{"id":268530,"date":"2026-06-16T15:25:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T15:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/268530\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T15:25:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T15:25:45","slug":"queens-tenants-demand-rent-rollback-during-rent-guidelines-board-hearing-furious-at-idea-of-rent-hike-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/268530\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens tenants demand rent rollback during Rent Guidelines Board hearing, \u2018furious\u2019 at idea of rent hike \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Queens tenants rallied during the Rent Guidelines Board hearing on June 4.<\/p>\n

Courtesy Tousif Ahsan<\/p>\n

Over 100 Queens tenants demanded a rent rollback during the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB<\/a>) hearing on June 4 after rallying outside of the Jamaica Performing Arts Center, where the hearing was held. They said they were \u201cfurious\u201d at the idea of a rent hike, which the RGB is currently deliberating on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The demands of organizations like the Queens Tenant Coalition (QTC<\/a>) and the Rent Justice Coalition<\/a> were made clear, tenants said \u2014 that the rent is \u201ctoo damn high,\u201d and tenants need a rent rollback to survive.<\/p>\n

The board, which consists of nine members, six of whom are appointed by the mayor, listened to testimony of tenants organizing for a rent rollback across Sunnyside<\/a>, Jackson Heights<\/a>, Flushing<\/a> and Jamaica<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tenants testified in English, Spanish, Bangla, Korean and Chinese, chanting \u201cRent rollback now!\u201d in between speakers.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

According to Spectrum News<\/a>, the RGB is deliberating on an increase between 0% and 2% for one-year leases and 0% and 4% for two-year leases.<\/p>\n

\u201cEric Adams raised our rent, give us back our 12%,\u201d tenants shouted as they made their way into the auditorium, referencing the 12.6% increase in rent-stabilized rents that occurred during the Eric Adams administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tenants said this increase forced them to choose between necessities like medication and groceries or paying their rent on time.\n<\/p>\n

Throughout the hearing, tenants detailed concerns such as rent burdens of 55% or more of their monthly gross income, years of neglect and reports of landlords harassing tenants. They also raised questions about where their rent checks go each month.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur wages are not increasing, while the costs of living are,\u201d said Jeanette Echeverria, an A&E tenant and member of the QTC. \u201cMeanwhile, the income made by these slumlords has increased 30% over the past 3 years and because they won\u2019t open their books, the Board doesn\u2019t know how much profit they\u2019re making.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elder tenants, such as Doug Ostling, a member of QTC, spoke about the \u201cimpossible\u201d challenge of making rent on a fixed income in the face of rent hikes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOver 40% of my social security goes to rent,\u201d Ostling said. \u201cEvery month I have to juggle household expenses and choose between my medical prescriptions, paying rent and putting food on the table\u2026 raising [the rent] further would put me in a cardboard box.\u201d<\/p>\n

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