Chelsea www.chelseanow.com now
VOLUME 10, ISSUE 49 YOUR WEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CHELSEA, HUDSON Y ARDS & HELL’S KITCHEN DECEMBER 6 - 12, 2018
COURTESY CITY COMPTROLLER’S OFFICE
State Senator Brad Hoylman, left, and City Comptroller Scott Stringer led a Manhattan
town hall meeting on the state of residential rent regulation last week.
A blue dawn for rent
regs in Dem Senate?
BY SYDNEY PEREIRA
For the fi rst time in a decade,
Democrats will
soon control the New
York State Senate, holding a
solid majority of 39 out of its
63 seats.
Democrats swept to power
with wins in last month’s general
election. Among the most
notable victories were those
over former members of the
Independent Democratic
Conference, a group of eight
senators faulted for handing
control to Republicans in recent
years. Albany’s new political
landscape could mean
major changes in protections
for residential tenants.
Tenant protections to close
loopholes and strengthen rent
regulation have repeatedly
passed in the state Assembly
— but never the state Senate,
much less with meaningful
discussion.
“This is really tabula rasa,
in a way, for the rent-reform
campaign because nobody’s
had to take positions really,”
said state Senator Brad Hoylman.
“It was a nonstarter, and
SENATE continued on p. 3
Fighting fraud
and for your right
to the right rent
BY WINNIE MCCROY
A capacity crowd of 200
gathered at the New
York Public Library on
Wed., Nov. 28 for a town hall
meeting, “Fighting for NYC:
The Future of Rent Regulations
and Tenants’ Rights.”
The event featured Comptroller
Scott Stringer and state
Senator Brad Hoylman, plus
advocates Aaron Carr of the
Housing Rights Initiative, Shelia
Garcia of Community Action
for Safe Apartments, and
Delsenia Glover of Tenants
and Neighbors.
‘Nightlife mayor’ asks
residents to ‘trust’
her offi ce’s process
BY SYDNEY PEREIRA
East Village and Lower
East Side residents
dominated Manhattan’s
Nightlife Town Hall on Wed.,
Nov. 28 — the fi fth town hall
on recently appointed Nightlife
Mayor Ariel Palitz’s citywide
TENANTS continued on p. 30
“listening tour.”
Some questioned the need
for an Offi ce of Nightlife altogether,
accusing Palitz of being
biased toward the nightlife industry
because of her past as a
bar owner.
“I don’t think we need an
NIGHTLIFE continued on p. 7
Rabbi writes on Sarsour .......p. 13
Strand’s own story: Don’t landmark us! ...........p. 8
Carnegie pop-up a ‘Maisel’ hors d’oeuvre ......p. 20
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