City Promotes Rent Freeze on Stabilized Units with $1M Ad Campaign

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration intends to spend $1 million on ads to promote the unprecedented rent freeze enacted in June by the Rent Guidelines Board for New York’s rent-regulated tenants. The city will pay for ads on the subway, in newspapers, on the radio, and online. The campaign was announced just before Mayor de Blasio’s first town hall-style meeting.

The city’s Rent Guidelines Board, which is composed of mayoral appointees, voted in June for a freeze on one-year, rent-stabilized leases, a move unprecedented in the panel’s 46-year history. The ads are meant to raise awareness about the new rent guidelines, which took effect this month, and to prevent tenants from being overcharged. The campaign is being produced by DCF Advertising, which also handles the city’s antismoking, paid sick leave, flu shot, and other public service campaigns. It’s being paid for by the Human Resources Administration, which oversees the city’s legal assistance and anti-eviction efforts.

City officials are also organizing a door-to-door campaign to notify 100,000 tenants about the rent freeze and the services available to those who face eviction or harassment by owners.