KINGSTON – A group of landlords has filed a suit in an effort to nullify recently enacted rent control in the City of Kingston.
The 15 percent rent reduction was approved by a six to three vote of the Kingston Rent Guidelines Board as a means to make housing costs more affordable.
But a group of landlords, led by Richard Lazarone, executive director of the Hudson Valley Property Owners Association, filed a lawsuit in an effort to block the action.
On Friday, State Supreme Court Justice David Gandin ordered oral arguments and granted a request from the landlords to temporarily block the rent reductions.
“We condemn this decision in the strongest possible terms,” said Aaron Narraph Fernando, communications lead for the grassroots group For the Many.
“This reduction was carefully deliberated by the board after hearing data about Kingston’s rising rents, as well as testimony from over 70 tenants and their supporters,” he said. “Tenants described their outrageous rent hikes (some as high as 70 percent), arbitrary fees, and deteriorating apartment conditions. The vast majority called for a rent reduction.”
Fernando said even though the landlords have two representatives on the rent control board, “landlords knew they couldn’t win through the democratic process. Instead, they’re using their vast financial resources to subvert the will of the many in court.”
The hearing on the lawsuit will be held in court on Tuesday, November 22.
