All the Mitchell-Lamas are uniting behind the "PIE Campaign" -- a set of principles that govern the laws we want to see, with the support of the New York Is Our Home : Affordable Rent Campaign.
PIE stands for:
= Protection for tenants, particularly after leaving Mitchell-Lama
I = Incentives for owners to stay in Mitchell-Lama
E = Enforcement of the law to keep more developments in Mitchell-Lama longer.
Click on "read more" below for the statement of what we want in any legislation affecting current and former Mitchell-Lamas.
Mitchell-Lama P.I.E. Campaign
Protections, Incentives, and Enforcement
State Legislative Platform
Extend rent stabilization to the post-1973 buildings and eliminate the “Unique or Peculiar” loophole:
- Any Mitchell-Lama building that exits the program must be subject to rent stabilization, regardless of the date of occupancy.
- The initial rent stabilized rent on any Mitchell-Lama building that leaves the program must be the last Mitchell-Lama rent, not subject to “unique or peculiar” rent increases. This must include buildings that already have applications pending at DHCR.
- The applicability of rent stabilization to former Mitchell-Lamas must not be subject to waiver by agreements between landlords and tenant association, because the potential for abuse is so high.
- If an exception is created to allow rents higher than the rent-stabilized rents for tenants with enhanced Section 8 vouchers, then the rent should revert to the rent-stabilized rent in the event that the tenant loses his or her voucher – at least for tenants with low incomes (below 60 percent of the Area Median Income).
Preserve Mitchell-Lama as Mitchell-Lama
- Rent stabilization provides important protections for tenants in Mitchell-Lama buildings that leave the program. But it is also important to protect the public investment in creating Mitchell-Lama housing by preserving Mitchell-Lama buildings as Mitchell-Lama.
- Declare a moratorium on all Mitchell-Lama buy-outs until the state has developed a comprehensive program, combining incentives and regulation, to keep Mitchell-Lama buildings in the program.
- Create a State Right to Purchase, giving tenants or tenant-selected qualified buyers the opportunity to prevent buyouts by purchasing Mitchell-Lama buildings at prices set by an appraisal board.
