Kingston, NY – On Thursday, April 9, Assembly Member Sarahana Shrestha is holdingan educational meeting on rent stabilization and tenant organizing, where tenants will discuss the latest landlord lawsuit challenging rent stabilization in Kingston, learn about our bill, the Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants (REST) Act, and discuss tenant organizing to empower tenants to win better conditions and leases.

“Ulster County workers who rent a 1-bedroom apartment are currently spending 54% of their income on rent,” said Shrestha, “The average hourly wage for renters was $14.57 as of last year, which is half of what’s needed to rent a 1-bedroom apartment without being rent burdened. To put it in perspective, wages have only gone up 8% since 2020 after adjusting for inflation, which is less than 2% a year, but the cost to rent a 2-bedroom apartment has gone up 18% in that time. Rent stabilization would limit changes in rent to the amount determined by the Rent Guidelines Board, an independent entity made up of landlord, tenant, and public members tasked with balancing landlord expenses and tenant incomes. The RGB relies on data and public testimony to determine annually how much rents in covered buildings can change.

The state allows localities outside NYC to opt into rent stabilization by proving a housing emergency through a costly and legally vulnerable vacancy study – and right now, landlords are suing the city of Kingston. Last week, a judge granted the landlord request to waive lease requirements while preserving all other rights of rent stabilized tenants. In March, landlords sued Kingston for the second time after the Common Council voted unanimously in January to continue rent regulations following a new vacancy study. While the case moves forward, tenants remain rent stabilized as month-to-month tenants at the same rents, have protections against evictions without cause, and are still entitled to a rent reduction according to the courts.

My bill, the Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants (REST) Act (S04659 Kavanagh / A04877 Shrestha) would make the following fixes to protect tenants outside of NYC: (1) allow localities to opt in using publicly available data such as eviction rate (2) instead of covering only buildings with 6 units or more, let localities decide the size with a minimum of 4 units (3) exempt only buildings built in the last 15 years on a rolling basis instead of stopping the clock at 1974 as the law currently does.”

The event is being co-hosted with Kingston tenants, Housing Justice for All, Mid Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America, Hudson Valley Tenant Union, and For the Many

RSVP to the event is required: https://actionnetwork.org/events/kingston-tenants/

WHEN: April 9, 2026– 6 to 7:30 PM

WHERE: Ulster County Restorative Justice Center, 733 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401 US