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Cuomo vows to end vacancy decontrol
He also said he'd close the LLC loophole
In an FDR-stylized speech laying out his third-term priorities on Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo doubled down on ending vacancy decontrol.
Cuomo vowed to end the policy, by which apartments are deregulated once the rent reaches $2,733.75 and the unit is vacant. The governor has previously called for an end to the policy, but now, with a Democratic Senate, such a change has a better chance of approval by the state legislature.
“The lack of affordable housing is a crisis across this state and across this nation,” he said, according to Crain’s.
Cuomo, who has been accused of not throwing the weight of his office behind such policies, also said he’d push to end corporate contributions to political campaigns, though he’s long been a beneficiary of the so-called LLC loophole.
He also expressed support for what he called a “Green New Deal,” which he said would make New York “100 percent carbon neutral” by 2040, the Wall Street Journal reported. The term has also been used by Council member Costas Constantinides, who sponsored a bill that seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city by 40 percent in the next decade.
Cuomo, who has emphatically said he’s not making a play for the White House, framed his speech as a response to President Trump.
“Let this agenda be New York’s declaration of independence. We declare independence from this federal government’s policies,” Cuomo said. “Let us be inspired by FDR’s 1933 New Deal and do it in the first 100 days.”
He also said he’d push for the legalization of recreational marijuana, which he called a “gateway drug” just last year.