Photo: Sarah Ackerman
Just minutes before the first public meeting of the Rent Guidelines Board Thursday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in a press release that he was reshuffling the deck, reported New York Observer.
The Rent Guidelines Board determines rent increase for more than one million residents living in rent-stabilized units.
Over the last 12 years, the board had been run by those appointed by Mayor Bloomberg, who approved a series of rent hikes in recent years.
Well, de Blasio had a few appointments of his own. Based upon de Blasio's stand on rising rents in the city (he hashtagged "#disgusting" on Twitter when the board decided to hike rents by 4 percent last June), his new appointees are are likely to lead the board in a more tenant-friendly direction than those under the previous mayor.
The new members are: Sarah Williams Willard, who will serve as an owners' representative; Cecilia Joza and Steven Flax, who will serve as public members; and Sheila Garcia who will serve as a tenant representative. Mr. de Blasio also re-appointed Harvey Epstein, one of the board's current tenant representatives.
To read more on the background of the new appointees, go here.
