NEW YORK - Mayor Bill de Blasio is celebrating a state Supreme court ruling to uphold a recent rent freeze.
For the second year straight, the Rent Guidelines Association froze rates for people living in 1 million of the city's rent-stabilized apartments.
Last year, the Rent Stabilization Association sued City Hall on behalf of 25,000 landlords, arguing the decision was illegally based on tenant affordability.
The mayor praised the court decision.
"People think when you're up against very powerful forces with lots of money, a lot of times, the little guy loses. Well, we're not surprised at the notion that when a rent freeze was put in place, it didn't surprise us that the landlords would take us to court. Didn't surprise us at all. But you know what the court said? The court put the tenants' needs ahead of the landlords' greed," de Blasio said.
In a statement, the president of the RSA says the mayor has corrupted the group's practices, and that he is putting politics ahead of good housing policy.