Victory for the Landlords

Look how quiet it has become since the Rent Guidelines Board socked it to tenants last week. What a sneaky thing to do with that guaranteed $45 or $85 increase for so called lower-paying tenants.
How much more do tenants have to endure in cockroach infested buildings? No landlord should receive any increase whatsoever if he or she has violations in his or her building.
Both landlords and tenants must be required to open their books for inspection. Increases should not be automatic.
As always, our mayor remains silent in this matter. Is this to placate his real estate cronies?
The city council yells and screams and then is very quiet.
The Rent is Too Damn High Party needs to be replaced with a more vigorous group. Tenants could conceivably form an important voting block in the next mayoral election.
At least there is some good news for tenants. Gov. Paterson has a rent controlled apartment and Joe Bruno, a pro-landlord, anti-tenant State Senator is retiring. It's about time. Remember how Sen. Bruno and former Gov. Pataki were screaming that rent control and rent stabilization were dead in 1998?
Fair market rents? Nonsense. Look what happened in Boston when there was rent deregulation. Within a period of time, rents had to be regulated due to the ever greedy landlord.
By the way, tenants in rent controlled and rent stabilized buildings should take advantage of the law that allows for a free paint job every 3 years. Most tenants don't take advantage of this and our landlords are saving plenty of money.
The time has long gone when we used to read of landlords abandoning their buildings. Nonsense. The real estate market is very lucrative today and our greedy landlords know this. They're still making money despite their protests.
Years ago city workers were asked to have 0% increases in their contracts. Landlords should step up to the plate and do the same.