RENT REGS REFORM GATHERS SUPPORT: An effort to stem a tide of "vacancy decontrols" is gathering steam in the state capitol.

By Rachel Nielsen

Hundreds of supporters of a coordinated effort to make New York state rent laws more tenant-friendly rallied last week as a dozen state legislators signed their names to pledges calling for the repeal of "vacancy decontrol."

The state regulation permitting landlords to take a vacant apartment out of rent regulation once the rent hits $2,000 a month is a target of tenant activists. They say tenant harassment and unlawful evictions by landlords too often generate the vacancies that precede a unit's exit from rent stabilization.

The Dec. 9 rally brought more than 600 people, by City Limits' count, to a West Side auditorium. The rally was organized by Housing Here and Now, a statewide coalition of housing rights, labor and religious organizations.

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