Mayor Eric Adams has appointed two new members to the New York City Rent Guidelines Board, bringing in decades of experience in affordable housing.
Genesis Aquino joins the board as a tenant member, while Doug Apple will serve as a public member. Both reside in Brooklyn.
The Rent Guidelines Board is responsible for setting the maximum rent increase for nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City. Mayor Adams praised both appointees, citing the valuable combination of policy expertise and on-the-ground experience that Aquino and Apple bring to the board.
“Doug Apple and Genesis Aquino bring an invaluable combination of policy expertise and on-the-ground experience to serve as stewards of our rent-stabilized housing on the Rent Guidelines Board,” Mayor Adams said in a statement. “Their decades of service in government and nonprofits exemplify their deep commitment to their neighbors and communities, and I know they will draw on the totality of their experiences to serve New Yorkers well on the Rent Guidelines Board.”
Aquino has over 10 years of advocacy and community organizing experience, and currently serves as the executive director of Tenants & Neighbors, a grassroots membership organization that collaborates with tenants to preserve and protect affordable housing in New York state.
Meanwhile, Apple brings with him a wealth of experience in real estate and project management services. As the president and CEO of 1811Consulting, he has represented clients in various supportive and transitional housing development projects as well as commercial real estate sales, leases, and acquisitions.
Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz hailed the appointments, lauding Aquino and Apple as public-minded individuals who care deeply about housing quality and affordability. She emphasized the importance of the Rent Guidelines Board’s work in adjusting rent in rent-stabilized apartments and making deeply considered decisions based on research and testimony from a broad array of New Yorkers.
“The Rent Guidelines Board combines research and testimony from a broad array of New Yorkers and makes deeply considered decisions about how to adjust rent in rent-stabilized apartments,” Katz said. “With long careers in government and nonprofits, Doug and Genesis are exactly the public-minded people we want on the Rent Guidelines Board.”
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