As Chair of the New York State Assembly Committee on Aging, I am dedicated to fighting for the dignity and security of our older adults and individuals with disabilities. In my district on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, I have witnessed firsthand how skyrocketing rents threaten to uproot lifelong New Yorkers from the communities they have built.
That is why I host rent freeze clinics right in my York Avenue district office, helping constituents navigate programs like the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and the Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE). These sessions are not just about paperwork, they are lifelines, freezing rents and allowing people to age-in-place without the fear of displacement.
But these vital programs, which have helped tens of thousands stay in their homes, are long overdue for an update. For over a decade, the income eligibility threshold has remained stuck at $50,000, even as the cost of living in New York City has soared. Rents have climbed relentlessly, food prices have spiked, and many seniors, nearly 1.5 million of whom call our city home, face economic insecurity that jeopardizes their health and independence. Almost three in five residents over age 70 lack stable retirement income, and a similar share of older renters are rent-burdened, spending more than they can afford on housing…