EAST SIDE STORIES: LOCAL TENANTS' GROUP LAUNCHES

By Chloe Tribich

Manhattan's well-heeled Upper East Side is not generally considered a hotbed of tenant discontent. Yet the neighborhood took a step toward upping its activist profile this weekend as 500 residents and advocates gathered at the Julia Richman Education Complex on East 67th Street to discuss local needs and how to address them.

The crowd of mostly senior citizens heard from officials and activists about the overlap of unique neighborhood concerns with broader initiatives. The educational forum came on the heels of a flurry of introductions of pro-tenant bills in Albany. A bill to repeal vacancy decontrol (S2237/A2005) was introduced in the senate earlier this month. According to the Real Rent Reform Campaign, which includes NYS Tenants & Neighbors, as many as 300,000 apartments have been removed from regulation since 1994 because of vacancy decontrol.

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