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Beyond Zeroes

The city's Rent Guidelines Board on Thursday gave preliminary approval ([link removed][UNIQID]) to a rent-freeze on leases for rent-stabilized apartments over the next year. One-year leases would see no increase and two-year leases would have no increase in year one and a 1 percent increase in year two. The board will now start a series of meetings and hearings ([link removed][UNIQID]) on that proposal—they'll be online for the first time in board history—leading up to the final vote in June. What to make of this move?

Mayors matter: Mayor de Blasio gets and deserves a lot of criticism from tenant advocates and their allies. But this is would be the third rent freeze of his mayoralty. By contrast, during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Mayor Bloomberg's RGB approved one-year hikes of 4 percent and 3 percent.

Opposites oppose, then align: The board's tenant reps and landlord reps proposed vastly different guidelines. Tenants wanted a rent rollback of up to 3 percent. Landlords wanted an increase of up to 3 percent. Both their proposals were defeated by votes of 7-2, with the board's five “public” members in the majority each time. The final proposal passed by a 5-4 margin as both the tenant and landlord reps cast “no” votes—for very different reasons.

We're still debating the 2019 law: During Thursday's meeting, there was a side debate about whether the RGB had the authority to permit larger rent hikes on vacant apartments. Those vacancy bonuses were removed from the state rent law as part of last year's sweeping reform, but opinions differed as to whether local boards still had the power to permit them.

This only addresses part of the problem: If the freeze holds, it would be a plus for tenants. The extension of the state eviction moratorium announced yesterday will help as well. But for tenants in non-stabilized apartments, or for those who can no longer afford their current rent, this move does nothing. How many of those tenants are out there, and whether or not federal aid and unemployment insurance will plug the gap they face, are open questions. So far, state and local government have not answered them.

Stay healthy,
Jarrett Murphy, executive editor
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Top Stories
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Job Seekers Meet Obstacles and Opportunities Amid COVID-19 ([link removed][UNIQID])
Those who are actively looking for work face a new reality: While certain industries continue to hire in numbers, those positions available tend to be public-facing roles.

Looming DACA Ruling Has Thousands of Essential Workers on Edge ([link removed][UNIQID])
More than 200,000 DACA recipients nationwide are considered essential workers in the pandemic

A Nursing Home Had One COVID Case. Then Came the New, Infected Patients. ([link removed][UNIQID])
The award-winning home struggled to keep its workforce equipped, to separate the staff dealing with infected and non-infected people, and to understand what the state’s official death toll has to do with reality.

Transparency Key to Heading Off Qualms About Contact Tracing, Experts Say ([link removed][UNIQID])
The concerns are not as much about known flaws in the tracing program as they are on how little is known about who will get to see the data and how it will be protected.

Eric Adams Says Cops Should Not Enforce Social Distancing ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘The police department has historical tension in certain communities. You’re now encouraging the largest interaction with these groups in history.’

Are You a Natural Disaster Survivor? Tell Us About It. ([link removed][UNIQID])
City Limits is teaming up with newsrooms around the country to survey the mental-health impacts New Yorkers have felt from climate disasters like Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Maria and more.

Big Field Vying for Bronx Congressional Seat: Watch the Debate ([link removed][UNIQID])
The Point CDC, Gotham Gazette and City Limits are teaming up to broadcast a candidate debate on Thursday, May 14, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Read our in-depth coverage of the COVID-19 crisis here. ([link removed][UNIQID])
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** Voices of New York
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Amplifying NYC's Ethnic and Community Press


Video: The 2020 Campaign, as Seen from Chinatown ([link removed][UNIQID])
In the third and final part of the BRIC-City Limits series, we hear from a veteran New York City Chinese-language reporter about how her readers view the presidential race.

Coronavirus Brings Hunger Crisis for Latinos in Queens ([link removed][UNIQID])
Queues of Latino residents waited recently outside a community center in Corona to collect food and fruit. The line extended for two blocks.

