KINGSTON – The Hudson Valley is beloved for its scenery, history, towns and villages and cultural diversity.
But it also an expensive place to live.
Earlier this year the New York state Legislature passed the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, which was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Similar regulations have existed in New York City for many years.
On Tuesday, Assemblyman Kevin Cahill held a forum with local and regional officials to see how these new regulations can benefit Ulster County and help make it more affordable for renters.
“The important part we are dealing with today is the possibility of expanding rent regulation to communities upstate in communities like Kingston, where there is a rental crisis going on,” said Cahill.
Cahill said the City of Kingston will need to complete a survey to see if in-fact there is a rental crisis before action can be taken.
“Then the City of Kingston and the County of Ulster can impose rent regulations and therefore control the price of rent in the City of Kingston for apartment complexes six units or more,” said Cahill.
Outside of Long Island, Westchester and Rockland counties, Kingston has been the first city upstate to consider these regulations to stabilize rental prices.
“Certainly Ossining and other towns and municipalities in Westchester and I think in Rockland, Suffolk and Nassau counties have already considered these things, approved them, and they are already in place,” said Cahill. “People in Upstate New York did not have the benefit of them. So this year, we expanded the law to cover all of New York State.”
