Lewis: Some smaller clubhouses balked at the new membership requirements. They lost their contracts with the city health department and faced closure. After members protested, the city council stepped in to save five of those clubhouses, furthering the city's investment in the model. The council included $3 million for those clubhouses in the new budget. TOP Clubhouse, tucked into a church on the Upper West Side, is one of those five. On a recent afternoon, Charles De San Pedro Jr. is taking requests for songs to play during lunch.

Charles De San Pedro Jr: Angela wants any Ziggy Marley song.

Caroline Lewis: He's been a member of TOP for six years.

Charles De San Pedro Jr: I love this place. I feel at home here, and if it was to ever close, there'd be a void in my heart.

Caroline Lewis: City council funding is year to year, so the future is still uncertain. De San Pedro Jr. says he hopes it sticks around.

Janae Pierre: That's WNYC's Caroline Lewis. Thanks for listening to NYC Now from WNYC. I'm Janae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.

Copyright © 2025 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information.

New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.