Seawright Expands Rent Freeze Protections for Seniors

State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, who represents the Upper East Side and serves as the chair of the Assembly’s Aging Committee, is touting an expansion of rent stabilization protections for seniors secured as part of the state budget.

Specifically, the income eligibility threshold for Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) programs has been increased by $25,000, from $50,000 to $75,000. The changes will take effect in June 2027.

This means that many rent-burdened older New York City residents over the age of 62, as well as New Yorkers receiving some form of disability assistance, could have their rent payments frozen at a certain amount if they make less than $75,000.

Local representatives, however, will also have to formally “opt in” to the program before it takes effect citywide. One advocacy group, Tenants and Neighbors, is calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the City Council to do so by June 30.

Tenants defined as rent-burdened are those that pay at least 33.3 percent of their total household income towards rent. The eligibility caps hadn’t been raised since 2014, when they were boosted from $29,000 to $50,000.

“This is long overdue and a major victory for my constituents on the Upper East Side,” Seawright said in an interview with Our Town. She said the district she represents—which also encompasses Roosevelt Island—has the largest number of senior citizens in Manhattan.

As for why she believes the eligibility increases are necessary, Seawright said that “people are literally being priced out of their homes on the Upper East Side.” This was a problem for older New Yorkers, she added, because many “prefer to age in place” rather than live in an institutional setting.

Aging in place has a positive knock-on effect for the entire community, Seawright said, as these local seniors continue to participate in neighborhood life and patronize local businesses.

She noted that her quest to raise the SCRIE and DRIE thresholds was informed by “round-table discussions” with constituents at her office and at hearings. Her office also holds application clinics on SCRIE and DRIE, which she calls “very popular,” and her team has contributed to overall work on streamlining the application process.

Further increases in the threshold are not out of the question in the future, with Seawright confirming that she’d “keep fighting year after year” to expand the programs, by pairing it to the cost of living—defined by inflation and the pace of rising rents.

The Assembly Member told Our Town that the state budget—which was signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul on May 28, after passing the legislature six weeks late—includes funding for additional programs that will help rent-burdened seniors in her district.

“We’ve got some funding in the budget for the New York Foundation for Senior Citizens (NYFSC), and various organizations like that one, that are going to be expanding access to affordable senior housing,” Seawright said, referring to a nonprofit organization with a mission of helping older New Yorkers age in place.

Initiatives such as Citymeals on Wheels or respite care offerings by NYFSC, Seawright believes, will serve as natural compliments to the expansion of the SCRIE and DRIE programs. She also mentioned home-sharing, using the example of an older New Yorker deciding to sublet a room in their apartment to a young college student.

A spokesperson for the New York City Council did not return a request for comment as of press time.