WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MARCH 28, 2019 15 Elmhurst residents call for more tenant protection BY BILL PARRY BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM @RIDGEWOODTIMES A new Quinnipiac poll released last week shows more than 4 in 10 New York City residents can't aff ord to live here and may be forced to live elsewhere while tenants of an Elmhurst building, facing steep rent hikes, rallied to demand stronger tenant protections. The at-risk residents protested outside their rent-stabilized apartment building at 41-40 Denman Street and shared their stories of having a landlord demand rent increases that put them in danger of displacement. With three months left in the state legislative session, the protestors demand lawmakers in Albany to strengthen the rent laws and expand protections to tenants across the state. "When I first began to live in 41-10 Denman Street, my monthly rent was $1,150 per month," tenant and Make the Road New York member Beronica Cedeno said. "Lease after lease, I noticed that my monthly rent continued to shoot up significantly. I panic daily about what will happen to my family if we are removed from my apartment. Rent rates in this city have spun out of control and I can't afford to go anywhere else." The protestors claimed two prolandlord loopholes were at play, the "preferential rent" loophole and the eviction bonus that enables landlords to dramatically increase the rents in certain rent-regulated units, putting hundreds of thousands of rent stabilized tenants at risk of losing their homes. "My family and 266,000 families across New York State today, are at risk of losing their apartment due to the preferential rent loophole," tenant and member of Make the Road New York Herman Franco said. "It's a trick. A landlord allows a tenant to enter with a lower rent, but over several years, the rent increases by hundreds of dollars, which pushes the tenant out." Before 2003, landlords who gave tenants preferential rents, below the legal maximum, had to continue them as long as a tenant stayed in the apartment, with any increases based on the discounted rate rather than the legal maximum. The rule changed in 2003, after which preferential rents have skyrocketed, an indication that landlords are using preferential rents as a loophole to take advantage of a 20 percent eviction bonus. The combination of the preferential rent loophole and the eviction bonus leads to a frequent bait-and-switch by landlords , who can depress the rent to attract a tenant, only to then demand a huge increase to displace the tenant and raise the rent a further 20 percent for the next tenant. Ralliers claim it is an endrun around the rent stabilization system that puts hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers at risk of losing their homes. "In District 13 we have 35,000 unregulated units," state Senator Jessica Ramos said. "So many of my neighbors face harassment and unfair treatment from landlords who just want to make a profit. " Residents rally outside their Elmhurst building calling on lawmakers to strengthen rent laws and close landlord loopholes. Photo courtesy of Make the Road New York Manslaughter charges for mom who delivered baby in LIC hotel BY EMILY DAVENPORT EDAVENPORT@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM @RIDGEWOODTIMES A Long Island woman has been charged with manslaughter aft er her daughter was born prematurely in a Long Island City hotel room last summer, prosecutors announced on March 25. Lauren Becker, 36, was brought before the Queens Criminal Court on charges of second-degree manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child. Becker, who is currently hospitalized, was arraigned via video conference on March 22. Becker, who is due to return to court on April 5, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. According to the charges, at 7:30 p.m. on July 18, 2018, police responded to a 911 call at the Days Inn Hotel, located at 31-32 Queens Blvd., shortly aft er being contacted by of Becker's relatives. The relative told police that Becker had texted that she had delivered her baby in the hotel room toilet. Despite the relative's directions to bring the baby to the hospital, law enforcement sources said, Becker allegedly refused to do so. A brief search led 108th Precinct offi cers to Becker's room on the sixth fl oor, where they allegedly found Becker holding her infant daughter — whose body was lifeless, blue and wrapped in a towel on top of a bed. EMS responded to the scene and transported both the baby and Becker to Elmhurst Hospital, where the baby was pronounced dead. An autopsy found that the infant had been born six to eight weeks early, and was alive at the time of her birth. The medical examiner determined that the cause of the baby's death was complications of prematurity due to failure to seek medical evaluation and treatment. Prosecutors said the autopsy also found that the baby had liquid in her stomach — consistent with Becker's claims that she tried to breast feed the baby — and a toxicology report showed that the infant had both cocaine and Xanax in her system. The drugs, however, were not lethal levels that would have killed the baby, according to charges. By: The Flu Flute Choir of New York directed by Nicolas Duchamp Date: Sunday, March 31st, 2019 Time: 3:00 PM dir Date Place: Trinity Reformed Church 66-30 60th Place Place Ridgewood, N.Y. 11385 R of s (Corner of Palmetto St. and 60th Place) Light supper to follow performance All proceeds received from free-will donatios will go to St.Matthias "ST. Francis Table" (a program that provides food for the homeless) All are welcome /WWW.QNS.COM link link link link