‘It’s legal, there’s just no precedent’: the first US town to demand a rent decrease
In Kingston, New York, tenants say their survival depends on the city ordering a rent reduction – something that’s never been done before
Hasnain says:
“It didn’t persuade the room, and on 9 November, the Kingston rent guidelines board was ready to hand the tenants a win. It took more than three hours of deliberation – Carolina Soto had tried holding firm for a 30% rent reduction – but in the end, they settled on 15%, a number Soto knew would still be a lifeline. It was the first time any American city had voted to decrease rents this way, and the tenants were ecstatic. “This is huge,” thought Teresa Greene. Nemon, the former Bernie Sanders organizer, says it was “the best I’ve felt since the Iowa caucuses”.”
Posted on 2023-03-14T04:59:40+0000