Despite the numerous pleas of tenants and elected officials to freeze rents the Rent Guidelines Board, which regulates the rents of a million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City, approved increases of 3 percent for one-year leases, and 6 percent for two-year leases.

During the ballot deliberation on June 23rd, which took place in the Great Hall at Cooper Union, in the East Village, the nine board members turned silent.

After a motion to freeze rents by tenant representatives was rejected, dozens of tenants – who a short while before had carried placards that read "0 percent," while chanting "Zero! Zero!" – left the hall in protest. Others stuck adhesive tape across their mouths to protest being silenced. "We are in a severe recession," said Ronald S. Languedoc, the member of the Board who proposed freezing rents, adding that "this is not the year to raise rents."

In the weeks before the meeting, various elected officials had gathered to discuss freezing rents, one of the few times in which this proposal was critical. Since it was established in 1969, the Board has never approved freezing rents. The officials – including City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, and two candidates for mayor, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. and Council Member Tony Avella – said that freezing rents was justified by the economic recession and by reports from the Board stating that costs for landlords have not significantly increased.

One of those reports found that operating costs for buildings with stabilized rents increased by 4 percent from April 2008 to April 2009, which is much lower than the 7.8 percent increase experienced during the same time period for the previous year.

Another report said that the Net Operating Income (NOI) in rent-stabilized buildings, meaning the rent after operating expenses are deducted, increased by 9.3 percent.

When asked about the freezing of rents, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who nominated the nine members of the Rent Guidelines Board, said that he would leave the decision up to the Board.

After a vote of 5 to 4 in favor of increasing rents, Board Chairman Marvin Markus told The New York Times that he never said that rents would be frozen. "I don't like to use absolutes like never or always," he said, adding that "the costs and the economy affect both sides."

The board also approved a controversial supplemental increase for tenants who have lived in their apartments for six years or more and whose rent is less than $1,000. Owners of buildings with such tenants have the option of charging them the approved percentage increases or a monthly increase of $30 for one-year leases or $60 for two-years leases.

Advocates for the tenants described this as a "poor man's tax," because it affects very low-income tenants. After the Board approved a similar supplementary increase last year, the Legal Aid Society and Legal Services NYC sued the Board seeking to overturn the decision. The case is still pending.

It should be noted that the 3 percent and 6 percent increases include heating charges. For those landlords who do not include heat, they can increase the rent by 2.5 percent for a one-year lease and 5 percent for a two-year lease.

The ones most affected

At the center of this debate is the great question of who will suffer the most because of these increases. Evidently, the answer depends on the perspective. The increase will affect one million rent-stabilized apartments in the five boroughs and will be implemented on October 1, 2009 lasting until September 2010.

Tenant organizations that advocated for a freeze on rent costs for this year, said that one of the most affected portions of the population will be retired people who rely on a fixed income. Such is the case of Carlos Sjoberg, an 80-year-old Peruvian man, who receives $800 a month from his pension fund and pays $650 in rent. "I don't have anywhere to go, and if they keep raising the rent, where am I going to go?" he asked.

"I see elderly people having to work to cover the cost of rent," said Natividad Hernández, a Guatemalan from the Cuscatlán Hispanic Center in Jamaica.

According to Joe Strasburg, president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 property owners and agents, the other perspective is that more than 10 percent of property owners, especially those who own only one property, are in dire economic straits. "This year, landlords have experienced two increases in property tax and a rise in the cost of water and plumbing," explained Strasburg justifying the need to raise rent prices.

"Nobody won today, given that the increase won't be sufficient to help landlords and will also affect tenants," Strasburg concluded. Hence, this controversial debate essentially ends in a zero sum situation leaving both sides dissatisfied.