Every June, the same circus comes to town. The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), a group of nine appointed by the mayor, holds public hearings before determining what rent increases landlords may ask in the coming year. This year, the proposed rent increases are 2 to 5.5 percent for one-year lease renewals, and 4 to 7.5 percent for two-year lease renewals.

The process is fundamentally flawed. The RGB supposedly bases itsdecision on studies, like the Housing Vacancy Study, making it seem like an objective process. But when the studies are adjusted to support their preconceived conclusion, tenants become suspicious that the process is drastically flawed. For example, the studies look at median income of city residents, but they don’t look at landlord income. The 2005 Housing Vacancy Study, performed by the Census Bureau, showed that the incomes of rent stabilized tenants fell by 8.6 percent between 2001 and 2004, while rents rose 8.7 percent.

Two years ago, we convinced the RGB to hold hearings in boroughs other than Manhattan. The first of the outer-borough hearings was held in Brooklyn, and tenants were thrilled when one of the “public” members voiced tenant concerns at the final hearing. That person was later replaced. Last year a hearing was held in the Bronx, and this year it will be in Queens. Last year, we took some members of the RGB on a tour of Bronx apartment buildings to show them some of the awful conditions people live in. We showed them one Bronx apartment building where, despite the landlord’s receipt of a $3 million mortgage, significant violations were left unrepaired. Tenant protests against a rent increase were so adamant, they shut down the public hearing. Nevertheless, the Rent Guidelines Board voted for the highest rent increase in over a decade.

Usually, an unelected board is made up of experts on the topic at hand, who are more professionally qualified to make the decision than elected officials. Mayor Bloomberg has the power to appoint all the members of the Rent Guidelines Board, which includes a president, two landlord representatives, two tenant representatives, and four members who represent the public interest. The president, Marvin Marcus, is employed by Goldman Sachs, one of New York’s biggest investment firms. Does this make him an expert on rents and housing? Last year, tenants complained that Marcus was disrespectful to tenants and their advocates at the hearings, and were told he would be replaced – but once again this year, he will preside over the RGB.

The process isn’t democratic. The RGB members aren’t accountable to us – they are appointed by the mayor, and don’t depend on the public for their position. Mayor Bloomberg is able to avoid accountability, since the decision is made by the board, not by him directly. None of our other elected officials have any power over this process – they can’t appoint or remove RGB members, they can only testify like the rest of us.

Currently, all rent regulations are made by the state legislature – but these laws only apply in a few localities. This means that upstate legislators, who are not familiar with New York City, govern our rent laws but don’t have to live with them in their own communities. A return to Home Rule would lead to greater accountability.

Our organization, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, along with many other tenant groups, are going to the hearing in Queens on Tuesday, June 19 to say it’s time to fix a broken process. The final decision will be made at a hearing in Manhattan on June 26. To join us, call Jeremy Saunders at 646-533-5302.

Hilda Chavis is a longtime tenant activist. Margaret Groarke is a government professor at Manhattan College (disclosure: she is married to Norwood News editor Jordan Moss). They are both board members of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition.