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Westchester Landlords Urged To Speak At Rent Guidelines Hearings

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. – The Apartment Owners Advisory Council is urging apartment building owners to speak out at three public hearings and meetings in June.

Apartment building owners in Westchester County will face their toughest challenges yet as they gear-up for this year’s presentations before the Westchester County Rent Guidelines Board, and it is essential landlords speak out about the issues they face at hearings June 8, June 16, and June 22, the council said.

“Frankly, the deck is stacked against us and marked as well," said Albert Annunziata, executive director of the council. "Not only do we have unique challenges with the process here in Westchester, but we also have to contend with the tremendous influence of New York City’s rent guidelines annual ritual and the mayor’s vociferous demands for a rent freeze, regardless of the facts and the costs incurred by landlords.”

With more than a million units under rent stabilization throughout the five boroughs, what happens in New York City inevitably influences the guideline decisions in Westchester, often to the detriment of landlords here, the council said. Westchester County has approximately 35,000 apartments that fall under a broad body of regulations and administrative rulings coming from the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974. The act applies to most rental housing built prior to that date.

“For such housing, it has become a constant matter of vigilance, maintenance, repair and improvement on the part of the landlord," Annunziata said. "Yet, the state seems to go out of its way to make it all but financially untenable for owners to do what’s required to keep these buildings in proper order.”

Carmelo Milio, chairman of the council and an owner and manager of buildings in Westchester, urged landlords in the county to come out in support of their industry at the upcoming Rent Guidelines Board hearings and meetings.

This is the schedule of the meetings:

  • June 8 at 7 p.m. at White Plains City Hall, 255 Main St.
  • June 16 at 7 p.m. at the White Plains Library Meeting Room, 100 Martine Ave.
  • June 22 at 7 p.m. at White Plains City Hall, 255 Main St.

For more information, landlords can contact the council at 914-273-0730.

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