‘The Virus Spreads Faster Here’: El Barrio Tops Manhattan’s COVID-19 Rate ([link removed][UNIQID])
East Harlem zip code 10029 had the most COVID-19 cases in Manhattan, city data shows. ‘When a plague comes to New York, it always hits Harlem hard,’ one resident told El Diario.


** Una Ciudad sin Límites
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City Limits en Español


Los desastres naturales afectan a la salud mental. Cuéntanos de tu experiencia ([link removed][UNIQID])
Estamos investigando las consecuencias sobre el estrés que tienen los incendios forestales, los huracanes, las inundaciones, y ahora, además, el COVID-19. Necesitamos tu ayuda.

¿Qué ha pasado con las ayudas económicas para trabajadores indocumentados en la ciudad de Nueva York? ([link removed][UNIQID])
El programa de ayudas para indocumentados de la ciudad de Nueva York aún no arranca, la mayoría de organizaciones están abrumadas por el número de personas buscando ayudas económicas y muy pocas siguen aceptando aplicaciones de personas buscando fondos.

La mitad de los latinos vive en la ciudad y la otra se ha ido al área metropolitana de Nueva York ([link removed][UNIQID])
Esta tendencia se puede explicar teniendo en cuenta múltiples factores. 'Esto es parte de la experiencia del inmigrante en Nueva York. Le pasó a los italianos y a los irlandeses.'

Así es como probablemente funcionará el rastreo de contactos en la ciudad de Nueva York ([link removed][UNIQID])
Para que el rastreo de contactos funcione bien, los funcionarios de la ciudad de Nueva York tendrán que empezar a educar a la gente en este concepto.

Opinión: Este Cinco de Mayo, Apoyemos a los Trabajadores Esenciales Mexicanos ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘Escribimos para pedir a todos los que celebran nuestras tradiciones que muestren el mismo aprecio hacia las personas que están manteniendo esta ciudad y estado a flote durante la pandemia.'

The daily death tolls are dropping. But COVID-19's impact on our city has just begun. From hospitals to housing, education to the economy, there are tough questions to be answered and important stories to be told. With your help, we can tell them.
Help City Limits cover this crisis. Become a member. ([link removed][UNIQID])


** City Views
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Opinions on Policy and Politics

Opinion: The City’s Nonprofits are Also Essential ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘Working in low-income neighborhoods and in pockets of poverty in gentrified neighborhoods, these organizations have quickly pivoted to operating remotely while simultaneously reaching out to people who are most vulnerable.’

Opinion: A Lesson from the AIDS Crisis for Dealing With COVID-19 ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘The HIV crisis taught communities to care for their own. Then, as now, some governors and mayors are leading effective government responses in the face of a failing federal response.’

Opinion: The Public Health Threat of Arrest During COVID ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘It is reasonable to assume that the majority of people pushed to the brink by New York State on Pause are those who can least afford a $1,000 fine or a stay in jail, but they are likely to be the ones targeted most by police.’

Opinion: Cinco De Mayo is Cancelled, Support Mexican Essential Workers Instead ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘We write to ask all who love and celebrate our traditions to show a similar appreciation for the people whose culture you are consuming.’

Opinion: ICE Detention Facilities Have Failed to Protect People from COVID-19 ([link removed][UNIQID])
‘The safe release of all people in ICE custody is the only reasonable solution to a global health crisis wreaking havoc in its jails. ‘


Coronavirus Resources
• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ([link removed][UNIQID]) • New York State Department of Health ([link removed][UNIQID]) • U.S. Centers for Disease Control ([link removed][UNIQID]) • World Health Organization ([link removed][UNIQID])

Need help or info? Check out our resource library. ([link removed][UNIQID])

Job Board


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City Limits, a nearly 45 year-old New York focused award winning digital nonprofit digital news outlet is seeking an Executive Director to help lead the organization’s growth.

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Work from home! Personal assistant needed for immediate employment. Must be drug free and subject to background check, $400 per week.

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** City Limits
Development Manager
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City Limits, an award-winning nonprofit digital news agency seeks a Development Manager who will play a key role in building audience and revenue for a growing newsroom by building the organization’s membership program and stewarding donor & foundation relationships.

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