Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick, 66^th Assembly District Manhattan, announced today the Assembly passage of legislation A.7986. This bill expands eligibility for the SCRIE and DRIE affordable housing programs to tenants of former Mitchell-Lama buildings and whose landlords have agreed to base future rent increases on rent adjustments adopted by the Rent Guidelines Board.

The Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) program and the Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) program assists eligible older and disabled New Yorkers in staying in their homes by freezing their rent for the entirety of their tenancy. As of now, tenants of former Mitchell-Lama developments have been ineligible for these programs. Some developments that have exited the Mitchell-Lama program have assisted their tenants in dealing with rising rental burdens by agreeing to restrict rental increases. This legislation will allow such tenants to apply for coverage under the SCRIE and DRIE programs, thus freezing their rent and exempting them from future rent increases.

Assemblymember Glick said, “As prices continue to rise, we must take action to preserve affordable housing, especially for our seniors and disabled neighbors. By extending eligibility for SCRIE and DRIE to qualifying tenants of former Mitchell-Lama units, we will keep our most vulnerable community members in their homes. I thank Senator Kavanagh for his partnership on this legislation and look forward to Governor Hochul signing this into law as quickly as possible.”