Council Member Banks introduces bill to expand SCRIE and DRIE outreach

Councilmember Banks, followed by Farias.

Thank you, Majority Leader, and thank you, Speaker, to your leadership.

Today I'm introducing Bill 1072, which will expand the outreach and disability of the rent increase exemption, or DREE program, and the senior citizen rent increase exemption, better known as SCRI.

This legislation will expand the city's existing requirements for the sharing information about SCRI to include DREE and add the mayor's office for the people with disabilities as a participating agency.

It would also require the Department of Finance to provide an annual training to designated staff and participating city agencies

on eligibility requirements, application and renewal procedures, reasonable accommodations, program benefits, and applicant referrals.

Additionally, the Department of Finance would be required to report annually to the Council on these trainings and their outcomes.

We are in the middle of an affordability crisis, and we hear about it, its effects on every corner of our city.

It is our duty to do everything possible to protect New Yorkers who are especially vulnerable to rising housing costs.

That includes our seniors, many of whom are retired and living on fixed incomes, as well as

people with disabilities and disabled veterans.

Scree and Dree provide meaningful relief by freezing the rent of eligible New Yorkers, helping them remain in their homes and communities.

However, these programs can only help people if they know the assistance exists and understand how to access it.

No eligible New Yorkers should miss out on this critical benefit simply because they never received the right informational guidance.

By strengthening the outreach and improving the agency staff training and increasing accountability, this bill will help connect more eligible New Yorkers with the assistance they need to remain safely and affordably in their house.

Thank you.